It was over 100 degrees on the thermometer and, according to the weather reports, it felt like 116 in Lawrence when I arrived there. I spent Monday at St. Conrad's Friary. The first indications that Brother Felix had moved in was seeing this in the friary courtyard: Br. Felix arrived on Saturday and was already "fixing up" and "cleaning up." He was a delightful addition to the coffee drinking in the kitchen at 6:00 in the morning before morning prayer. Later in the day, after purchasing a new pump for the fountain, Felix was ready to "cool down" Father Curtis:

Father John Schmeidler and Father Duane Reinert escaped the Lawrence, KS, heat by taking a few days away. However, the newly ordained Fr. Barnabas Eichor was spending his vacation at St. Conrad's while doing some fishing at Clinton Lake and just hanging out in the air conditioned friary. Barnabas also tried to cool off at the "little" fountain that Felix fixed:

At St. Joseph's in Hays, where Barnabas will be the Associate Pastor, the present pastor, Fr. Gilmary, is preparing to move to Denver at the beginning of August. Fr. Earl Meyer is still recovering his strength but is planning to move to St. Fidelis in Victoria as soon as the Interprovincial Postulancy Program is completed next week.

Father John Lager arrived at St. Fidelis in Victoria that evening to greet our postulants, Donald Rank and Brandon Berg one last time as they readied for the trip to the novitiate in California where they will be invested in the Capuchin habit on July 24.

The 22 postulants were hosting a special meal for the supervisors of the various ministries they were involved in over the past two months. The meal featured home cooking from American, Guamanian, and other cookbooks. The postulants did the cooking. The meal and the gathering was fantastic.

Brother Joseph, freed from his usual cooking duties for the evening, watched from the fire escape.

Fr. Felix Petrovsky is moved in at St. Joseph's Friary in Hays. He is doing marvelously in his recovery from a stroke and who just returned from being a chaplain on a cruise to Alaska.

Fr. Canice is not "on the move" but he is celebrating his 70th Anniversary of profession on July 14. Congratulations Canice!

Fr. Thaddeus is on the way east. He left this morning for Kansas City where he catches a flight to Washington, D.C. He is preparing to undergo cancer surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center which we hope and pray will go very well.

And finally, Fr. Myron Flax has moved to St. Fidelis in Victoria after spending eight years working at the Catholic Chapel in the Citadel Mall. He is still unpacked as you can see:

Myron is more interested in enjoying liesure than in unpacking and, God knows, he deserves it!

So it's back to the desk now. More friars will be on the move later this month and early in August. Hopefully, everyone will be in place by mid-August at the latest.