Casa Maria Marianists

With hymns, prayers and lots of food, the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar was an exciting and colorful one. Beginning the day with the celebration of the Eucharist Rev. Kip Stander, former resident of Casa María, wore the blue Hawaiian chasuble in honor of Our Lady.

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With a crowd of about 40 students, staff and faculty joining the community for Casa Tuesdays, the prayer that evening was Marian is style because of the feast of Our Lady. A combination of Spanish, in honor of Zaragosa, and Hawaiian, in honor of the Hawaiian heritage of our two Hawaiian Marianists. St. Mary’s student Mākena Hamilton enhanced the prayer experience by accompanying the hymn “Queen’s Jubilee” (adapted for the Queen of Heaven) with a graceful hula. Dinner included sub-sandwiches with french fries and a chocolate fudge pillar cupcakes for desserts.

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To celebrate the vigil of Our Lady of the Pillar, the Marianist Sisters hosted the Marianist brothers of Casa María for homemade cookies, ice cream and a viewing of a DVD prepared by Brother Mike Sullivan of footage taken in Zaragossa.

And, just like last year, the brothers were able to enjoy ‘parting gifts’ in the form of cookies to take home and enjoy!

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The brothers of Casa María enjoyed a Sunday evening barbecue at the Pardo residence on Sunday, October 10.

With temperatures in the lower-80s, the backyard dinner offered a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy a home-cooked meal; a few of the brothers opted to walk from campus to the Pardo’s residence, located about 2 miles away.

The barbecue featured Mexican cuisine from Monterrey, Mexico, as well as Tex-Mex fare.

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Brothers Brandon, Dennis and Brian, guests of Rev. Rudy Vela, were treated to a night watching the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Miami Heat 90-73 in a preseason NBA game at the AT&T Center on Saturday, October 9.

The brothers enjoyed the ‘superbox’ seats which featured complimentary food and drinks, as well as seats in Section SB2B, Row 2; the tickets were complimentary gifts to the brothers.

Casa María welcomed a new addition to the community to replace an item that, quite literally, ‘poorly sucked.’ A new Dyson vacuum model DC33, purchased from Sears at Ingram Mall, officially took over vacuuming responsibilities from the 13-year old Powr-Flite model PF14 on Saturday morning, October 9.

After noticing that the vacuum began underperforming in its primary duties of cleaning community floors and carpets, the brothers discovered that the Powr-Flite exhibited a number of problems that warranted a complete replacement–after all, the vacuum is over a decade old.

Featuring washable filters, bagless dust bin, 15-foot hose, 5-year warranty and light-weight, easy-to-use, handling, the Dyson promises to offer faithful service to the community’s mission in the years to come.

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Casa María celebrated the start of the mid-semester break on Friday, October 8 with evening prayer; lasagna dinner with two homemade desserts of flan and strawberry macarons; opening night at the San Antonio symphony featuring pieces by Dukas, Chopin and Williams; and ice cream dessert.

Joining the brothers for the festivities were a number of students from Brother Mike’s music classes.

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Brothers Tom Suda and Richard Dix, along with La Familia Pardo, celebrated Our Lady of the Rosary and the official blessing of the newly-renovated kitchen with the Marianists of Casa María on Thursday, October 7, 2010.

Excerpt from blessing rite:
Blest be this shrine of the kitchen. Blest be the herbs and the spices. And the pots and pans used to prepare our meals. May the ill seasonings of anger and bitterness never poison the meals prepared here.

Lord God, by your will, we minister to the needs of others; sanctify this place with your blessing, that those who serve here may ever be mindful of your presence and of the example of Jesus Christ. Bless those whose artistry and craftsmanship made this room possible.

Tommy spearheaded the renovation working from August to mid-September. Dixie and Señor Pardo assisted with various phases of the process.