In the Afterglow—Or is it Aftermath?

The frenzy of Christmas is now past—thankfully—but hopefully the peace of Christmas still lingers on at your home. That alone is worth the price of Christmas, in my estimation.

It has been interesting, this past year, to go through all the papers belonging to our various relatives, and peer into the lives of those I’ve never met—but am somehow related to. For the most part, every piece of information, each letter, all the photos, seemed to fall nicely into place in an organized fashion as I posted them here.

Some items, however, defied categorization. Some of these pieces of paper didn’t really add to the details of a life’s story, as far as the “vital” facts were concerned. Some of these wisps of trivia I call ephemera—they don’t tell much about the who-what-where-when-why, but they do reveal glimpses into what made up each person’s daily routine.

In sifting through the treasures and trash of what was left behind by Agnes Tully Stevens, I found some tokens of what was important to Agnes’ sister Lily. As I’ve already mentioned in prior posts, Lily had a concern for spiritual matters, and—perhaps following in the path already laid out by her mother, Catherine Malloy Tully—had several connections with church-related organizations.

Some of those pieces, while saved—first by Lily, then by her sister Agnes after her passing—didn’t seem to fit into any category of material I was trying to present on these family members. Even though I did squeeze it in toward the tail end of the series on our Tully family, today’s card is an example of that. It seems fitting to revisit it now during the Christmas season, though, mostly because of the artwork. Moving beyond the holiday angst, this card reminds me once again to center on the peace of the Person behind the season.

I hope, in these few days before the New Year, you will find a peaceful haven to regain your own sense of balance, too.

Certificate of Enrollment in the

Seraphic Mass Association

Lily A. Tully

has been enrolled forever in the Association

on August 22 1949

F. Cecil Nally, O.M. Cap.

Delegate

Benefits

1.         Each year 6,000 Masses are offered for the members.

2.         Members participate daily in 500 Masses: 182,500 per year.

3.         In the prayers and good works of 13,000 Capuchins.

4.         In 300,000 Holy Communions offered each year.

Seraphic Mass Association, St. Augustine Monastery

220 – 37^th Street, Pittsburgh 1, Pa.