First Holy Communion

Emily is receiving First Holy Communion this year.  We found a small Catholic Church with English masses in a little town outside of Frankfurt.  We drop Emily off for CCD at 4:00 and Dave, Owen, and I stop at a small German Cafe for beer, wine, and pommes frites before the 5:00 mass.  Dave discovered the restaurant a few weeks ago when Kelly and Joe came to town.  After several visits, the waiter greets us like old friends.  Last week, an 80ish year old man sitting at a corner table asked if he could join us.  Dave and I looked at each other awkwardly as we cherish the few minutes we have to talk without distraction.  The man understood, so he sat at his table but continued to tell us about himself from across the room.  His band performed in this cafe every Friday for 45 years.  He pointed to pictures  on the wall, "See, this is us.  And this is my wife.  Wife number four,"  he shrugged his shoulders, "I am a musician."  He waved his arm across the table and explained this was his table where his friends would all meet for dinner every Saturday night.  "But now, everyone is old or dead."  He then insisted Dave take out his I-phone so he could show us his website.  When we found it, he looked with amazement at "current technology."

Emily's class participated in the mass.  She did the first reading and one of the Prayers of the Faithful.