Father LeRoy surprised our Reading Club today by saying he had an errand to do in Sioux City. He invited Sister Mary Claire, Robert, Mini, and me to ride along, and said we could discuss the chapter in the car.
We followed the Big Sioux River toward the city. Everything was beautiful and green from all the rain. The trees were thick and full, and the river appeared now and then between the branches. As we passed Stone Park, Father slowed down so we could admire the wooded hills.
“Now, Kathy,” Father said, “you may read your chapter summary.”
I opened my notebook.
“Bishop Laurence had waited a long time before speaking officially about Lourdes. After hearing many trustworthy witnesses, he decided the time had come to investigate.
“On July 28, 1858, he appointed a Church commission to study Bernadette’s visions, the spring at the Grotto, and the cures connected with its water. Priests, doctors, and scientists were to examine the evidence carefully and question witnesses.
“The Bishop wanted to know whether the cures and visions could be explained naturally or whether they were truly supernatural. He asked the commission to seek the truth without leaving anything unexamined.”
When I finished, Robert said, “The Bishop was very careful.”
“Yes,” Sister Mary Claire answered. “He did not believe too quickly, but he did not refuse to listen.”
Father said, “Faith has nothing to fear from an honest search for truth.”
Apparently Father had planned more than just an errand. He reached into a little ice chest and brought out granola bars and a quart of cold milk packed carefully in ice. We passed the granola bars around, and Sister poured the milk into paper cups while Father drove.
Mini received a small corner of Robert’s granola bar, although Sister said granola bars were not really made for dogs.
After Father finished his Church errand in Sioux City, he drove us to Riverside Park. He had packed a real picnic without telling us. We sat beneath a shady tree near the river and ate sandwiches, boiled eggs, pickles, apples, and the rest of the cold milk.
The river moved quietly past us, and everything smelled green and clean. Father said it was good for a Reading Club to leave its regular meeting place once in a while, especially when the road itself gave us so much to look at.
Before we left, I read our prayer.
“Dear Blessed Mother, help us to seek the truth patiently and honestly. Keep us from judging too quickly, and teach us to listen with humble hearts. Amen.”
Father blessed us and our journey home. Then we packed the picnic things into the car and followed the Big Sioux River toward Littlemore, with the green trees and fields shining in the afternoon light.
Love Kathy
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