Ambushed

"A little gift for the road," Father Anthony said, waving an envelope in my direction as we stepped out of the church.

He had given Trúc and me a warm welcome during Mass.
"Sister, perhaps you may want to stay and help with our religious education program?"
Father Anthony's musical Indian accent was catching.
The Wednesday morning crowd of 10 murmured delight.

Our Mother of Sorrows church in Burnet was gorgeous.
A regal statue of Our Lady stood before the altar.
Light blue hydrangeas framed her side.

We were on silent retreat.
I guessed that Father would want to speak to us after Mass.
I did not see foresee he would give us "something for the road."

"No, Father... you shouldn't" I exclaimed, trying to hand the envelope back.
"No... no... it is not much... a little something for you when you drive back..." he continued. "Like coffee..."

We didn't talk too long.
He knew we were on retreat.
I knew we were ambushed.

By his kindness.
I had purposely waited for the church to empty out so we can leave silently.

A lot of people wondered why I chose the Sisters of Mary Queen (Dòng Trinh Vương) when I chose to became a sister.
The Lovers of the Holy Cross Sisters (Dòng Mến Thánh Giá) in Los Angeles was much closer to home.
And to the beach.

I wanted to be a sister.
I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to be a lover of the cross!
Sisters of Mary Queen sounded safe.

Then I learned that the Sisters of Mary Queen was the first Lover of the Holy Cross community established in Vietnam.
Ambushed.
By Mary.

No regrets.
Dòng Trinh Vương is awesome.
An understatement.

And the little something for the road?
Enough for 50 cups of coffee.

ps. http://www.omoscc.com/