November 25, 2009

I think Indian Summer is over. Days have been dark, dreary and wet…not a lot of rain, but enough to make it damp and foggy…with talk of some snow. I’m not ready for it. But when it comes I will like it. But I DO NOT like driving on snow that becomes icy.

Thanksgiving is coming soon. And we have so many things to be thankful for. In many places in the Convent there are tree branches with a box of paper leaves that we can jot down our lists of things we are grateful for. For 8:30 Mass on Thanksgiving Day, these trees will be in the sanctuary. A visual reminder of reasons for gratitude is always good.

A week or so ago, as I walked past the kitchen, Sisters Joel and Celine were busy cleaning ground cherries. Sr. Helen Ann’s sister had brought them in from the home-place farm. The next time I saw the ground cherries, they were on the top of an upside-down cake. They looked like little golden balls on top of the cake. It not only looked beautiful, it tasted good, too.

Last Sunday we celebrated Sr. Rachel’s 90th birthday. I was pleased to see so many of her family members present for visiting, cake and ice cream. We now have 18 or 19 Sisters who are 90 and over. I wonder if I will make it to that age.

The next two items are “Mark you calendar” items. On December 11th at 7 p.m. the String Orchestras will present a concert featuring classical, jazz, Broadway and Irish music. And for the last piece the St. Francis Community Chorale will join the orchesta for Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.

On Sunday, December 13th at 2:30 p.m. the St. Francis Community Chorale will present their festive Christmas Concert. And the Zion Bell Choir will be part of the program.
I guarantee both of these programs will be well worth your time. So mark your calendar.

On November 15th four of us Sisters went to Marshall, MN for the Canonical Establishment of the Little Portion Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order. The sunrise and sunset that day were both beautiful. Marshall, MN is a longs ways from Little Falls, so we saw both the sunrise and the sunset from the car that day!


While on second floor today I saw two wonderful events. First I saw some of our Elder Sisters with the help of volunteers Rita and Elizabeth baking and decorating gingerbread cookies. Then further down the hallway I saw some of the staff examining a new hot tub we wish to purchase. The hot tub we now have has gotten a LOT of use and it is getting harder and harder to get pieces to fix it when it breaks down. What is nice about this one is that it has an end door that opens and once the person is in they can close the door and fill it with water. Pretty nice, I’d say.


Tonight there is a Thanksgiving Service in St. Francis Hall. A group of Lutherans have been using St. Francis Hall on Sundays this month for their worship services. They have invited us to pray with then tonight. Afterwards they will serve pie.

Happy Thanksgiving. Make a long list of all the things you are grateful for.

God bless you.
Sister Mary Lou