July 22th

No one missed working in the commissions today.

The magnificent day we lived today began in a muddle. Sundays are different from ordinary days. The place for coffee had been changed and some showed some impatience; no one knew if it was because there was a fast and thus there was no coffee, or if we were late for the Mass.

Sunday coincided with the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene, the apostle to the apostles, protector of the Order and patron of the Rosary province. The Eucharistic liturgy was very solemn, in English with the participation of the parish choir from Saint Pius V, with performances by the French choir, which added solemnity to the celebration. There were also some phrases in Spanish and finally lyrics and, above all, the rhythm of Africa. The special final song exalted the spirits of all present so much that their last liturgical act was a burst of applause. There were songs "with a beat"("con marcha"), accompanied by guitars, pianos, clarinet, bells and the percussion of Friar Fausto, who hit his high point in the African song, as if he had fed on those rhythms at his mother's breast. The final song was the crowning glory at a Eucharist presided over by the English provincial with the Irish provincial at his side.

There was a beautiful homily which made one laugh and think. Jesus left for a moment the masculine world of the disciples and went forth to the territory of the women, his friends. Martha was the one who ruled there, the one in charge of everything. But Jesus destabilizes the domestic order and now he is the protagonist. Mary understood it, Martha did not. With his arrival something more important than the domestic order, and even more important than serving and entertaining Jesus, is to listen to him and to dialogue with him, as one dialogues with one's friends. The president of the Eucharist summarized his homily in French and in perfectly read Spanish. He received unanimous congratulations. Ireland, joined to England, wished to give some sign of their singularity so the Irish group sang a song in Irish. The Mass lasted 80 minutes and all were very happy!

Later we boarded the buses for a magnificent excursion through Newport. We passed by the stream cut out from the bay of this lovely city, while we saw the fantastic mansions of industrial magnates or the Kennedy's or where Spielberg filmed or Mia Farrow lived. There were also places visited by Washington and where the rebels received aid from the French against the English.

We visited the mansion called "The Breakers". The interior even surpassed the exterior in taste and grandiosity. All were built at the end of the 19th century, with ideas and materials from Europe. We visited the very pretty port, with colorful antique houses and sporty boats, some fantastic.

The afternoon became more enchanting and the scenery sensational when we sat at the edge of the sea to eat foods cooked as the Indians had done before the arrival of the colonists. The meal (a clam-bake) was fantastic with a fascinating system of preparation, burying it in a type of oven below the earth... A friar and a sister even "made like Indians", dancing around the clam-bake. The only things missing were their feathers. The sun shone trying to overcome the fresh breeze which stimulated our appetites. When we left for home the sun slowly set, filling the earth and the sea with color. At that moment we crossed over on one of the audacious bridges that cross the bay.

The chapter participants owe the St. Joseph province for this magnificent day. Many thanks.

(Translated from Spanish)