Beautiful Quiet

So, it is nearing the end of my week from HEAVEN. Today I was the only one in the office for the majority of the day. The phone barely rang and there were hardly any visitors. It was wonderful! I went to lunch with my dad at The Shrine. We also took some time to look at the actual Shrine. Speaking of The Shrine my daily reflection yesterday talked about rules. It asked us to reflect on how we felt about rules. Over all I LOVE rules! They create order and give a person guidelines on what to do. I am definitely a rule follower. But, I find it a challenge to follow ALL the rules set forth by the Catholic Church. Some Catholics believe in 100% devotion to Church Authority. The Shrine has been an item of dispute in our Diocese. The former Bishop decided he wanted to build this Shrine which cost $30 MILLION dollars. And why? First of all the Bishop claims that the money was all donated for the cause of the Shrine. I ask, if you are able to raise $30 million dollars why not donate it to a worth cause or to those in need? Secondly we didn't really need a Shrine. I have a big place in my hear for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (no that's not me on their home page), the order that founded the college I attended. They have a beautiful chapel for people to visit and a wonderful story. They also do a lot of good in our community. Also, many of our local parishes needed to close due to lack of priests yet the Shrine has a a resident priest. Thirdly the true story of the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe originates in Mexico city when a POOR native man saw a vision of Mary who told him to build a Shrine to her. I've seen the "real" Shrine and it is far more humble then the one here. The former Bishop said it would be a great thing for all our Mexican residents, (our city's population is mostly German and Norwegian). The main population of immigrants are Hmong. Anyway, some Catholics think this Shrine is just SO WONDERFUL! What a great thing our Bishop did! Others think its a waste of money and land. Personally I side with the later group. I vowed NEVER to go there. But, I had to check out the restaurant which I heard was awesome (it is by the way) and today my dad wanted to look at the actual Shrine. It was really beautiful. I little over the top. And I had to ask myself, why? So back to rules. I guess some would say I'm a bad Catholic because I don't think everything church authority does is right or good. I also haven't always followed ALL the "rules" that our tradition sets forth. I think I do a pretty good job of following the Ten Commandments and living as a disciple of Christ. I guess we'll find out in the end!