This morning was beautiful, a radiant spring sun filled my heart with gladness as I drove through the crisp clear mid-twenty degree day toward Mass at Mt. Irenaeus. Upon arriving at the Mountain I noticed a number of vehicles parked in the driveway. I had a bit of trouble finding a parking spot, but soon did and then into the house to bring my offering of orange juice and a dozen eggs for brunch. On my way into the house I met a lovely young lady from the State University of New York at Buffalo who was part of the inter-collegiate weekend that had been held at Mt. Irenaeus. Normally, the Franciscan Retreat Center here is home to local villagers and St. Bonaventure University students, but today that circle included students from University at Buffalo, SUNY College at Fredonia, Alfred University, Nazareth College, SUNY Geneseo and St. Bonaventure University. There were about three dozen of these young men and women.
Once inside the chapel I found a cushion to sit on and waited for the liturgy to begin. As is customary at the Mountain we all said our names and where we were from. I mentioned that in addition to being a Secular Franciscan from Franklinville, that I was the parent of Fredonia student and a Fredonia graduate. Br. Harry Monaco, OFM who was part of the retreat helped to facilitate the music. We had for once a choir filled with talented voices. These young ladies could sing and their voices filled the chapel with sounds that delighted us all. I enjoyed all of their hymns, but The Gloria was especially beautiful. It was easy to believe that I’d been transported to heaven itself and was hearing angels. These young people were talented. All of their music was lovely and it was a real treat to hear them. They are the future and it sounded very bright this morning.