Morning Star

" 'Do you have a kippah ?' That's what this visitor asked for." One of us pointed to our head. "Yes... yes, you know kippah is Hebrew for a head covering for men." My class and I was at the Dallas Holocaust Museum for an on-site learning experience. Or a field trip for college students. "Does anyone know why traditionally Jewish men wear a kippah ?" the docent continued. "It's a sign of respect and fear for God, acknowledging that God is above us," one of my classmates offered. "Right before your group walked in, this man asked for this. This was the first time in all these years I heard someone asking for a kippah. I think he recognizes some thing of what is here, some thing of why are here. We are in the realm of sacredness," she continued. None of us spoke much on our way back. We had been full of comments and observations on our first field trip to the synagogue. We knew we didn't have a kippah to wear. But w

"Sisters, would you have some coffee?" Sr. Jacinta Ngân and I looked at each other hesitantly. We were on our way out to the 7:00am Mass at Annunciation Parish. "Sir, we wish we could, but we have to keep our fast for Communion," I explained gently. "Well, you must come back to enjoy it!" he offered insistently. It was a hard offer to resist. For the past two morning, Mr. Thưởng (or Ông Thưởng) had awoken early and made each of us a tall mug of roasted coffee, with a generous serving of condensed milk. Authentic Vietnamese cà phê sữa or an equivalent of three Starbucks tall cappuccinos. Each cup took a good 15 minutes to make if the coffee is to be drip-brewed properly. "We'll try," I replied, hoping this was a polite rejection. We were in Albuquerque to visit our new aspirant, Quỳnh Dao, and her family. We were staying with Ông Bà Thưởng because their house had an extra room. Our other activity was to promote vocations at the Vietnamese C