Friends, this is just a quick post tonight. I worked hard today. I’m tired but satisfied. A brother parishioner (and I do hope that each of you reading can find a TLM parish where you make these kind of lifelong, like-minded friends) came over and helped with a project.
We put up a flagpole!
I mentioned recently that I had purchased a Sacred Heart flag from Deborah. The flag arrived a few days ago. But sitting in the packaging does nothing to tell the world that Christ is King over my quarter-acre. Last year for Father’s Day, my kids (and wife) had given me a 20’, made-in-the-USA, aluminum, telescoping flagpole. Today was finally the day to set it in concrete.
Have you ever been to Texas? Did you know that there’s a layer of topsoil and that just about 10 inches below that is nothing but clay? Did you further know that after weeks of 100+ degree heat and no rain, clay basically becomes adobe brick?
Yeah… I found that out today.
We dug.
We dug some more.
After two hours with frequent breaks for shade and water we were all of 16” deep. That would be fine except we had to go 26” down.
My friend (a landscaper by trade) spritzed some water at the hole from my garden hose. Nothing happened. It’s that dry.
That’s when I grabbed a bottle of Epiphany Water – the atomic holy water – and sprinkled literally a drop into the hole. I quietly said, “Lord Jesus Christ, please dispatch Thy holy angels to loosen this soil so we can finish this project and honor Thy Sacred Heart.”
We sat down for five minutes; something about a beer and a smoke.
And then I picked up the shovel and removed ten inches of mud and dirt in two minutes.
A few hours later, once everything had cured, we have this…
On Monday I will probably raise Old Glory to commemorate the 246th anniversary of New Jersey’s independence from Great Britain. And after that? I think the Sacred Heart dripping His Precious Blood needs to fly high over my house for a long while.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Mother Cabrini, pray for us!
Padre Pio, pray for us!
Holy Guardian Angel, my monitor and friend, pray for us!
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 