I’ve been neglecting this dear blog of mine which is quite unfortunate as I love blogging. This past summer was so busy for me, between family obligations, a surprising amount of social gatherings with various friends from church, and several visits out-of-state to see my dear ninety-three-year-old great-grandma.
This semester is also crazy busy for me, as I am taking 15 hours of college classes. They are hard classes, but it’s good and very doable. This past weekend I got a very nice break for a couple of days when my family and I drove to Texas to attend the Blessed Karl Symposium! The FSSP parish of Mater Dei put it on, although since Mater Dei does not have a big enough facility to host over 600 people, the Symposium used the facilities at another church nearby. The day before the Symposium, we visited the lovely church of Mater Dei.
It is not a large church, but very beautiful. I love the prominent blue color which is appropriate considering the name of the church. Quite honestly I am not used to seeing an altar rail. The (temporary) altar rails at my church are more like elongated kneelers. But I absolutely love Mater Dei’s wooden altar rails!
Outside of the church was this sign. Every Catholic church should hang this in the vestibule.
After a visit with our Blessed Lord, we headed to the Mater Dei Bookstore.
We were so excited to go to a Catholic bookstore. Everyone in my family loves to read, and quite a few of us bought some books and medals.
This sweet little grotto was outside the church. My little sisters especially loved this.
The following day was the Blessed Karl Symposium. It was quite an experience.
I failed to get a picture of the first speaker, Suzanne Pearson, the North American delegate for the Emperor Karl Prayer League.
This was Chevalier Raymond De Souza, Knight of Malta. The photo is grainy because my Iphone is an older model and it is zoomed in.
Next was an amazing talk by Bishop Schneider. He didn’t hold anything back and spoke the truth boldly. Such an inspiring leader in the Church!
Last was an interview with the princess! I must say that HIRH Princess Maria-Anna Habsburg-Galitzine, granddaughter of Emperor Karl, looks like her grandfather!
It was very crowded at the Symposium. There were also many pastries representative of the Hapsburg-area available, and they were delicious!
The best part of the Symposium, in my opinion, was when, right after his speech, Bishop Schneider led everyone in singing Christus Vincit three times. It was so neat especially since just a few days before the Symposium my family had decided to work on singing/memorizing that song!
It is so inspiring to see so many people singing and professing (in Latin!) that Christ Conquers, Christ Reigns, Christ Commands!
A couple of us got to speak to Dr. Taylor Marshall, the author of the aforementioned Sword and Serpent novels. He is like a celebrity to traditional Catholics! Dr. Marshall was very nice when my sisters and I asked him to sign our book and take a photo with us. He was highly sought after between talks by the various attendees to talk to, so he was very kind to speak with us.
There were long lines between talks and afterwords to speak with Bishop Schneider. We were blessed to get our copy of Christus Vincit (a book by the bishop) signed and meet the kind and holy man. It was my first time kneeling and kissing the ring of a bishop! It was so special to spend even just a few minutes with Bishop Schneider.
Bishop Schneider seemed to especially love the little children. He wanted the little ones to be near him when taking photos. We also noticed that the bishop was kind and gracious to each and every person he met, no matter how boring they seemed. He took several minutes with each person, speaking with them and listening patiently.
That day is very possibly one of the best days of my life. Hearing such sound Catholicity spoken by leaders within the church is rare; I definitely think each speaker is very holy and brave, and we should try to remember to pray for them!
Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!
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