Life at the Convent

How can it be the first of February?

2012-02-02T12:53:00.001-06:00

How can it be the first of February? We’ve not had much winter so far…a few very cold days and a few little dustings of snow so the ground is barely covered. It should get near 40 again today. I believe in global warming.

Last Saturday evening, Sr. Adela and I went to Pierz for their Buffalo Feed. It is a KC fund-raiser with half the money going to the KCs and the other half to the Relay for Life. As a cancer survivor, I support those kinds of efforts. The buffalo burgers were huge! And they were delicious.

Sunday many Sisters attended the “Empty Bowls Fundraiser 2012” event at First United Church (across the street from the Motherhouse.) This fundraiser was for Oasis-Share-A-Meal. (This group sponsors a free meal at First Lutheran Church every Thursday of the year and they also sponsor the Paint-a-Thon in August.) A group of high school youth made the beautiful, multi-colored ceramic bowls. They were glazed and fired. We paid $10 for the soup, bread, sweet goodies, and beverage and then got to keep the bowl we chose. And besides all that, we had wonderful entertainment. Musical performers I heard were: “The Sobania Strings”, “Sestri” and “As good as it Gets.” About ten different restaurants and “food serving places” donated the soups. And there were many other groups that donated items to make the event a success. The bottom line of the placemat says it all: “Keep your bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in our community.”

This coming Saturday, February 4, we Franciscan Sisters are having a “Homemade Soup Supper.” Proceeds benefit St. Francis Health and Recreation Center and St. Francis Music Center, Little Falls. The three varieties of soup are: Chicken Wild Rice, Beef Barley Vegetable and Tomato Tortellini. Fresh baked cracked wheat and white bread, bars and beverages are also on the menu. Serving is from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at St. Francis Convent. It is “All you can eat” so come hungry!

At 3 p.m. on Wednesday there is a presentation on Human Trafficking in St. Francis Hall. I know it is a BIG problem in our country and throughout the world. I need to hear more about it…and learn what I can do about it.

The other day “they” finished another puzzle. After the two last puzzles that were so hard, it seemed a relief to do one that was a little less challenging.

This coming Sunday is the Pro-Life dinner and program at the Falls Ballroom—another worthwhile cause.

At 7 p.m., on Tuesday, the 7th, are the political caucuses. Use this opportunity to take part in grass-roots politics.

Peace and many blessings on you and those you love. Sister Mary Lou

What a blessing to have the gift of time for prayer and reflection

2012-01-25T15:02:00.003-06:00

Retreat ended at noon on Sunday. The general consensus seemed to be that it was a very good retreat —prayerful and reflective. What a blessing to have the gift of time for prayer and reflection.

Sr. Cabrini’s funeral was on Friday morning. She had great devotion to Blessed Mother Mary. She made and prayed many rosaries.

On Friday evening St. Francis Music Center presented the Sestri Choir in concert. (The name Sestri means “sisters”). They sing folk songs from the Slavic countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Russia and the Ukraine. This group of 19 women, directed by Celo V’ec, makes beautiful music and have a lot of fun doing it. The little group of strings players, Bartok Babes, played two songs between the two parts of the singing. Celo founder and conductor of Sestri, also started the world famous Yale Slavic chorus in 1969, the first year of undergraduate co-education at Yale. This choir was the first all women’s group on the Yale Campus. Celo was a music major at Yale College and a member of the all-male Yale Russian chorus. In 2009, the Chorus celebrated their 40th anniversary with a reunion concert that drew alumnae from all across the globe. After attending this reunion, Celo was inspired to start a local group. He received an individual arts grant from the Minnesota State Arts board and it was then that Sestri began.

Sunday night there was an Ecumenical Prayer Service at First United Church. It was planned by Pastor Damen Heitmann and Franciscan Sisters Bernice and Jean. We had prayer, quiet reflection, conversation, singing and heard quotes from Martin Luther King, our Nation’s Presidents, Religious Leaders and Scripture. My favorite quote was from Bishop Desmond Tutu: “Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.”

Last night was our evening to honor our wonderful employees. After a social hour we had a delicious dinner catered by Will and his Falls Ballroom crew.

Fourteen employees received awards for 5, 10, 20 and 25 years of service. Terry Bernardy received the Francis Award.

Five young members of the Rick Family preformed for us. They all play piano and a string instrument. They are students at St. Francis Music Center.

And another HARD puzzle was finished this week. We knew the Peacock puzzle would be a hard one, but the Christmas Cookie puzzle was equally hard…and very lovely to look at.

We’ve received a couple inches of new snow…so the world looks beautiful…and roads must be slippery, since I’ve heard about many fender-benders and more serious accidents.

Be safe by being careful. Peace and blessings, Sister Mary Lou

What a celebration it was! Sister Justina turns 100 years old!

2012-01-17T16:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the big celebration of Sr. Justina’s 100 Birthday. And what a celebration it was! At Mass, the St. Francis Community Chorale sang along with our Sisters’ choir and the congregation. Fr. Ken Brenny, her first cousin, was the presider and homilist. The Chapel was full. We had LOTS of guests for dinner. And in no time at all it was time for the Open House. Again, LOTS of guests! Sr. Justina was in good form and was enjoying all the goings-on.

There were letter greetings from Governor Mark Dayton, President and Michelle Obama, Bishop John F. Kinney and the New York Foundling Home.

Also, yesterday afternoon at 4:10 p.m., Sister Cabrini Loerzel, age 87, went to heaven. Sisters had been sitting with her the past several days. Her Funeral will be on Friday.

Retreat for about 50 Sisters starts tonight at 7 p.m. Fr. Giles Schinelli, TOR, is the director. “Contemplating the contours and challenges of ongoing conversion: St. Francis and the Salutation of the Virtues,” is the theme. That’s quite a title! “A Salutation of the Virtues” is one of the writings/prayers of St. Francis.

The Stephen Ministers from Anoka were here the 13--15th. Our Sr. Rita Barthel was working with the group when they first started coming here in 1986. Joan Bednarzyk has been coordination this retreat the past 21 years. After this year someone else will be doing that job.

Bloodmobile Report: Our goal was 240 units. We received 229 units. And 20 others came but could not donate. So I would say we had a very successful event. There will be another Blood Drive n April.

Last week we honored the Finance Department. The clever bulletin board display showed enlargements of paper money bills with the pictures of the staff on each bill. I am so grateful for that staff in taking care of paying bills and all that Social Security “stuff.”

May God bless us. May God look favorably upon us. May God give us peace.

Sister Mary Lou

What a difference a day makes!

2012-01-11T16:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the Little Falls high temperature was a record breaking 52 degrees. Today a high of 34 degrees already was in the early a.m. hours. We’ve had .10 inch of rain and now it is snowing…with expected accumulation about 1 to 2 inches. Wind chill of 4 degrees.

After prayer this morning, Sr. Donna told us that today she would be donating her 81st unit of blood. That is a LOT of blood—10 gallons + 1! Thank you, Donna, for your generous gift of life. The Bloodmobile is here today, Thursday and Friday. These first two days from 1 to 7 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This week is National Immigration Week. Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. We are remembering St. Josephine Bakhuta (1869-1947.) She was an ex-slave and Sister, who was kidnapped as a 9 year-old. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 17, 1992, and canonized in 2000, the first native of the Sudan to be so recognized. Let us pray for all those who are enslaved for the “profit” of their “masters.”

Tomorrow at 2 p.m., we are recognizing the Finance Department for their many services to the Sisters—and paying our bills. Thank you, for your many services to us. (I am most grateful I don’t have to figure all those things out.)

On Sunday we celebrate Sr. Justina’s 100 birthdays. It will be a Great Day. I’m sure we will have many guests for Mass (11 a.m.) and the open house from 2 –4 p.m. Congratulations, Sr. Justina.

Retreat starts Monday evening at 7 p.m. until noon of Saturday, the 22nd. It is a long list of people who are signed up to make the retreat. I am one of them.

After our meal for the Sisters ‘ Christmas Party on the 7th, we had a sing-a-long. The funniest song we sang was a new version of “Twelve Days of Christmas”. We sang “The 12 Days of Christmas MN Style”… A Bald Eagle in a Fir tree, 2 red-eyed loons, 3 spring chix, 4 snow ties spinning, 5 woolen scarves, 6 bunnies hopping, 7 mice a-squeaking, 8 kittens purring, 9 wolves a-howling, 10 skunks a-spraying, 11 kids coughing, 12 geese a-honking. And, then, too, did the actions. That song was good for a lot of laughs.

Finally, the HARD 1,000-piece peacock puzzle was finished. It took several weeks. I admire those who were so persistent to finish it. Now they are working on a plate of cookies and that is about as hard. It is great to see Sisters and employees working so diligently to put the puzzles together…a wonderful way to relax.

The Christmas decorations are all packed away for another year. All that is left are the many beautiful poinsettias that will last until Eastertime.

Peace and blessings, Sister Mary Lou

The Christmas decorations are disappearing

2012-01-05T14:31:00.001-06:00

This must be the “January lull.” The Christmas decorations are disappearing and put away for another year. The weekly calendar is not packed with activities and events. Sister Kizzie made a snowlady—little in size because of the lack of snow. I took a picture yesterday because when our temperatures go to the 40s+ today the snow won’t last long!

The past days we’ve had notices of the deaths of a number of family members of employees and the brother of one of our Sisters. May all the deceased be enjoying Life with the Lord. And we wish peace, strength and courage for the living members of the families.

Last night Channel Kare 11 TV did a 5-or 6-minute segment on our Sister Karen Niedjelski, Kindergarten teacher at St. Andrew’s School in Elk River. The program was very interesting and very well done. I think it would be fun to sit in on her classes. Those are lucky children who are in her class. Click here to view the video clip.

On Saturday, the 7th, we will have our Sisters’ Christmas/Epiphany celebration…always good food and good visiting.

Next week we will have the first of three computer Technology Inservice programs for those of us who need to know about what the machine is capable of doing.

January 8—14 is National Migration Week—a time to remember the giftedness and blessings Migrants are and be welcoming and hospitable to them who find themselves far away from home and in a vulnerable situation.

The Bloodmobile will be here Wednesday and Thursday (11th and 12th) from 1 to 7 p.m. and Friday (13th) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you wish to make an appointment, call Sr. Julien at 632-0663.

And, of course, the big event of January is on Sunday, the 15th: the Celebration of the 100th Birthday of Sr. Justina, with Mass at 11 a.m. and an Open House from 2 – 4 p.m.

The quote from my calendar is: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not and act but a habit.” -- Aristotle

Peace and God’s protection on each of us. Sister Mary Lou

Just a couple more days left of 2011

2011-12-29T15:26:00.000-06:00

It seems like a very short time ago that we started writing 2000! And soon we will be writing 2012. I hope you had a good and peaceful Christmas. A friend gave me a “Keep Christ in Christmas” magnet that I proudly put on my car. With all the stress on “buy, buy, buy” one can easily forget that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” We had a very nice Christmas here at the Motherhouse. We had full-house for our Christmas Eve Mass. I was so pleased that so many came to St. Francis Hall afterwards for hot chocolate, goodies and to visit with one another.

Theologian Howard Thurman (1899-1981) said, “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the shy is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among all to make music in the heart.” I say: “There is plenty to do.”

About a month ago I talked about our Caring-by-Sharing Program during Advent. The Franciscan Sisters, employees and volunteers, raised $1,393 that was donated to the Minnesota Military Family Foundation. What a generous gift.

Sister Justina Bieganek will celebrate her 100th birthday on January 16th. We will celebrate the event on Sunday, Dec. 15th, with an 11 a.m. Mass and a reception from 2 – 4 that afternoon here at St. Francis Convent. Congratulations! It will be a great day for her. And knowing her, she will probably be going to work at the Music Center the next day.

Last evening at our Local Community Christmas celebration, we had fun with the Christmas “Chat Pack” cards (from our Gift Shop for $7.99). The questions are good conversation starters…and bound to be a source of lots of laughs.

On December 22nd, Sister Julien and I took part in the Food Shelf fund-raiser at Coborns. We “Made a Joyful Noise” from 3 to 7 p.m. The generosity of shoppers helped the Food Shelf reach and go over their goal. God bless you, generous shoppers.

Starting today and until Saturday noon we have a Girls Retreat going on. There are 10 girls and each has a Sister Companion. I appreciated all the extra voices for the singing at Mass this morning.

Starting Friday at 6 p.m. and for 24-hours we have “Prayers for Peace.” Each hour for the 24-hours there will be a Sister or an Associate praying for peace. Then on New Year’s Eve we have a special 7 p.m. prayer service in Chapel.

Peace and many blessings in the New Year. Sister Mary Lou

P.S. I wrote this article yesterday and when I looked for it this morning, it had disappeared. I must have forgotten to save it, though, I thought I did. I’ll remember next time!

We are already into the 4th week of Advent

2011-12-20T14:44:00.002-06:00

We are already well into the 4th Week of Advent. Did you miss me last week? Good. I was too busy to get anything written. I moved to Campus to a room on 3rd floor at Mary Hall and am now part of that Local Community. For 20+ years I lived at 609 3rd Street—about 4 blocks from the Motherhouse. Because of my broken ankle last July, it was decided that I’d be safer living on Campus…so here I am. My Christmas letters will come at Valentine’s Day in 2012

There have been so many activities the past couple weeks. I will just list them. On December 8th about 25 Lion’s Club members came and sang for and with us. Following their singing we all had pizza in the dining room. The Strings Concert, December 9th, was to a jam packed Chapel. Then the St. Francis Community Chorale Concert on the 11th was to another full house. Tuesday Brothers in Harmony came to sing for the Sisters in Clare Residence. These are a group of guys who just enjoy singing together—and they do it very well. On Friday the 16th was the Age to Age Concert. How twelve people can make such great music is hard for me to understand…but they DO it. These are professional musicians who do a splendid job. If ever you have opportunity to hear them, go to their concert. In preparation for all our guests we got the house beautifully decorated with the help of a group of dedicated volunteers and staff. Christmas is present everywhere! After Chapel, my favorite place is the area right outside Chapel with the tall tree next to the burning fireplace. That is a cozy spot.

Friday afternoon I went to the First Grade program at Lindbergh School. I read to one of the First Grade Classes several times a month. It brought back memories of the many Christmas Programs we had in the schools where I worked. I was amazed at the many songs the children learned for the program…and they were so well behaved, too.

On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12th, Father Tony Kroll presided at our Bilingual Liturgy. We have these several times a year. We are getting better at singing the Spanish songs! It helps, too, to have Sr. Maurita lead the singing.

Our big Christmas mailing was sent out the end of November. MANY people have returned the paper ornaments with their prayer intentions. These ornaments are hung on two big Christmas trees in Chapel. We all pray for all these donors daily. Then in January each of us will receive a number of these cards as the donors we individually pray for each day.

The Department being recognized in December is the Rehab Department. Those three ladies work hard at keeping us mobile and limber. They are gentle but firm in helping us do what we need to do to move as best we can.

Sunday afternoon I took a little trip out to Camp Ripley to see all the wreaths—a wreath with a large red ribbon at every grave marker. Two semi-trucks brought the wreaths to the Camp and over 350 volunteers place them at the sites on December 10th. There are 4,000+ persons buried at this Veterans Cemetery. My eyes filled with tears just at the sight of it. God bless these men and women who have served our country. May God take care of and bless the families of these men and women.

Our Advent Penance Service is at 6 p.m. tonight.

On Christmas Eve, the singing starts at 7 p.m. Mass is at 7:30 p.m., with treats and visiting after Mass in St. Francis Hall. Our Christmas Day Mass is at 8:30 a.m. You are invited to join us.

The Blood Mobile is coming January 11th (1—7 p.m.), 12th (1—7 p.m.) and 13th (8 a.m.—2 p.m.).

I wish you a Merry Christmas. My prayer for you is from our Franciscan Prayer Book. ”We rejoice again, O God, at this feast of our salvation, seeing in Your coming the promise of Eternal Life. May our hearts by filled with gratitude for the Great Gift You bestowed on us at Christmas. May we always welcome You into our lives, God-with-us. Amen”

Peace, Sister Mary Lou

December 6 is the Feast of St. Nicholas

2011-12-07T10:33:00.000-06:00

Second week of Advent…and the week is almost half over.

St. Nicholas came to the Motherhouse dining rooms this noon. He brought a treat for all those who were good! He gave out either a chocolate bar or a bag of Planters Peanuts.

Sisters Maurita and Elise led us in singing, “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and other Christmas songs. When we were kids St. Nicholas brought us a big bag of salted peanuts in the shell and maybe a little candy or oranges or apples. I remember, with a smile, the fun we had at our Catholic schools on the Feast of St. Nicholas.

St. Francis Hall is decorated for the many events that are held there during the Christmas Season. The first one was the Morrison County Ministerial Association luncheon last Thursday. About 25 folks came for a delicious noon meal and time of sharing.

Last Saturday we had an Advent Day of Reflection, a retreat day. The presenter was Sister Sue Togersen, CSJ from Minneapolis. There were about 40 sisters and friends who came for the day. All who attended were very appreciative of the talks and reflection time. One of the reflection questions she gave was, “What ‘something new’ is God asking of you this Advent?” I can ponder that one question for a long time.

Saturday evening I was privileged to attend the Heartland Symphony Orchestra concert at Charles D. Martin Auditorium here in Little Falls. The music was GREAT. After the intermission we got to sing Christmas Carols with the Orchestra. The last song was the “Hallelujah Chorus.” The Orchestra is made up of about 50 musicians from the Brainerd, Little Falls and surrounding area. A group of singers from the Central Lakes College in Brainerd led us in the singing.

Thursday is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is an important feast for our Franciscan Community. We start the day with Morning Prayer together in Chapel, then a festive brunch. Mass is at 11 a.m. and then after 4:15 p.m. Evening Prayer we will have a special dinner. We will have special table decorations.

Two big events coming up in the next few days are the Strings Christmas Concert Friday evening at 7 p.m. in our Sacred Heart Chapel and the St. Francis Chorale Christmas concert at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11th, also in Chapel.

Wednesday evening those who wish to take part can come to the Convent kitchen to make cookies and have a cookie exchange. That is always so much fun. I can’t take part this year, but I will again next year.

God bless you. Sr. Mary Lou

First week of Advent

2011-11-30T17:02:00.000-06:00

Here we are in the middle of the first week of Advent. I took a picture of the Advent Wreath in chapel with one candle lit. I never saw such a blurry picture! I’ll try to do better next week with two candles lit. During Advent Sunday Masses start with the chapel lights dimmed to show darkness/waiting and Rita Hacker playing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” on the harp. It is a very nice way to put one in the Advent/waiting mood.

Our Sister DeSales, age 96, died Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. So now we have another saint in heaven. Her funeral was Tuesday, the 29th, the Feast of All Franciscan Saints. Sr. DeSales was the last member of her immediate family to die and also the last member of her Reception Class to die. May she be enjoying Life with the Lord.

I just went to first floor at the Center to look at the things for “Caring By Sharing.” There is a room full of BEAUTIFUL items…and more being added each day. This year’s “Caring By Sharing” project will be to help support the Minnesota Military Family Foundation (MMFF) this Christmas season. The MMFF is a community-sponsored fund founded in November 2004. Contributions made will go to help local military families by purchasing Christmas gifts for children and groceries for families of deployed military members. For every $1 that a person donates, they will have a chance to win one of the donated baskets/gifts of their choice. Every winner will get a beautiful gift! And the MMFF will get a beautiful gift, too!

Speaking of beautiful gifts, our employees gave a beautiful gift of $2,756.50 to the Morrison County United Way Campaign. WOW!!! Thank you for your generosity. God bless you.

Another lovely 1,000-piece puzzle got completed over the weekend. This big bird with 31 little birds as part of the picture was another hard one. But the puzzlers just kept working. The free-form edges were a challenge to even get it started. Now they are working on another rectangle puzzle of a peacock with tail spread out—LOTS of blue and gray! They will be at this one for a while, too.

Saturday there will be an Advent Retreat Day. “The Mystery of the Incarnation-reclaiming the sacredness of all matter” is the theme. The presenter is Sister Corrina Thomas, FSPA. She will assist participants in reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation through the lens of Franciscan spirituality and values in our fragmented world of today. Emmanuel, God With Us, provides the context for a loving relationship with all of creation.

Christmas concerts are on the way. The Strings concert is Friday, December 9 at 7 p.m. in our Sacred Heart Chapel. The St. Francis Community Chorale is Friday, December 11th also at 7 p.m. in our Chapel. And Music Center recitals are this I weekend: Friday (the 2nd) at 7 p.m., Saturday (3rd) at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Sunday (4th) at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. If you like music, this is the place to be.

God bless you. Be safe in the snow and on icy roads.

Sister Mary Lou

First snowfall of the season

2011-11-21T14:17:00.002-06:00

We got our first real snowfall yesterday—about 5 inches here, windy, poor visibility and very slippery roads. Some guests who were here for the funeral yesterday spent an extra night with us and then left for home this morning. Sounded to me like a good thing to do.

Last week I wrote about Sr. Blanche’s death on Sunday morning. Her funeral was on Thursday. Then Monday early afternoon Sr. Jeanette Martell went to meet the Lord. Her funeral was Saturday. May they both be enjoying life with the Lord and being reunited with their family who have gone before them.

Wednesday afternoon the Community Relations Department personnel were honored. These folks certainly do a lot of work to keep the world informed about activities of our Franciscan Community and our ministries. Thanks you to each of you for all that you do.

On Wednesday was Give to the Max Day. We had many generous donors. With the matching grant we had a total of nearly $17,500. God bless each who donated. There were a number of non-profit organizations at the Great River Arts building during the day. Kathy, our volunteer coordinator, spent most of the day there or driving Sisters back and forth. I was there several hours. Terry, from our kitchen, made Chicken Wild Rice Soup for noon lunch. There was still a little left when I got there so I had a good supper. We had a nice display showing some of our Franciscan Ministries. Horizon Health had their table right across from our display. Sister Lillian was so surprised to see her sister’s picture on their big banner. Kathy had her little Smart Car all decked out to remind passers-by of the Give to the Max Day event. This was the first time we were involved in Give to the Max.

Sr. Lillian had some paintings on display at the Great River Arts exhibit. Yesterday there was a special reception where folks could meet some of the 30 artists whose works in paintings, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry and more are on display. The show will last through January 5th, 2012.

On Thursday evening, Sister Julien Dirkes received the Book of Golden Deeds Award at the VFW, for her many works of service throughout the Little Falls Community. The Little Falls Exchange Club presents the award. Sister Bea Eichten led the invocation. About 15 of our Sisters attended the meal and program. This award had been given out every year since 1972. Sr. Carla Przybilla and Sr. Maureen Blenkush had received this award in the past. As I looked over the list of past recipients, I was surprised at how many I knew. Guess that’s what happens when one has been around for a while!

This month we are remembering the State of Missouri as our State of the Month. We started the day with pancakes with black walnuts baked in them. Yummy!

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday. We all have so many things to be thankful for. Even on the bad days, there are many blessings. I am thankful to all of you who read my blog.

Let us pray, too, for safety on the highways for all winter long. It seems always to take a while for drivers to re-remember how to drive in/on snow and ice. Please be careful.

God bless you,

Sister Mary Lou

Convent news times two

2011-11-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

November 11, 2011

May God care for all Veterans, both living and deceased…and their families? Our church bell tolled eleven times at 11 a.m.

Here is the end of a very busy week. This will be a very short blog.

Our blood drive last week was tremendous. Our goal was 245 and we received 255 units of blood. God bless all those generous donors. I say that every time and I mean it every time

Our Franciscan Harvest Supper also was a great success. We served 454 hungry people a delicious meal. The proceeds will support both St. Francis Health and Recreation Center programs and St. Francis Music Center programs. Besides the good food there was lots of good visiting going on.

Last week I took a picture of Josie with the good bread she baked that day.

Next Wednesday is “Give to the Max” day. Please be generous in your giving. Franciscan sisters of Little Falls are one of the 20,000 nonprofits in MN. We have a matching grant up to $7,500 for all the donations we receive that day.

November 14, 2011

Since it was so late in the week when I wrote last week, I will just add a paragraph and post it all at the same time.

Early Sunday morning (7:10 a.m.) our Sister Mary Blanche Fyle went to heaven. She was 91. Our Franciscan Wake will be Wednesday at 7p.m. And her funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m. May she be enjoying life with the Lord and being with her other family members. Peace and strength to her sister, Sister Sharon, also a member of our Community, and her other family members.

Thursday is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Patroness of all Third Order Franciscans. Next Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King. And the following Sunday is already the First Sunday of Advent.

Peace and blessings, Sister Mary Lou

Happy Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day

2011-11-03T14:06:00.001-05:00

For yesterday, I wish you Happy Feast of All Saints, those already in heaven, and the rest of us in the process of becoming Saints--Saints in the making. And today, All Souls Day, we remember and pray for all our deceased family members, friends and all who have died. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

I am late getting this week’s blog written…and in a couple days it will be time to write another one! Today was the first day of our 3-day blood drive. Wonderful results today—our goal was 90 and we had 106 units of blood donated. My hope is that the next two days will be as good. I call the Party Line radio program to remind people of the blood drive. The last two days after my call, two new donors called and made an appointment to donate blood. That is great. I will report next week on our total collection. After one gives blood, they always give you a sticker that says, “I gave blood today” but the stickers today also said that and then “And I got a good cookie!” That last was a new sentence. We make our own fresh cookies and I’ve heard some people say they come for the cookies. The cookies this week are: decorated Halloween cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and peanut butter cookies.

Tomorrow is the first Thursday of the month again. (How did it get here so fast?) Anyway, there is Taize Prayer at 6 p.m. in the Chapel Gathering Space.

Saturday night is the night for our Harvest Supper fund raiser…fried chicken, sausage, garden vegetables, cole slaw and homemade bars. Come with a good appetite.

On Halloween Day we were invited to dress-up for some fun in the dining room after we had our lunch. There were some great costumes. The Housekeeping Department came as the Seven Dwarfs. Sneezy was going through the lunch line ahead of me. I guessed him to be Sneezy even before I say his name tag. As they left the dining room they were singing , “HI Ho, Hi Ho it’s Off to Work We Go.”

Last Saturday the Sisters were invited to the Olive Branch Retreat Center on Fuller Lake, near Grey Eagle. We had owned that property for about 10 years and then sold it. The new owners changed the name and did some fixing-up and they wanted us to see the work they had done. It is beautiful. About 40 of us accepted the invitation and enjoyed our visit. You can check them out on the web at http://www.olivebranchretreat.com/ .

Every year in November, Sr. Joel puts up a display where we list those who have died since last November 2nd: 2 priests from the Diocese of St. Cloud, 4 of our Sisters, 66 relatives of Sisters, and 118 Friends, Donors or Associates are listed this year.

Another 1,000-piece puzzle was finished the other day. It was a beautiful wolf family. The irregular outside frame took a little while to finish, then, the rest went fast.

Let us pray for the safety of deer hunters…and wish them a successful harvest. Too many cars are having encounters with deer. My sister-in-law had one last week.

Peace and Blessings on each of you!

(Pictured below are yours truly on the right with Sister Georgine, the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph from Asumbi, Kenya, Sisters Claudia and Mary Idah, and Jeff Odendahl from the Office of Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation in the chicken costume)

Two months from today is Christmas!

2011-10-25T17:19:00.000-05:00

Do you have your shopping done and the cards sent out? Not me.

Last Sunday was World Mission Sunday—a day to remember and support Missionaries throughout the world who spread the Word of God. Let us support missionary activity through prayer and economic aid. Sister Joel put up a nice ambiance reminder and then also used the altar hanging we received from Africa. We’ve had many Sisters serve in the foreign missions since our first venture of “To Peru in 62.”

Sunday afternoon was special because about 15 KC’s came to the Motherhouse and served cake and ice cream to all of us and our guests. What a nice treat. They have been doing this for at least the last 10+ years. Thank you, gentlemen. We are grateful.

Tomorrow we will have a Farewell get-together to thank Sister Donna for her 36 years of service in the Community Relations Department. That’s a lot of typing and writing of the weekly Community News Letters. Thank you, Sister, for all that time and work spent at the computer.

Thursday evening we will have the Take Back the Night program and shirt display in the St. Francis Gym. This program helps make us aware of the extent of domestic violence. At the in-service I attended this morning we were told that 1 of 4 women are assaulted by their partner and 12 were killed in MN last year. She also talked about the ways children are affected by domestic violence. Hands of Hope, a local group, helped over 300 people last year. Let us work and pray for an end to this abuse.

Tuesdays and Thursdays we’ve been watching a series of ½-hour DVDs to let us know about the changes in the Roman Missal that will be taking place the First Sunday of Advent. These have been informative.

Last week many Sisters were helping clean grapes for juice and jelly.

And last week, too, they finished stuffing envelopes for our Christmas Appeal. Here are the boxes all ready to go to the post office in a couple weeks. Thank you, volunteers.

The Music Center will have two Music Recitals Sunday afternoon—at 1 and 3 p.m. in Room 242 at St. Francis Center.

Last Saturday I attended the SFO Fall Gathering at the St. Paul Cathedral. It’s been many years since I visited the Cathedral. It is such a beautiful Church. While on my way to the basement meeting room I came across a plaque of St. Justin on the wall. Since I received the name “Justin” on my Reception Day, that saint is still special to me. The meeting was good and the high-point was Mass in the main Church.

God bless you. Sister Mary Lou

BRRRRRRRRR: It takes a little getting used to 40 degree temps

2011-10-17T14:16:00.001-05:00

I am grateful for the bits of rain we had last week. I expect we will get more. As I looked out the window just now a large flock of geese just went over and the ½ moon is still visible on this bright sunshiny morning.

It was the best spent $10 and 2 ½ hours of entertainment I’ve had in some time. Yesterday four of us went to Brainerd to attend the GERITOL FROLICS, directed by Ed Yunker. The performers are ages 55 to 89. They sing and dance and tell stories and just make you laugh and clap your hands. The dances are great and the singing is fantastic. The 5-person band makes music fill the jam-packed auditorium. It is a cast and crew of 65 from Brainerd, and surrounding area. If you ever have the chance, I’d urge you to go to the Geritol Frolics. It is 8 performances on two weekends in October.

Each month we are highlighting a different state in the dining room. This month it is Michigan. The tables have little stand-ups with interesting facts about the state. Fluoridated water originated in Grand Rapids January 25, 1945. Apples are Michigan’s largest and most valuable fruit crop. “Snap, Crackle and Pop” were born in Battle Creek MI...and of course we know about the cars.

Each month, too, a different department is recognized, October is the time to honor the Franciscan Life Center. Sr. Bernice has lots to do with scheduling retreats, prayer days, workshops Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina prayer etc., etc. etc. Thank you, Sister, for your hard work,

On Friday evening, we had, a new to me, prayer experience, “Visio Divina.” You may have experienced “Lectio Divina,” a method of praying with Scripture. “Visio Divina” (Latin for “divine seeing”) is a method for praying with images, pictures. We used the image of the creation as portrayed in the St. John’s Bible. Visio Divina invites us to see beyond first and second impressions, to see and be surprised and transformed by God, Who is never limited or tied to an image, but speaks through them. Dawn Carillo led us in this beautiful time of prayer.

This past weekend we had six couples make the Marriage Encounter at St. Francis Center. Father Michael, OSB, was presider at their Saturday evening Mass.

All is in readiness for 75 volunteers to come “stuff 16,500 envelopes” for our annual Christmas Appeal. They will get the job done in two days! The funds raised will be used for equipment to assist our elder Sisters who reside in our nursing care area of Clare Residence.

The Blood Mobile will be here November 2nd, 3rd and 4th. On November 5th we have a Harvest Supper fund raiser. There is a Soup Supper February 4th and a Spaghetti Supper April 21st. I read all these things in our Community Newsletter in a six-inch long listing of upcoming events.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

What a difference a week makes!

2011-10-11T12:35:00.000-05:00

We’ve had many nice warm days, a tiny bit of rain and the golden and red trees have lost a good share of their leaves. The flowers in the little bed near the west convent door are still beautiful. For the middle of October this is still very nice.

I need to make a correction from last week’s article. I said 150,000 children rode Orphan Trains from New York City to find new homes. The more accurate number is 250,000.

Yesterday we had 7 new Associates make their one-year Commitment as Franciscan Associates—so for the year that is a total of 13 new Associates. A total of 53 Associates were recognized for their 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 year anniversaries. We had about 60 guests for the Mass, lunch and the afternoon program. Our Sister Jean Schwieters was the program speaker. She talked about what we need to do to become a saint.

One day last week I rode my scooter out to the cemetery to visit the Sisters there and to see where Sr. Felix is buried. Then on my way home I stopped to look at the wagon load of pumpkins and squash near our garden. We will have lots of good stuff to eat for most of the winter. Thank you, Sr. Ruth and helpers, for all your hard work to make this possible.

On Saturday Sr. Mary Ann and I went to Browns Valley for the Canonical Establishment of a new Secular Franciscan Fraternity—St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity. It was a very happy day for this group. (One thing I know is that Browns Valley is a long way from Little Falls.) It was a very wonderful day.

Saturday night I attended the Heartland Orchestra Concert at Charles D. Martin Auditorium here in Little Falls. This is the 35th Anniversary of providing live symphonic music to Central Minnesota. I was delighted to see the 30+ students from Little Falls High School and Middle School, Forestview Middle School in Baxter, Brainerd High School, and Ripple River Strings and Great River String in Crosby playing with the Heartland Orchestra. What a wonderful opportunity for these students to play with a top-notch orchestra. It was an evening of beautiful music.

I just noticed in my calendar that Saturday, October 15, is National Grouch Day! How many of us qualify to celebrate that day?

Blessings on you and those you love.

Sister Mary Lou

Feast of St. Francis!

2011-10-05T17:05:00.000-05:00

What a glorious day! Franciscan Father John Schwieters, OFM, brother of our Sr. Jean, was celebrant for our Community Mass this morning. We had many guests. We had good music and we sang some of our favorite hymns (“Salve Sancte Pater” by our Sr. Theophane Ahles, “Prayer Before the San Damiano Cross” by our Sr. Rita Barthel, “Francis, Friend of All Things Living”, and “May We Follow in the Footsteps of Jesus.”)

It is bright and sunny and near the 80 degrees we had yesterday. What more could one want? Not much. Some rain would be good. It is really dry. But I’m not sure farmers trying to harvest corn and beans want rain.

The Mississippi River below the dam is really low. There are big rocks sticking out everywhere. “They say” September was one of the driest Septembers ever. We have some beautiful red and yellow trees here and in other places in town… feast for the eyes. With all the wind the leaves are falling by the bushel…a nice sound to walk in.

Last evening we had the Transitus service. It is a remembrance of the death of St. Francis and him giving his last words to six of his faithful followers. The Transitus is a very prayerful, reverent and thoughtful experience.

Last Sunday we had the Blessing of Animals at Washington Park. There were about 40 dogs of all sizes, many cats, one rabbit and a turtle that I saw. After the closing prayer the animals and people had a treat. This was about the 15th year that we’ve done the Animal Blessing. One thing I always marvel at is that the dogs can be yipping and barking and once the prayers and singing starts, they are all quiet. A number of dogs were interested in the rabbit, but owners kept them just far enough away that they couldn’t touch her.

Last Saturday was the 53rd Orphan Train Reunion. Three original Orphan Train riders were present. They are ages 99, 98 and 94. (Our Sister Justina (age 99 ¾) is one of the original Orphan Train Riders and came to Minnesota in 1912.) The Orphan Trains ran from New York City from 1854 to 1929 and brought over 150,000 children to new homes in 47 States. The children who now attend the reunions are the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Orphan Train riders. I heard several stories of the lives of some of these riders. Our library has quite a few books on the Orphan Train riders.

St. Alexius Parish in West Union, MN, is my home parish. The first Sunday in October is always the date for their Sausage Supper. A number of us Sisters attended. The sausage and sauerkraut were very good…as was everything else. By the time I left for home they had already sold over 1,600 tickets. Pretty good for a parish of 75 families!

The Community Gardens are being cleaned up and readied for winter…and in waiting for the next growing season.

This picture shows part of the display that was at Ministry Day at the St. Cloud Civic Center on Sept.26th.

Sr. Ruth told me that last week she processed thirty-five 5-gallon pails of apples. These will be used for pies and sauce and apple juice. That is a lot of apples!

Thursday morning of this week is when we Sisters will get our flu shots. They are effective. The shots and good hygiene habits kept us flu-free last year. God is good.

Pax et Bonum

Sister Mary Lou

This is the Day the Lord has Made

2011-09-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

This is the Day the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it! It is a perfect fall day.

Sunday evening our dear Sister Felix Mushel took leave of us for her heavenly home. She has been sick for some time. We miss her. We will have a Wake for her on Friday evening and the Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday at 11 a.m. Sr. Felix, pray for us.

The kitchen has been a very busy place these days with cutting up cabbage for sauerkraut, making sauerkraut, cleaning grapes for jelly and juice, preparing apples for pies, sauce, and freezing, and other kinds of food preserving. We are blest with so much good food.

Saturday evening the Staples Men’s Choir did a benefit concert in support of Project Haiti. Those 30 men did a super job of entertainment. After the intermission there were two moving testimonials about the work being done by the Project Haiti team in the hospital in Pignon, Haiti. Besides many other works, this group has pledged to take care of, free of charge, all children age birth to 5 who need medical care. The attendees at the concert were VERY generous in their support of Project Haiti. Thank you, Gentlemen, for your wonderful care for these poor people.

Sunday morning/afternoon the Nursing School class of 1961 was here to celebrate their 50th class reunion. So many memories, so much joy, so much to share. At the end of Mass Father Stangl had a beautiful blessing pray for the deceased teachers and members of the class.

Monday was Diocesan Ministry Day, held at the St. Cloud Civic Center. There were 1,000 people in attendance. It was a wonderful day. Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, OP was the main speaker. His first talk was, “The Community of God’s Anointed.” And the afternoon talk was, “The Breathing of God.’ Both were excellent talks. Then we could choose three of 43 one-hour breakout sessions.

Bishop John F. Kinney was the presider at the Mass. I was most touched by the special blessing the Bishop had for all the Religious who have served to build up the Church since the beginning of our Diocese. Several of our Sisters were presenters in the small-group sessions.

Sr. Karen and Alex did a meaningful presentation of St. Francis and the Wolf and ways to practice peace and non-violence in our daily lives. I was so grateful to be part of this wonderful day. The next Diocesan Ministry Day is scheduled for September 13, 2013.

Franciscan Sisters, Franciscan Associates and Franciscan Community Volunteers all had booths in the Exhibit Hall.

Sunday, October 2nd we will have the Blessing of Animals at noon in Washington Park, across the street from the Episcopal Church. We welcome dogs, cats, rabbits, or whatever animal you choose to bring.

Monday evening at 7 p.m., in our Motherhouse Chapel, we will have The Transitus. This is a prayerful enactment of the death of St. Francis,

On Tuesday, October 4th we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis, our Community’s patron saint. The Secular Franciscans and Franciscan Associates are invited for the Mass. Sr. Jean’s brother, Father John Schwieters, OFM, visiting from Brazil, will be the presider at the St. Francis Day Mass. In my early teaching career, the Feast of St. Francis was a free-day—so in the afternoon we would drive around looking at colored leaves.

God bless and continue to take care of you.

Sister Mary Lou

I am Grateful for the Rain

2011-09-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

Another overcast and windy day. I am grateful for the rain. I hope it is enough to do Mother Earth some good…and dampen the forest fires “up north.”

We had a great group of about 200 guests for the Donor Appreciation event last Sunday. After the Mass and a delicious beef roast dinner, we had an entertaining program. Several of the many Sisters who have ministered in Africa talked a bit about where they worked and the types of work they did while in Africa. Liz Rydeen was the MC and talked about her trip last December to Kenya. We were reminded again of the wonderful ways our One World Grant monies are making a difference in the lives of babies and students in this far-away country. Sisters Idah and Claudia, from Kenya, also spoke to us. Liz is mentoring the two Sisters and showing them how to write grants to further their ministries in Kenya.

Sunday, too, our friend, Larry Anderson from Morris brought us another pickup load of cabbage and tomatoes. Sauerkraut making will happen this week.

Every month we honor some department here at St. Francis. This month it is St. Clare Library staff and volunteers. Unless one spends a little time observing all that happens, it’s hard to imagine the many types of services that are offered there. Thank you, Pat, and staff, for your many services to us.

The other evening when Sr. Fran was scrubbing potatoes for supper, she looked more carefully at the potato in her hand. It was a Siamese Twin potato with exact markings on the front, back and sides—very unusual!

Tuesday afternoon some of the Sisters on second floor were busy making apple pies for some future meal. Sister Rachel and Sr. Cordy were enjoying putting the ingredients together to make the finished product. It sure looked and smelled good.

Saturday evening will have a wonderful concert. The Staples Men’s Choir will be singing in our Sacred Heart Chapel at 7:30 p.m. They are a delight to listen to. It is a fund raiser sponsored by the Prostrate Cancer Group to support training of urologists at a clinic in Haiti.

St. Gabriel’s School of Nursing Class of 1961 will celebrate their 50th anniversary by having tours, lunch and Mass here at the Motherhouse…a day of celebrating ministry and memories. Thank you for your years of service to the sick.

May the Lord continue to bless and care for you.

Peace,

Sister Mary Lou

Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross

2011-09-14T14:59:00.001-05:00

Fall is coming. The temperatures are on the downward slope. Sr. Ruth is busy picking the last of the garden produce before the freeze predicted for tonight. Sr. Joel has been busy making pickles. In the kitchen I saw several gallons of bread and butter pickles and then outside in the courtyard, in the sun was a cart full of dill pickles.

Our Friend, Larry Anderson from Morris brought us a pickup load of vegetables Sunday…335 pounds of cabbage, pails of green peppers, and boxes of beautiful tomatoes. Next week Sr. Ruth will be make sauerkraut. Thank you, Larry, for your generosity.

Cool temperatures would have been had to believe on Saturday and Sunday at the Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair when it was sunny and in the mid to upper 80s. For a few people it was too much heat and they needed medical attention and needed to get to cooler places.

I spent a lot of time the two days looking at and complimenting vendors on their beautiful works of art. They use their talents and creativity so well. We had a good turnout of shoppers both days. I really like this city event…and it is good to see my returning vendors on Kidder Street and Broadway each year. We had 34 vendors staying at St. Francis Center for a few nights. Many vendors stayed in St. Cloud, Brainerd, Long Prairie and other places a distance from Little Falls.

Another event on the weekend was the “We HONOR THEE” American Flag display sponsored by the Little Falls Exchange Club. There were 1,000 American flags. I had goose-bumps as I turned the corner and saw all the flags blowing gently in the wind. It was beautiful. This community project was intended to promote Americanism and to be a charitable fundraiser for “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon—Morrison County.” This program helps returning veterans and their families and alerts them to services available to them in the challenges they face when they come home.

Tonight is the first of Sister Maristell Schanen’s 11-part series of talks: Christology in an Evolving Church. The hour-long presentations are at 6:15 every other Wednesday in St. Francis Hall. Just to be present for the talks is an honor…to say nothing of the amount of wisdom she shares with us. We are so lucky.

Saturday and Sunday we have a Campus Ministry retreat at St. Francis Center. And on Saturday is also the Fall Day of Reflection. Then on Sunday, the18th, we have Donor Appreciation Day. For that we are expecting about 200 guests.

Monday we celebrated Sr. Julien’s birthday and on Thursday we will celebrate Sr. Bea Eichten’s birthday. Sr. Bea is our Community Minister. We are grateful for the lives of these two women who do so much for our Franciscan Community.

For my birthday I wanted rosette cookies in the shape of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades {because I play cribbage every opportunity I have.} So that is what Terry made for my treat. They were yummy!

With delight many Sisters and employees were on hand to welcome two Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph (FSJ) from Kenya when they arrived at St. Francis Convent on September 8th. Sister Claudia Wandabwa and Sister Mary Idah Ajwang will be with us for two months. While here they will continue to nurture and deepen the relationship between our two communities and also learn about grant writing and development. Welcome Sisters.

This month New Hampshire is the state whose foods are being featured in the cafeteria. Some menu items for today are: McIntosh apple coffee cake, mock lobster salad, maple glazed turkey, and pumpkin mousse.

God bless and continue to care of you.

Sister Mary Lou

God Bless All Those Who Labor

2011-09-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

God bless all those who labor in the home, on the farm, in the fields, the offices and factories, the Church, or wherever you labor. Lord, I ask you blessings on all laborers. And I pray for all those who are unemployed and who so desire to labor. I am grateful for all those who labor with and for us here at the Motherhouse.

And Labor Day signals the beginning of a new school year for LOTS of students. I always loved the beginning of the new school year—new beginnings, new students and new teachers, new books and curriculum, new challenges and new hopes and joys. God, bless all teachers and students from pre-school through doctorate programs. May the Holy Spirit enlighten and guide you through your studies.

Either I wasn’t too observant or not much happened around here last week. We received a donation of fresh sweet corn that was a real hit for supper the other evening. We had a meeting of about 25 Directors of Nursing from all over the State. But none-the-less, it was a busy and good week.

Sister Julien, Motherhouse administrator, has a birthday today, but we will celebrate it next Monday. She does so much for all of us and she wears so many hats, it is hard to keep up with her.

The 39th Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair is next Saturday and Sunday. We have many vendors stay here at St. Francis Center Friday and Saturday nights. I love the Arts and Crafts Fair because I like to see the many and wonderful ways so many people use their talents to create beautiful items. There will be about 600 vendors in the city for the 2-day event.

Here is another of the Elizabeth’s beautiful wooden banners. This one honors Brother Fire. St. Francis says, “Praised be You, my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

God bless you and keep you safe and healthy.

Sister Mary Lou

Another busy week here at the Motherhouse

2011-08-29T10:47:00.000-05:00

Sunday, at the end of Mass, we had the commissioning of our new group of Franciscan Community Volunteers: Julia Sias, Anna Konopacky, Brandon Montgomery and Tamera Wiley. This is our second year of sponsoring Franciscan Volunteers. They will be working in the Saint Cloud area with those who are poor and needy. Individually they will grow in the three areas of service, community and spirituality.
Pictured are the new volunteers with the Franciscan Sisters of the Welcoming House.

Saturday evening we hosted the 50-year reunion of the class of 1961 from St. Francis High School. Twenty-eight ladies and many husbands attended the 5 p.m. Mass and had a delicious dinner afterwards. At the end of Mass they listed and lit a candle for the 11 deceased members of the class. Sr. Elise, staff member at the time these ladies were in school, gave an inspirational homily. Other staff, who were available, also attended the gathering.

On Saturday, too, it was announced that Kathy Whittington has been hired as the new Volunteer Coordinator. Now Jenifer Bash will become the new Health and Recreation Department Director. Welcome to both ladies to their new jobs.

Thursday, August 25th, feast of King St. Louis and patron of the Franciscan Third Order, we had the commitment ceremony of Elizabeth Black as a new Franciscan Associate. In her request to be an Associate she said, “I desire to be an Associate of this Franciscan Community of Little Falls, Minnesota because I wish to be sister to all of you and to all of God’s creatures. With you and with God’s help I want to make the world a more loving, just and peaceful community. Together with you, l want to carry the spirit of Francis and Clare into our world.” Elizabeth is pictured center with Franciscan Sisters and Franciscan Associate Ministers: L to R: Sisters Therese Lenz, Therese Furnstahl, Bea Eichten (Community Minister), Elizabeth, Judy Virnig (Franciscan Associate Co-Minister) and Geri Dietz (Franciscan Associate Minister)

Once a month the Values and Activities Committees, recognize and say thank-you to the staff of various departments. We recognize the Technology Department this month of August. Elsie and her assistant, Anne, help us all out by fixing our computer problems. They also “take care of” the sound system troubles in Chapel and St. Francis Hall and wherever else we have glitches. Thank you for your wonderful services, Elsie and Anne, pictured here with Sister Eileen.

Last week, also, Sr. Cordy finished the painting of the house where they did ministry in Tennessee some years back. The picture will be displayed at the current place of ministry in TN.

And last Wednesday we had a one-day Red Cross blood drive. Our goal was 80. We received 94 units of blood and 9 people were turned away for whatever good reasons. The Red Cross likes coming here as we always have many generous donors and meet our goal. The donors like our home-made cookies, too. Thank you, generous donors.

Last week we also finished a butterfly puzzle. And a live Monarch butterfly hatched. Sr. Bernice brought it for the Sisters to see before she released it outside (pictured below).

The Directors of Nursing will be here for their meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

We have a Bilingual Mass on Friday.

Praise God with me that my broken ankle is healing nicely and I can wear two shoes again! Who would think that an exciting event? If you ever wore that big black boot, you’d know.

In a week we have Labor Day and the beginning of the new school year. Once a teacher, always a teacher. I always got excited about the beginning of the new school year…and I still do.

Pax et Bonum. Peace and all good.

Sister Mary Lou

God is Always Here Watching Over Us

2011-08-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

These weeks come around so fast. And it was another busy week. I took this picture of the shadow of the cross over the front door of the Convent at noon the other day. We know that God is always here watching over us.

Our Sister Margarita Weiner went to heaven late Thursday night. I was scheduled to sit with her 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. and she died at 11:23 p.m. (But my angel woke me up at 12:40 so that’s when I found out she had gone to heaven.) When a Sister is dying the Sisters hold vigil with her. We welcomed her body back to the Motherhouse with a short prayer service at 3:30 Sunday afternoon with a Franciscan Wake at 7 p.m. Her Funeral is today at 11 a.m. The Archives staff does a very nice display of her life and ministry.

Our retreat with Sister Joanne Meyer, OSF, was a good one. The Testament of St. Francis was the topic. I had read the Testament many times. Now it makes such good sense to me. There were about 40 of us in the retreat.

On Sunday we celebrated five of our Sisters who have been Little Falls Franciscans for 60 years. That’s a long time. Each has done such great works of ministry. The picture shows them at Mass renewing their vows.

For several weeks now we have been eating apples from our orchard. They are so good. The trees are heavy with an abundant crop.

The other day the dietary department celebrated Texas with appropriate foods and a counter display. Menu items included: Texas Chili, corn bread, country fired steaks, Texas cut potatoes and cake with pecan frosting. A couple weeks ago we celebrated California. I’ll have to wait to see which state is next.

Next Saturday the class of 1961 from St. Francis High School is coming for a class reunion. The girls always enjoy visiting with one another and coming back to see where they lived and went to school. It is always good to have them come, too.

Our new group of Franciscan Community Volunteers will be welcomed and commissioned nest Sunday. More about them next week.

The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be here Wednesday for a one-day blood drive from 1 to 7 p.m.
God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

Feast of the Assumption of Mary

2011-08-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

A little over and inch of rain Saturday night and a couple tenths last night. With all the rain there are little bunches of mushrooms popping up all over the north lawn. Yesterday was a beautiful day.

Yesterday we celebrated the 50th Jubilees of six of our Sisters. The 11 a.m. Liturgy was full of great singing and lots of good music. The altar area was beautiful with lovely flowers and the two 12-foot red banners with gold ribbons. The Sisters had many family and friends join them for the day. It truly was a day of Jubilee. In her welcome at the beginning of Mass, Sr. Bea listed some of the events happening in 1961 when these Sisters entered the Order. I’d forgotten some of those events.

Tonight Retreat starts for about 50 of us. Sister Joanne Meyer, OSF is the Retreat Director. The topic is: The Testament of Francis. I am looking forward to it. Retreat will end Sunday morning. Ahortly before the Jubilee Mass.

Next Sunday we celebrate the five 60- year Jubilarians. A am so amazed at and proud of all the good works these Sisters have done in their 75, 50 and 60 years of their Religious Life…students they’ve taught, sick they cared for, poor and needy they’ve helped in so many ways. They have been of service in such Franciscan ways.

It’s been a while since I included one of the wooden banners from the Canticle of Creatures by St. Francis. “Praise to You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.” (I am sure those people who suffer because of an over-abundance of water, don’t feel it such a blessing…and those in severe drought pray for and long-for the gift of rain and water.)

Last week, “they” finished the 1,000-piece puzzle of Wild Ducks and other wild birds. Many Sisters and others spend little slots of time putting in a piece or two at a time. And the end results are beautiful.

I will keep you in prayer this week while I am in retreat.

God bless and continue to care for you.

Sister Mary Lou

Paint-A-Thon, Green Fair, Earth Citizen Awards, 75th Jubilee

2011-08-10T14:05:00.000-05:00

Wednesday already! I’d better get this blog written before it is time to write the next one.

The Paint-A-Thon was washed out last Saturday. After a prayer, we fed approximately 65 painters a free, good breakfast at First United Church, starting at 6:46 a.m., had a safety talk and sent them on their way. The Franciscan Sisters donated 10 dozen cinnamon and caramel rolls for the breakfast. Most teams were just ready to start work when we had a heavy downpour. So that ended the painting hopes for the day. A second heavy shower came about 11:15. The homeowners and the teams will set a time during this week and the houses will all get painted. I know one house got painted the next day and the grateful homeowner served the team a full chicken dinner when they finished their work! Here we had about 2 ½ inches of rain on Saturday but other places in the county got from 3 to 5 inches of rain. At the breakfast, I met the new Oasis-Share-A-Meal director, Tim Poland. He will have big shoes to fill after all that Carol has done for the program these past 11 years.

Last Wednesday evening we had the fifth annual Green Fair Folk Festival. It was another very successful event. MANY people came to listen to good music, to learn about products and services that are earth friendly, to eat good food and have a good time.

We had many activities for the many children who came with their families. It was fun to just watch the children participate in all the activities and have such a good time. Blowing soap bubbles is always a favorite. We went through lots of soap for bubbles!

Fresh bread with peanut butter and jelly was another favorite. We used 14 loaves of bread (22 slices per loaf). Free ice water was another good treat. Terry was busy all evening refilling the three four-gallon containers. Daryl’s Dog House sold out of hot dogs. His dogs are 100% beef with no preservatives. The buns, too, made at Dutch Maid Bakery in St. Cloud, have no preservatives and are made fresh each day. Pizza Hut ran out of pizza and the dairy Queen brought in extra Dilly Bars to keep up with the demand.

The Second Annual Franciscan Earth Citizen awards were given to Sister Ruth Lentner, Bev Gerads and Gloria Castro. Recipients of this award have shown commitment to living by principles of the Earth Charter. Congratulations. To learn more about the Earth Charter check out www.earthcharterinaction.org.

The booklet given to guest s had two make-your-own laundry soap recipes and the directions for making your own T-shirt bags. At our house we have used these laundry soaps since the first year of the Green Fair. The Little Falls Mounted Police helped with car parking.

Sunday we celebrated Sister Helen Ann Klepaida’s 75th Jubilee. Many of her family and friends came to be with her. We had priests from three different Religious Orders concelebrating the Mass: a Jesuit, a Crosier Bishop and our Benedictine chaplain…and we had a lot of Franciscans in the congregation. It was a wonderful day.

During the Preparation of the Gifts at Mass, a small group of Sisters sang in Polish, “Serdeczna Matko,” a beautiful hymn to the Blessed Mother. They did a fantastic job!

Now this coming Sunday we are celebrating our six Golden Jubilarians. So far I’ve seen only a couple big red banners with gold ribbons that will be part of the ambiance. So we are getting ready for another big celebration. We look forward to seeing the many guests who will be with us for the day.

Peace and All Good.

Sister Mary Lou

Beautiful Sunflowers

2011-08-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

Outside our greenhouse we have a couple tall and beautiful sunflowers.

Some pretty damaging wind and rain again the last few days. God bless the folks who are cleaning up after all the mess…keep them safe and give them the energy they need.

This Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. we have the Green Fair Folk Festival here on the west parking lot at the Motherhouse. Music and ecological awareness are part of this event.

In 2004 it started out as a concert for peace and then since 2007 we enlarged the scope of activities for the Festival. Jennifer Basch, Volunteer Department director, said, “Care for creation is so important to the Franciscan Sisters that we formed a Campus Green Committee, whose mission was to accentuate green awareness and to “green” the campus in every way possible. The passion of the Green Committee members, combined with the love of music from St. Francis Music Center, blended into this unique community festival.”

Area fiddlers, the U-Rock bands, the Sestri Slavic women’s choir, the St. Francis Community Chorale and other groups will supply wonderful music. There will be food vendors on the grounds, also. One favorite food is fresh, home-made bread peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It will be a fun time for everyone.

Next Sunday we will honor Sister Helen Anne Klepaida for her 75 years as a Franciscan Sister. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated at 11 a.m. with a dinner and reception to follow. She has served in the health ministry throughout the years as a staff registered nurse, disaster Red Cross volunteer and public health nurse, and as a hospice nurse. Congratulations, Sister Helen Anne.

Saturday, August 6th, is the date for the Morrison County Paint-A-Thon. This event started in 1993. All volunteers and home owners are invited to First United Church for a 6:45 a.m. breakfast, pep and safety talk and a prayer to send them safely on their way to paint 8 homes. Those homes are located in Little Falls, Bowlus, Elmdale, Swanville and Royalton. I have been a member of this committee for a number of years. The Franciscan Sisters furnish 10 dozen cinnamon and caramel rolls for the breakfast. Please pray for favorable painting weather. Thanks.

Last week, Wednesday through Saturday, 18 of our Sisters attended the Annual Franciscan Federation Conference in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The theme of the conference was “Becoming a Sacred Flame: Francis, Clare and John’s Gospel.” Main speakers were Sister Nancy Schreck, OSF and Fr. Michael Blastic, OFM. Sister Carmen Barsody received the honoree award from our community for the many ways she sparks enthusiasm for our Franciscan charism.

That’s all for this week.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

July 26, 2011

2011-07-27T09:33:00.001-05:00

A couple really nice days right now. Sounds like the weather will be more active this coming night! Lord, protect us all from violent storms. Last Saturday morning we got 8/10s of an inch of rain in 25 minutes. I know some of you got more than that.

Saturday afternoon I went outside to get a bit of fresh air. Then I saw the pick-up by the Community Gardens and remembered that this was the day for the Community Garden Tour (Sponsored by Grace Covenant Church). So I went over to talk to Ron. He gave me a program of places that were on the list. Two of them were within two blocks of the Motherhouse…and two of them were right here on our campus. One of them was the Community Gardens that I’ve mentioned before—68 plots cared for by people of the area. The other was Sister Ruth’s Campus Garden along with the rhubarb patch, orchard, and other things. Sr. Ruth is a Horticulturalist and knows how to get the best results.

Then I went to Lucy’s home on St. Joseph Street. There were beautiful annuals, perennials and a vegetable patch…so many colorful flowers in such a small space…and one patch of “no mow” grass.

Next I went to the Barnes’ back yard on 8^th Ave. The first thing one sees is an arched gate covered with a huge grape vine with lots of grapes. Then I saw a mix of plants and antiques. Very nice.

While talking about plants, I stopped to see “Sr. Deb’s Garden.” Sr. Deb died last year, but she had a beautiful flower garden where she lived in Flensburg. Last fall several Sisters and others moved many of the flowers to the field across from the Grotto and put it into two flower patches. The lilies had mostly been picked and put in chapel, but there were many lovely flowers still blooming in the gardens.

Each month we celebrate a Department. This month we honor the Music Department. The Sobania Family gave us a 15-minute strings concert…the mother on the keyboard and 4 of her children. What a lovely treat to hear such beautiful music.

The Music Center was started by Sr. Cecilia in 1979. A typical week included 271 private lessons, 6 music theory lessons, 56 dancers, 30 gymnasts, 6 piano party kids, 5 violin party students and 22 Preschool Arts Kids. The “party” kids are group lessons. Students come from Staples, Browerville, Long Prairie, Onamia, Rice and Little Falls.

Sisters Olga and Blasé were playing with some of the kittens one evening after supper.

Last week, Tuesday through Thursday,28 Directors of Nursing were here for a Nursing Leadership Symposium sponsored by the Aging Service of MN. The participants came form all parts of Minnesota.

May the Lord continue to care for you. and those you love.
Let us pray for the people of

Norway

as they mourn the deaths of so many young people.
And let us pray for our own country.

Pax et Bonum,

Sister Mary Lou

Everybody is talking about the weather!

2011-07-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

Everybody is talking about it! What other than the weather!!! In mid-winter I expect my glasses to frost over when I go outside…but to have it happen in mid-July! That is something very different. The high temperatures and high humidity these past few days has been something else! The heat index was over 105 degrees yesterday. All the motherhouse windows were frosted over with little drops of water on the outside of the windows, from top to bottom because it was cooler inside than outside. I’ve never seen anything like that before… and all the people having to clean up after rain and wind storms the past week! Prayers for protection from storms are frequent this year.

Right now I am back to using my battery-operated cart because I took a tumble last Thursday and sprained my ankle. But I can still get around.

Saturday I took a quick trip half way around the building. I went out the west door and came in the east door. I saw interesting things on my short journey. This is a picture of the flower bed near the front door of the Motherhouse. It is a very welcoming invitation to come for a visit.

Then as I went around the north side, I saw this unique bicycle-built-for-two. Two folks were most probably exercising in the Health and Recreation area--probably swimming.

Next I noticed the lovely flowers by the Health and Recreation entrance. I was reminded that I wanted to write about the new Health and Recreation Director that has just been hired. Jennifer Basch, currently our part-time Volunteer Coordinator, will assume the part-time Health and Recreation position after we find a new person to fill her current position. Congratulations, Jennifer. Thank you.

My next stop was to tell the Receptionist that I was back in the building. And I saw this beautiful bouquet of lilies give us by Norb Kaiser. Every so often he shares the beauties of his garden with us. Thank you.

On Friday, Fr. Nick Landsberger will celebrate 11 a.m. Mass here at the Motherhouse and then have lunch with us. It is our little way of celebrating his 50th Ordination Anniversary. We are part of St. Mary’s Parish since our campus is in that parish.

Last Friday night into Saturday morning was our Relay for Life event in Little Falls. What a grand success it was. So far the total collected for this cancer drive is $140,633.00. That is a lot of money! And more money is still coming in. There were 28 teams doing the walking at the High School track. Each team had at least one member on the track at all times until 7 a.m. Saturday. God bless you and thank you to organizers, team members and all who helped with this big event. God blessed us with a nice evening and night for the walk.

Pax et Bonum. Pray for protection from storms…and for all the people cleaning up after the storms we’ve had.

Sister Mary Lou

Sister Moon and Stars

2011-07-12T08:37:00.001-05:00

Last week’s wooden banner was Sir Brother Sun. Today I am sending Sister Moon and Stars. These wooden banners show parts from St. Francis’ Canticle of Creation: “Praise be You my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars , in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.”

Last Friday it took me half an hour to get home from work. I drove around looking at things. My first stop was to look at the Community gardens. They are beautiful. All 68 plots are flourishing. I talked with one man. This was his first year of gardening and he was really liking it. His concern was that his tomato plants had too many leaves and not many tomatoes. He said, “I’ll know more about this next year.”

My next stop was at the Peace Garden south of Assisi Park. It is very lovely. The deer like it too. Most of the hostas were nibbled off nearly to the ground. Apparently the deer didn’t like the impatience plants, because they were still blooming nicely.

Next I drove past the bee boxes. I knew there was activity there, but I didn’t get too close. I know it is not wise to disturb the bees when they are busy making honey.

Then my last stop was to look at Sister Ruth’s big garden. It, too, is beautiful. And we are enjoying the fruits of her labors every day.

On Saturday I went to a 65th wedding anniversary celebration for Doc and Emmy Thielman and also the wedding celebration for their youngest daughter, Mary, and her husband Joel. For health reasons, Emmy was not able to be there in person, but her spirit was definitely with us. Congratulations to both couples. Sixty-five years is well worth celebrating!

Have a good week. May the Lord protect all of us from severe weather and give us seasonable rain.

God bless you. Sister Mary Lou

Into Summer Weather

2011-07-07T10:42:00.002-05:00

We are into summer and the weather lets us feel it. May God protect us from severe weather and give us seasonable rain. May Brother Sun help the fields and gardens grow and produce well.

Last Friday was the Feast of the Sacred Heart. It is the feast of our Sacred Heart Chapel. We had a special Mass and sang some of the “old favorites” from long ago. Sister Joel put together another beautiful flower arrangement.

With the close-down of the State of Minnesota, I went to Lindbergh State Park—and sure enough there is a big “Closed” sign on the gates of the park and also the Interpretive Center. I sure hope they get that budget problem taken care of soon. I feel for all those who are laid off…and all the ramifications of the closings.

Sister Ruth and her helpers went strawberry picking Tuesday. They came home with 12 boxes+ of berries. Then up went the note on the dining room door, ”Strawberry cleaners needed in the kitchen this afternoon.” Pictures here are some of those faithful helpers.

Next Monday is the Feast of St. Benedict. We are grateful that Fathers Michael Kwatera, OSB and Luke Steiner, OSB for coming so faithfully to say Mass here at the Motherhouse. Thank you, and Happy Feast. Also, Happy Ordination Anniversary on July 11th.

This is the blessing at the end of Morning Prayer recently. I thought it a good one. “May the love of God, which surpasses all knowledge, fill us with delight for the things that are of God and the energy to spread the love of God to others.” I especially liked the “energy” part of the blessing. Sufficient energy seems like a good thing to have.

Pax et Bonum.

Sister Mary Lou

Things have quieted down and it feels good!

2011-06-27T14:28:00.004-05:00

Since the first two busy weeks of June, things have quieted down quite a bit, and it feels good!

On Saturday Sisters Isa, Aurora and Bernice went strawberry picking in Sr. Bernice’s sister’s garden. They came home with LOTS of beautiful berries. Yummy. Tomorrow night we will have strawberry pie for supper. We all are enjoying the fresh berries. A special thank you to the pickers. That’s one of the things I can’t do anymore.

Sr. Ruth’s convent gardens are productive, too. We’ve had fresh lettuce and radishes so far.

Last week we had the Bloodmobile at St. Francis. We had a wonderful turnout. Our goal was 215. We surpassed the goal and collected 221 units of blood. God bless those life-saving generous donors.

In early May I wrote about The Taste of St. Cloud fund-raising event for our Franciscan Community Volunteer program. We had over 700 Sisters, Associates, and guests attend that evening. Anna Zaros will be the new Associate Director along with Sr. Clara Stang. We thank Katie Cassidy for her fine work the past couple years. And we wish her will in her new position in Colorado.

Yesterday Sister Kay Rundquist, Rochester Franciscan, celebrated her 50th Jubilee here in Little Falls. She has worked here for the past 25 year as massage therapist, teacher and friend. We were happy to see so many of her friends and clients attend the Mass, prayer service and reception. Thank you, Sr. Kay, for your example of fidelity to your Franciscan vocation.

Enjoy the summer days we are having.

Peace and blessings,

Sr. Mary Lou

First Day of Summer

2011-06-21T14:42:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a busy one for the City of Little Falls. The Chamber of Commerce’s Dam Days were Friday through Sunday. There were many activities and a wonderful parade on Saturday. And of course the fireworks Saturday are always fun.

The Prairie Point Quilters had a Quilt Show at the Linden Hills Mansions. Those quilters do such beautiful work. On Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day. God bless all Fathers—living and deceased. Thank you for your care and love for your families.

The Bloodmobile is coming to St. Francis today, tomorrow and Thursday this week. The hours the first two days are from 1 to 7 p.m. and on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Usually the Bloodmobile is here Wednesday through Friday, but this time it is Tuesday through Thursday. God bless all those who donate this life-saving gift.

Girls Camp was another great success. The girls were disappointed that they couldn’t sleep in their tents. With storms predicted both nights, it just wasn’t safe to do so. But sleeping in St. Francis Hall was OK, too. They painted their lovely tee shirts and took part in MANY other activities, so the days went fast. There were many hugs before departing and some good friendships were started.

Last Friday, 13 youth from YTM (Youth in Theology and Ministry) gave presentations on their service projects the past year. These High School youth took two weeks of classes last year at St. John’s, did a project, took two more weeks of classes this year, and then told us about the great things they did in their parishes as service projects. It is heartening to see this kind of leadership developing in these young people. Over 400 youth have taken part in the YTM program over the years. Franciscan Sisters help to sponsor YTM.

On Friday, too, the last group of guests from Ecuador and Nicaragua returned home after a busy week here in Minnesota. We have Sr. Joan visiting Rodolfo Padella and Mercedes Gonzalez. They came for the Associates 25th Anniversary Celebrations and then spent time visiting the homes of Minnesota Associates and seeing Minnesota sights.

God bless you and continue to care for you.

Peace,

Sister Mary Lou

Flag Day

2011-06-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

Another time I say, “Where to start?” It has been such a busy week!

Last Friday and Saturday we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Franciscan Sisters and Associate Relationship. Friday night we had some wonderful testimonies about the value of this program. And then there was the beautiful video showing the Associates who have died the past 25 years. It was so well done. Saturday’s speaker was great. Everyone liked her inspirational talks.

The Mass was so festive. Elizabeth Roberts created seven large, beautiful wooden banners honoring the elements from Saint Francis’ “Canticle of Creatures”: Sun, Moon& Stars, Wind, Water, Brother Fire, Earth, and Sister Death. Richard Wagner from Annandale assisted Elizabeth in designing the banners. We had 11 Associates from Ecuador and Nicaragua with us for the celebration.

Saturday evening, after a special Evening Prayer and festive dinner, we Sisters had a party honoring and thanking the four Sisters who served in Leadership the past five years. It was a time of much laughter, fun and gifts.

Pentecost Sunday’s celebration began with 11 a.m. Mass with Bishop John Kinney presiding. After Bishop’s homily we had the Transfer of Leadership ritual. In prayer and song, Sisters Mary Obowa, Michelle L’Allier, Mary Hroscikoski, and Doretta Meier called forth the new leaders: Sisters Beatrice Eichten, Rose Margaret Schneider, Carolita Mauer and Susan Knutson.

Just before the last blessing, Sister Mary O presented each of the new leaders with a lit oil lamp as a sign of the gift of the Spirit’s presence with them, with the prayer, ” Sisters, as you begin your ministry among us, we send you forth with a reminder of the never-ending light of the Spirit.” Sister Fran made the oil lamps.

Saturday morning Sister Georgine and I attended the Ordination to 5 new Permanent Deacons for the Diocese of St. Cloud. Deacon Craig Korver is from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish here in Little Falls. At the reception on Sunday, Diane and Craig were telling about the nameless Angel who every month for the last four years has sent them a gas card to help with the gas expense of going to St. John’s once or twice a week these past four years. May God richly bless this anonymous Angel. This gift was a great help and blessing to the Korvers.

On Monday we had a little graduation reception for Shamera and Alex, two of the children raised by the three Sisters who live in Mississippi. It is hard to believe those “little kids” are now High School graduates. Congratulations!

Every month the Values Committee sponsors a time of recognition for the various Departments that are part of the Motherhouse smooth-running operation. Today it was the Hospitality Department. Carol is holding their mascot with names of parts that all have to work together to make guest feel welcome and at home. In her little talk, Sister Christelle mentioned all the other departments and people who share in the hospitality ministry. It takes all of us together to do well the job of hospitality.

Girls Camp started with registration this morning and goes until Thursday after supper.

There are 32 girls. Many Sisters and others are helping with the activities of the next few days. After lunch I drove out to Assisi Park. The tents are all set up. The cooking area was all cleaned up from noon lunch and the girls were off somewhere doing something. For a few of the girls this is their second time coming. Last week one Grandma told me that her Granddaughter was so excited about coming. It is a fun time for all.

This weekend Little Falls will be celebrating the Dam Festival. Many activities are planned. I like to watch the “high-riding” unicyclists.

On this Flag Day, let us pray for our troops at home and abroad for our civic and Church leaders. And let us, also, pray for seasonable rain and a good harvest.

Pax et Bonum.

Sister Mary Lou

Summer came this week!

2011-06-08T08:57:00.002-05:00

June 7, 2011,1:20 p.m. Temperature is 94 degrees. Summer came this week! Yesterday it was humid and 92 degrees here in Little Falls.

I was at a Regional SFO Gathering in Buffalo, MN over the weekend. I was amazed, on my return to Little Falls Sunday afternoon, to see that 1st street was all paved. The end of last week, the tar-eating machines were gobbling up the pot-hole filled old tar…and by Sunday afternoon the new layer of tar made for a smooth ride. Wow!

Last week I mentioned seeing the first of the five painting Charles Kapsner is painting for the Veteran’s Cemetery at Camp Ripley. I forgot to show the picture I have on my camera. So here it is…Charles Kapsner talking with a veteran in front of the painting honoring Army Veterans.

We have a busy weekend coming up. Friday and Saturday we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Franciscan Sister & Associate Relationship. Gerry told me yesterday that there are 90+ Associates registered to attend. On Saturday, we Sisters will have evening prayer together with the Associates Friday at 4:15 p.m. Then after the 5 p.m. dinner we will have a program including sharing by Co-minister for the Associates, Judy Virnig and other surprises. Saturday there will be presentations by Jackie Winter ED.D on “Ageless Canticle: The Wisdom and Legacy of St. Francis.” Gerry Dietz and her helpers put up wonderful posters on each of the pillars of St. Francis Hall depicting the history of the past 25-years. I will need to start reading today so I can get all the history read.

Saturday evening we will have a Thank You party for the out-going Leadership Sisters. The entertainment will be special, I am sure. Thank You, Sisters, for your five-years of faithful service to our Community. Enjoy some sabbatical time off. You deserve it.

Pentecost Sunday, June 12th is also a very special day for us. This is the day our new Leadership Sisters will be installed into their new positions of responsibility. Bishop John Kinney will preside at the 11 a.m. Mass. Thank you, Sisters for being willing to serve as leaders of our Community. We wish you well these next five years.

This afternoon we are having an appreciation Party to celebrate Sister Helen Ann Brake’s 28-years of service in the Development Office. She knows our 15,000 donors—if not on sight at least by name. Thank you, Sister, for your faithful service. She is pictured in the photo (seated second from left) surrounded by Sisters and employees from the Community Relations Department.

Pax et Bonum.

Pray for good weather and a good growing season.

Sister Mary Lou

So many things to write about!

2011-06-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

So many things to write about. And if I don’t do it today it won’t get done until next week.

Last Thursday evening, the Continuing Education School had their graduation for 28 young men and women. The Franciscan Sisters gave scholarships to two young women. Kimberlynn Allen will be attending classes at St. Cloud Technical College in the Dental Hygiene Program next fall. Taeler Ross will attend the University of Minnesota-Morris in the fall with hopes of becoming an elementary teacher. We wish our best to these and to all 2011 graduates. We will keep you in our prayers. The Continuing Education Center has had its programs at St. Francis for 22 years.

We celebrated Memorial Day over the weekend. On Sunday, a couple of us went to Camp Ripley for their 16th annual Memorial Day ceremony. Eleven Minnesota Military persons have died since last year’s service. The day was overcast and we had only two drops of rain. So we did not have hot sun to contend with. There was an American flag at every grave site and flowers by many graves, also. God bless all the living and deceased military personnel.

While out at the Veteran’s Cemetery, we were also able to see the first of the five 8-foot by 10-foot oil paintings by artist Charles Kapsner, depicting Veterans through the ages. The five paintings will honor the Army, the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard. When completed they will be on display in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery near Little Falls. This historic project will ensure that our Veterans’ sacrifice will be remembered. I was surprised to hear that there are over 4,000 veterans and their family members buried there.

I am in awe of all the activity in the Community Gardens just south of the Motherhouse. There are 68 plots of varying sizes, and they are all taken. The produce seems to be growing well. With our sandy soil, the rain and rain and rain has not hurt the gardens—and saves on watering!

This morning the outgoing Leadership Team had coffee and donuts and a short program as a thank you to us. Three of the Sisters were contestants in the ”Jeopardy of Fortune” game.

The big 2,000 piece puzzle got finished last week, too. The many black pieces made it a challenge to finish. The picture is that of the San Francisco Bridge. It is a Ravensburger Puzzle. No two pieces are alike, so the box says.

Last week we had a Rhubarb Party. The 'Sentence to Serve' guys pulled the rhubarb and the Sisters washed and cut up 25, 5-gallon pails for freezing.

Peace and goodness.

Sister Mary Lou

Lawns Are Growing Fast; Blooming Trees Are Beautiful!

2011-05-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

Another sunny and warm day after a cloudy and rainy weekend that dropped over 2 inches of rain here in Little Falls…other places got from 3 to 5 inches of rain. If only we could send some of that moisture to places that suffer from drought. Lawns are growing fast. Blooming trees are beautiful. Farmers are concerned about getting their crops planted.

As I was taking a picture of my bleeding heart plant Sunday evening, there was a little humming bird feeding and fluttering its little wings enough to move the grass under the plant. What a wonderful sight to see.

Last Monday I took a picture of Sister Ruth with all her tomato plants. Since then most of those plants have found a place in our garden or have been sold. Those plants were so healthy and tall…it won’t take long before we will eat the fruits of her labors.

The department being honored this week is the Peace, Justice & Integrity of Creation Department. Jeff Odendahl does a wonderful job keeping us informed about justice items that we need to be concerned about. He also has a lead role in the prairie restoration project at our river-side place on the Mississippi River, named Umbria, near Rice, MN.

We had a room full of happy guests for the Volunteer Recognition dinner. The entertainment after the meal was enjoyed by all. Thank you, Volunteers, for all your services. We are grateful. We pray for you.

Tonight we will have Evening Prayer and Dinner with our Franciscan Community Volunteers. These young men and women have been with us the past 10 months doing volunteer work for non-profit organizations and learning about the Franciscan life-style.

The rest of the week appears to be kind of quiet…which is alright!

Have a safe and good Memorial Day weekend. Travel safely.

Remember those who have and are serving in the military services.

Pray for all those affected by the violent weather last weekend.

Peace and all Good.

Sister Mary Lou

Glorious Sunshine!

2011-05-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

Warmer weather, growing plants, small leaves on the trees and my blooming trillium, what more could one want? The last three days of last week, I was in Belleville, IL, near St. Louis, for a Secular Franciscan Order meeting. The first thing I noticed was that all the trees and bushes were fully leafed out, and there were many blooming trees! My prayer is that fields dry so farmers can get their crops planted.

May is Senior Citizens Month. Last Thursday we celebrated our Senior Sisters (that’s most of us) with an afternoon-get-together which always includes some goodies.

Last week also, we hosted 29 nurses from all over Minnesota for the Nursing Leadership Symposium for their three-day meeting. It is always good to have them here.

In an earlier blog I mentioned the Taste of St. Cloud event held in early May. In our Community Newsletter last week an article said that 700+ people attended the event. That’s a lot!

Sunday was the feast of St. Isidore, the Farmer, We had the blessing of gardens and fields outside yesterday after Mass. Father Michael blessed water that was sprinkled on the lawns and gardens.

Our prayer was/is: O God, from who all blessings flow, look kindly on us as we begin another season of planting and tilling of the land. We humbly acknowledge our dependence on Your provident care and beg You to give to us the needed sunshine and rain so that what has been planted may come to fruition. Protect us from all that would destroy the potential fruits of this land. We, on our part, promise to cooperate in the building up of what You have created, honoring and respecting the handiwork of Your hands. We ask Your blessing in the name of Jesus who walked on this earth and continues to live among us, now and always. Amen.

Tonight we are honoring the MANY VOLUNTEERS who assist us in so many and various ways. We are grateful for them and their sharing of their time and talents with us Franciscan Sisters in our ministries. The European menu includes: Halushki (cabbage and dumplings), Sausage, Carrots, Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad, and Sister Celine’s Hot Apple Strudel. For entertainment, the Slavic folk choir, “Sestri” will perform. “Sestri” means “sisters.” The singers are all ladies.

Thursday evening at 6 p.m. there is Centering Prayer in Chapel. And then a Dance recital for St. Francis Music Center Students in St. Francis Hall at 7 p.m. There are Music Center Spring Recitals Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is always plenty of activity on our campus! Sister Christelle calls it “our Dynamic Center.” That says it pretty well.

This week, too, the current Leadership Sisters are meeting with the newly elected Leadership Sisters. This can help for an easier transition in June.

May your days be blessed.

May you be a blessing to others.

Peace,

Sister Mary Lou

Spring is here!

2011-05-09T15:07:00.000-05:00

Trees are getting leaves and the early plants are growing daily. My Bleeding Heart plant is growing nicely.

Yesterday two of us drove to Grand Forks, ND, for Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) business. There is lots of water in ditches and fields. I even saw white caps on water in the ditches! I never saw that before. The thunder boomer that went through town at about 4:30 a.m. today, dumped about ½ inch of rain. Our sandy soil here in Little Falls can take that much rain without a problem.

Last Monday we had the Taste of St. Cloud event at the Coyote Moon Grille. It was a great evening with LOTS of very tasty goodies. This was a fundraiser for our Franciscan Community Volunteer program.

The Lino-Lakes policeman that was accidently shot while training at a firing range last Thursday is the son of one of our employees, Carol Schirmers-Johnson. Chad Schirmers, age 26, will be in the hospital another week as he recovers from his surgery. He has been up and walking. After leaving the hospital, he will continue recovering at his home in East Bethel, MN. He has been a policeman for three years. Today happens to be the 2nd wedding anniversary for Amanda and Chad. Let us keep him in prayer.

Friday evening several of us Sisters attended the Little Falls Community High School’s presentation of The Music Man. The actors, singers and dancers are to be commended for a very fine production. There were so many dance steps and songs to be learned…and they did it very nicely! Thank you.

Saturday evening the Professional Vocal Ensemble, From Age to Age, gave a wonderful musical program in our Chapel. Twenty 4th grade music students from Lindbergh School joined the ten Age to Age singers for two numbers. It was a great performance. The group will be back in December for a Christmas concert. We’ll be waiting.

One of the things the Sisters do, is to pray for the many intentions that we are asked to pray for. Please pray for my nephew, Jon Eltgroth, who will have surgery tomorrow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to remove a softball-size mass attached to his liver. Thank you.

Continued Easter Joy to you.

Peace,

Sister Mary Lou

Snow on the Roof Tops (in Spring), But I'm Not Complaining!

2011-05-03T16:15:00.000-05:00

What a surprise to see snow on the roof tops yesterday morning. But I’m not complaining. We have not had our homes blown away and people killed by destructive tornados. I am sure farmers are concerned about getting their crops planted.

St. Francis Music Center presented two marvelous concerts in our Chapel the past few days. On Friday evening the St. Francis Community Chorale directed by Barb Stumpf, and the Sestri Choir directed by Celo V’ec sang their hearts out for our entertainment. These groups are sooooo good. Thank you, singers, for sharing your talents with us.

Saturday evening we served delicious spaghetti to about 360 hungry eaters. It was a festive evening and I am happy that we had such a fine turnout. Thank you.

Last night we had another wonderful group of friends and supporters for the Second Annual Taste of St. Cloud fundraiser for the Franciscan Community Volunteers dinner.

There were 15 participating restaurants serving delicious foods. I asked and found out that the Cold Spring Bakery brought 42 dozen little cupcakes for the event. That’s a lot of cupcakes! There were also 25 Silent Auction items. I think everyone was pleased with the evening activities. The event happened at the Territory Golf Course--Coyote Moon Grille east of St. Cloud.

This week the Housekeeping Department is being recognized and honored for their wonderful services. We started the week with a morning coffee break and fresh, still warm caramel rolls. What a treat. We commend this department for all their hard work in keeping our house clean and for all the set-up and take-down for the many activities we have going on at the Motherhouse every week—for example three big events Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Values and Activities Committees sponsor these recognition gatherings.

Thursday, April 5th, and the first Thursday of every month, we have a quiet hour of prayer, Taize Prayer, at 6 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. Come and experience this contemplative prayer time.

Saturday, May 7th, the singing group From Age to Age will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. We are so fortunate to have these great opportunities available to us.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers, living and deceased. We are blessed with the gift of life because of you. Thank you for the love and sacrifices you’ve made for us. God bless you now and always.

A blessing for you “May knowledge of God become clearer in us that we may know the breadth of God’s blessings, the length of God’s promises, the height of God’s majesty, the depth of God’s judgments.”

Have a wonder-filled week.

Sister Mary Lou

Prayer-filled Days of Holy Week

2011-04-26T12:20:00.000-05:00

What wonderful prayer-filled days of Holy Week. I thank God for the many graces showered upon us. Thursday evening we shared the Agape Meal—a commemoration of the Last Supper…and then the Liturgy and Adoration until 10 p.m.

God kept the rain away until afternoon on Good Friday so we were able to have our Silent Walk for Peace through the City of Little Falls as planned. We stopped in Maple Island Park and as we stood near the Mississippi River we prayed for all who care for creation. Then we stopped at the Veteran’s Memorial near the Post Office to pray for all Veterans living and deceased. The next stop was near the US Bank where we prayed for all financial institutions and the wise use of money. At the Court House we prayed for Law Enforcement people and the right and just use of laws and power. At the jail we prayed for all prisoners, here and throughout the world. All students and teachers were prayed for at our stop at St. Mary’s School. The last two stops were at St. Otto’s Home where we prayed for all the elderly and those who care for them and at St. Gabriel’s Hospital where we prayed for all who are sick, doctors, nurses and all who care for the sick. We had about 35 walkers. I’m sure anyone who witnessed the procession lead by people taking turns carrying the large wooden cross, would at least have wondered what it was all about.

Our Good Friday Church Service was at 2 p.m. What does one say about Jesus’ suffering and death? His love for us is so great. Would that I would always be mindful of it.

The Easter Vigil Service is my most favorite of the year…lighting of the fire and procession into the dark Chapel, Father Michael’s singing of the Exultet, the richness of the stories told in the readings, the blessing of the water, the joyful music, all the beautiful flowers… It fills me with deep joy.

On Easter Sunday morning, after Mass, and before brunch, Father Michael came to the dining room and blessed the food for the day—the colored eggs, the breads, the ham and wine (for dinner), the dessert…all the food.

Many sisters travelled to be with family members for the day. I journeyed to Kandiyohi, MN. It was a beautiful day for the 85 mile trip.

Now we will have a bunch of cloudy and rainy days ahead of us. Let us pray for protection for storms and pray for those who have suffered much from severe storms.

They say, “April showers bring May flowers.” I’m ready. The tulips on the south side of the screen house are 5 or 6 inches high.

Every Tuesday Rita Hacker comes to the Motherhouse to play harp for the Sisters on second and third floors. Everyone enjoys the peaceful calming music of the harp. Thank you, Rita.

Friday evening, May29th, at 7 p.m. the Community Chorale will have their concert in Chapel. And Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. the two Strings Orchestras will entertain us.

Saturday, May 30th, we have the Spaghetti Supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Go light on lunch so, you’re really hungry for spaghetti!

I have another activity Sunday noon. That is Spring Magic. This is the dinner and dance at the Little Falls Ballroom, Sponsored by St. Camillus Place, our 14-bed home for physically and mentally challenged adults. Invited to the dinner and dance are all the mentally challenged persons of the Little Falls area and their family members. We are most grateful to the many service clubs who make generous donations to help pay for this event. The residents literally dance ‘til they almost drop. They have such a good time. The Chicken Dance is one of their favorites and is played a few times in the course of the afternoon.

Yesterday we celebrated Sister Evangeline Stanoch’s 90th birthday. Family and friends joined her.

Monday evening, May 2nd, is the Second Annual Taste of St. Cloud. This is a fund raiser to support our Franciscan Volunteer Program. It takes place at the Coyote Moon Grille (480 55th Ave. SE, Saint Cloud). There are 16 food groups bring their delicious goodies. Again, go light on lunch and come hungry. Last year’s event was a grand success.

Take care. God bless and continue to care for all of us.

Sister Mary Lou

Pictured below are photos from our Earth Day celebration that took place on Monday, April 25.

So Many Things to Write About During Holy Week

2011-04-20T10:04:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday we had one to two inches of snow covering the lawns…and from the sounds of it, we will see that much or more snow in the next couple days. I’m so ready for spring to come and stay! I heard on the radio today that a late Easter often means a late spring. It seems the case this year. It is so good to see robins hopping around on our lawn.

April 9th, we had elections for new leadership Sisters for our Franciscan Community. The newly elected Community Board members are (Pictured L to R): Sisters Beatrice Eichten, Rose Margaret Schneider, Carolita Mauer and Susan Knutson. We are grateful for these four women who will step out in faith to serve our Community at this time in our history. Let us keep them in prayer.

On April 7th we celebrated Sisters Joan Tuberty and Doretta Meier. These two Sisters had been members of different religious communities and 25 years ago transferred to our Little Falls Franciscan Community. We are so blessed to have them as part of US. Thank you, Sisters, for your dedication and enthusiasm—always with a smile and willingness to put forth your best efforts.

Last week we had a Red Cross Blood Drive. Our goal was 230 and we received 242 units of blood. Thank you to all the generous donors who support this worthy cause. You truly are life-savers.

With Palm Sunday, there are always many people who want to do something with their blessed palms. Sister Georgine and I went to Freeport Sunday to help the Christian Mothers and their daughters learn some ways of palm braiding . And Wednesday evening Sisters Fabian, Georgine and I will go to Sobieski to help the CCD students learn some palm braiding techniques. I make palm fish that go over real well. I keep one in my car.

Now a bit about our Holy Week schedule at the Motherhouse. We will have Morning Prayer at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Holy Thursday, at 4:30 we Sisters have an Agape prayer service with our evening meal at 4:30 p.m. This Agape meal consists of prayers and songs in remembrance of the Last Supper. Our Eucharist will be at 7 p.m. followed by Adoration until 10 p.m.

There are a number of activities on Good Friday. At 9:30 we have a silent Peace Walk through Little Falls. I always find this a very prayerful event. (If it is raining or snowing we will have the event inside with signs indicating the places and people we pray for at the various stops.) Then we will have Stations of the Cross both inside and outside at 11 a.m. Good Friday services are at 2 p.m.

Easter Vigil services on Holy Saturday are at 8 p.m. followed by refreshments in St. Francis Hall. Come join us if you would like. Mass on Easter Sunday is at the usual 8:30 a.m. time.

April 29th, the St. Francis Community Chorale will have a concert in Sacred Heart Chapel at 7 p.m. It is always a treat to hear this group. They are so good. I invite you to come and enjoy.

The next evening, April 30th, is the Spaghetti Supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Come for some very good food. We also serve meatless spaghetti sauce, if you’d wish it.

Then on Sunday, May 1st, at 3 p.m. the two Strings Orchestras will have a concert in Sacred Heart Chapel at the Motherhouse. This also is a wonderful event. Come and enjoy.

Now I want to talk a bit about the trip to Dubuque, IA. April 11-12. Fourteen of us Sisters, and ten SFOs, Associates and friends went to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium for the travelling exhibit of Religious Sisters and their works and services in the Upper Mid-west. I saw artifacts, pictures and stories of work the Sisters have done and continue to do in the fields of education, health care and many other social service areas. The exhibit was wonderful. It made me proud to be a Sister.

On the way to Dubuque, we stopped in Dyersville, IA, for a tour of the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier. WOW!!! The cornerstone was laid on June 3, 1888. It can accommodate from 1,000 to 1,500 people. The two spires are each 212 feet high. The height of the church is 76 feet, the length is 175 feet and it is 70 feet wide. It is a beautiful building. At the time it was built they did not have the advanced mechanical devices available now for hoisting materials to such heights. I marvel at how they did the build. The altars are high and beautiful…lots of gold. To see this BIG and beautiful Church in such a rural area is something, too.

I wish you a good rest of Holy Week. May your faith be strengthened in your prayer and meditations on the events commemorated this holiest week of the year.

Happy Easter.

Peace and many blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

We put the "Fun" in Fundraising Last Weekend

2011-04-04T11:28:00.003-05:00

Thirty-five degrees, sunny and windy. This is much better than the snow/rain mix they’ve been talking about on the radio. No ice break-up yet north of the dam here in Little Falls, that I’ve seen. Lawns and roofs are bare of snow except where it was piled up…and the piles are mostly dirty and black. I saw my first robin perched in a tree on the ease side of the Motherhouse last Wednesday…and Saturday, I saw 10 hawks sitting in trees along highway 10.

Last Wednesday Carol was presented with $1,155.36 for the Morrison County Food Shelf. Thank you Employees and Sisters for your wonderful generosity! By purchasing food from Second Harvest Food Bank, this will purchase over seven thousand dollars worth of food for our local food shelf. (Pictured left to right, Franciscan Employees: Julene Ley from Archives, Carol Schirmers from Reception, and Kelly Olson from Clare Residence.)

We had two fund raisers here this past weekend. Saturday’s “Seeds of Kindness” luncheon was to raise money for Habitat for Humanity of Morrison County. This was the sixth annual luncheon. Over 200 people ate a delicious meal provided by our kitchen staff. Each of the 33 tables was elegantly dressed.

The hostesses for each table provided all the dishes, tableware, centerpieces etc. for their own table. It was a very successful event. They surpassed last year’s total of dollars raised. Besides the meal there was also a live auction and raffle drawings. It was a fun event. (See more table photos below.)

Then on Sunday afternoon there was the Spring Concert fund-raiser for Oasis Share-a-Meal.

St. Francis Chorale, Staples Women’s Choir and the Staples Men’s Choir provided beautiful music for a large audience and appreciative audience. Following the concert, there was a silent auction and goodies served in St. Francis Hall. Carol said, “It was a very successful day.” It was too bad that both the Heartland Symphony Orchestra Concert and this day’s concert were scheduled the same day. It won’t happen that way again.

Another event this weekend was the Marriage Encounter at St. Francis Center. There were 9 couples plus staff...full house.

Quite a few of our Sisters attended a talk by Diana Hayes at the Newman Center in St. Cloud, MN. I found the talk, “Made in the Image of: God: Racism’s challenge to True Communion” most informative. Diana Hayes is a Professor of Systematic Theology at Georgetown University and the first African American woman to earn a Pontifical Doctorate in Theology. I purchased her newest book, Standing in the Shoes My Mother Made. Now I can learn more from this gifted teacher.

This coming weekend many Sisters will be here for Community Elections. We will be electing a new Community Minister and three Assistant Ministers for five-year terms. Please pray for us and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our deliberations. Thanks.

The bloodmobile will be here April 13 through 15th—(1 to 7 p.m. the first two days and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. the last day.) Mark your calendars.

I probably will not have a blog next week. Monday and Tuesday I plan on traveling to Dubuque IA to see the traveling exhibit: Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America. This exhibit relates the story of women religious in America since 1727 when twelve Ursuline Sisters came to New Orleans. It shows the impact of Catholic Sisters on health care, social services and education. We have a photo of children when the Orphanage was located here on our campus. Numerous artifacts will be on display from many religious communities. The items include journals, traveling trunks, diaries, pioneering healthecare developments, samplers, clothing and a letter from President Thomas Jefferson to Sister Therese de St. Xavier Farjon, OSU dated May 15, 1804. I am looking forward to the journey and am sure I will have more to say upon my return. This tour is through Gary Block Tours here in Little Falls (320-632-8632 for more information).

May the Lord bless you.

I hope your Lent is going well.

Peace,

Sister Mary Lou

Last week of March

2011-03-29T11:27:00.000-05:00

The 10 ½ inches of new snow last Tuesday/Wednesday made for many big snow-mountains at the ends of all parking lots. Snow from parking lots and roads on campus has been piled in the field behind the barn all winter. It is a long mountain range.

I wonder how long it will take for all that snow to melt. Ice cycles.

Last Friday evening we had a wonderful concert by the St. Cloud State University Chamber Wind Band and the Symphony Band. One number that we enjoyed immensely was Rhapsody in Blue with piano soloist Junko Masuda and clarinet soloist Samantha Riehle. They moved a baby grand piano into chapel for the concert. The piano soloist used all the keys on that keyboard! Eleven students from the Little Falls High School band were privileged to join the 26 University players for a few pieces. We are so lucky to have such great events right here at the Motherhouse. We invited them to come again.

Last Wednesday we invited Carl Vaagenes, CEO of Unity Family Health (UFH) Care and St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls, to lunch at the Motherhouse. Carl has accepted the CEO position at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria. Carl has been at St. Gabriel’s for over 10 years. We wanted to thank Carl for his good leadership at UFH. His biggest accomplishment was his leadership in building the new hospital. We thank you, Carl, for your leadership at the hospital and we wish you well in your new position.

On Saturday, Sister Maristell was the presenter for the full-day Lenten Retreat day for about 50 Associates, Sisters and friends. We all marvel at her mastery of the power-point presentation to add to our understanding of her topic. Thank you, Sister Maristell, for sharing your truth and talent with us. We are grateful.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Sister Alice Doll’s 90th birthday. Some of her family members will come to join us in this celebration.

On Thursday we will have another bilingual liturgy in remembrance of Cesar Chavez, a Mexican-American, who worked with farm workers in California. The Franciscan Sisters celebrate bilingual liturgies four times a year in keeping with our commitment to our Hispanic brothers and sisters. For many of us it a good challenge to learn some Spanish in order to sing the songs at Mass.

Friday evening through Sunday we will have a marriage encounter at St. Francis Center (used to be St. Francis High School). We have many and varied activities at the Center.

I see on the weekly calendar an item for Saturday for Seeds of Kindness from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. I’ll need to find out more about what that is. More about this, too, next week.

Next Sunday we will have an Oasis-Share-A-Meal fund raiser concert in our Chapel.

The end of March is coming soon so the Food Shelf Drive will end soon. Thanks for all who support this drive. Every department has a donation box.

Please keep us in prayer as we prepare for election of new leadership Sisters for our Community the weekend of April 8th to 10th.

This morning Sister Ruth Lenter made fresh donuts for lunch.

God bless you. Keep safe. Pray for the needs of the world.

Sister Mary Lou

Welcome to the First Full Day of Spring!

2011-03-21T14:30:00.001-05:00

Everyday the past week I’ve driven across the Mississippi River in downtown Little Falls, checking to see if the ice is breaking up yet. The ice is still solid north of the dam, but the pool of open water below the dam has been getting larger and larger every day. Three gates are open, water is coming through pretty fast and water is coming over the top of one spillway. Soon the river will be wide open below the dam. And tomorrow “they” are telling us we could get significant snow! The garage where I park my car is just about dried out from the last time we had snow and slush.

In reading the Morrison County Record, the local weekly newspaper, I noticed that the Boys and Girls Clubs of America are this week, celebrating 150 years of caring for youth.

Our local club is open five days a week unless school is cancelled. They average about 80 students a day and have lots of activities for young people. I am so glad we got a club going here in Little Falls.

Several of our sisters will exhibit their artwork at St. Paul’s Monastery, the Benedictine Retreat and Conference Center, in St. Paul MN. The exhibit opens March 27th and runs through May 29, 2011. Those participating in the multi-community event are Sisters Blanche Fyle, Sharon Fyle, Lillian Kroll, Tonie Rausch, and Mary Zirbes. Sister Mary Christine Wiener and Associate Julia Barkley, both deceased, will also have art on display. Congratulations, Sisters, and thank you for sharing your talents.

Students from St. Cloud State University wind ensemble, “Chamber Winds” will be visiting Little Falls Schools during the day and will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. in our Sacred Heart Chapel. All are invited to come hear the brass fanfare music. Friday, March 25th.

Last Saturday was the Feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary. Sister Joel put up a lovely icon display for the occasion.

“Sweet Tooth,” is the name of the puzzle being worked on the last couple weeks. It is a thousand piece and all jelly beans. I am amazed at the progress being made. I would never even attempt starting one like that!

March is Food Shelf Month. I did a call to Party Line on the local radio station to remind listeners to support this worthy cause. Twenty dollars cash or check given to the Food Shelf can purchase $180 worth of food through the Second Harvest program.

Let us continue to pray for the many displaced persons of Japan that they receive the help they need in their desperate time.

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

Spring Daylight Saving Time is National Napping Day!

2011-03-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

This day, the day after Daylight Savings Time starts, is National Napping Day. So go ahead and have a short nap today. I will, if I have time.

In an e-mail last week from Jennifer, I learned that the 400+ volunteers to the Franciscan Sisters donated 13,216 volunteer hours of services in 2010. That’s impressive! Thanks, volunteers. We are grateful. We pray for you every day.

Yesterday was the 13th Annual Share Sunday talent show at Our Lady of Lourdes School. I was truly impressed by the talent and poise of each of the participants. The first performer was little Isabelle, age 4, who sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Star.” She did it well.

The Share Sunday program is in memory of George Bzdok. All the proceeds go to County Food Shelves and Oasis Share-A-Meal. George and LaVerne stated the Share Sunday event. It was an afternoon of good entertainment. Profits from the day were $2,000 plus. The Food Shelf was located on our campus for MANY years.

Saturday we had the SFO Spring Retreat at St. Francis. There were 65+ Secular Franciscans in attendance. Sr. Elise was our speaker.

Today we celebrate Sister Antonette’s 90th Birthday. Thank you for all the good works you’ve done these many years.

We have Stations of the Cross in our Chapel every Friday of Lent at 3:30 p.m. Join us if you are in the area.

Thursday is the Feast of St. Patrick. Saturday we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and patron of a happy death. May these saints be an inspiration to you.

Let us keep in prayer the people of Japan who suffer so greatly because of earthquake and tsunami. And pray, too, for those who assist in rescue and cleanup efforts.

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

More New Snow

2011-03-07T14:08:00.001-06:00

More new snow! Three of us drove to Brown’s Valley yesterday for SFO business…140 miles each way from Little Falls. Ed did a fine job of driving on snow covered, slushy roads. Along he way I was noting the animals we saw: two owls, MANY pheasants, a flock of turkeys, many flocks of juncos, crows and black birds, buffalo and elk in pens, horses, cows and dogs.

On Saturday we had the funeral for Sister Marguerite Barbeln. Many family and friends were here to honor her. Thank you for coming.

The Benton County Home-Ec retreat was Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. I went to see what I could see Saturday afternoon. They come with sewing machines, ironing boards, fabric, etc. They have such fun learning to make wonderful things. I was fascinated by the cloth bowls they were sewing up: so colorful and pretty.

Judi and Julene, Archives Staff put together a lovely photo history to commemorate the 120 years of the Franciscan Sisters. It is titled “120 Years of FSLF History Through the Lens of a Camera. The album will be on display from March 1, 2011 through the end of February, 2012. The album gives a glimpse of some of the many events that happened in the First 60 Years and the Second 60 Years. I will need to take time to enjoy the pictures and narration and re-remember some of these events. Thank you, Judi and Julene.

The afternoon of March 1, the anniversary date, Sisters and employees enjoyed cake and ice cream at the coffee break. Thanks, Terry B., for the nice surprise.

Lent starts this Wednesday. Last week I said I’d tell you what I am thinking of doing. Let me preface this with information about a project of the SFO Youth/Young Adults. It is called the H2O Project. Access to safe, clean water is a really big problem in many parts of the world. This year the donations will be given to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) specifically for clean drinking water in Haiti. So I am going to take the H2O challenge for at least two weeks will make water my only beverage. If you want more information see SFOH2O@ hotmail.com.

Share Sunday is this coming Sunday at Mary of Lourdes Middle School. This is a fund raiser for Oasis-Share a Meal and the 3 Morrison County Food Shelves. There are 15 talent events as part of the event. The Franciscan Sisters started the Little Falls Food Shelf.

Remember to move the clocks ahead, spring ahead, before you go to bed Saturday night.

God bless you,

Happy Lent.

Sister Mary Lou

February 28, 2011

2011-02-28T11:12:00.002-06:00

The last day of February. Sounds like March will come in as a lamb. That’s fine with me! To see signs of spring one has to look up. Looking down one sees only snow. There is a tree on the east side of the Motherhouse that is filled with little tree leaf buds. I will keep watching that tree.

After last week’s 10+ inches of snow, the pile of snow behind Mary Hall was bigger than I had ever seen it.

Saturday we had the funeral for our Sister Mary Leonette /Bursch. age 90, who died peacefully and quietly on February 22nd. She was a Franciscan Sister for 71 years. (I had her as a Home Ec teacher for cooking when I was a freshman at St. Francis High School in 1949.) She was gentle and unassuming in her living, teaching and all the ministries she was part of. At the time of her Diamond Jubilee she said, “I praise the Lord and thank Him for walking with me hand-in-hand on my journey as a pilgrim. I feel His presence in various ways through faith and love in good times and in times of suffering.” She lived this so well.

Being an elementary school teacher is part of my blood. I like to read children’s books…and read them to children. Dr. Seuss was born March 2, 1904. Such an imagination that man had! I have to practice every time I read one of his books.

March 1st is Founders Day. It was March 1, 1891 that the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota came into being…which makes us 120 years young this year. I stand in awe of the many holy women who have been and are part of our membership…and of all the various ministries that are part of our heritage. God has blessed us and continues to bless us in so many ways. Thank you, Lord, for your care for us. St. Francis, pray for us.

Friday, March 4th is World Day of Prayer. Here in Little Falls, the gathering will take place at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church. This year the women of Chile have written the service around the theme “How many loaves have you?” Together we are asked to respond to what we have and how we can share it with others. The offering received will support the work of World Day of Payer USA and assist the needs of families who are victims of many forms of poverty, violence and human trafficking. World Day of Prayer is a worldwide ecumenical movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together annually to observe a common day of prayer on the first Friday in March. Each year the worm of a different country serve as the writers of the worship service. Be a part of the day.

Saturday, March 5th we will have the funeral for Sister Marguerite Barbeln at 11 a.m..

Lent begins a week from Wednesday, March 9th. Time to start thinking about what you will “do” for the Lenten practice. Next week I will tell you what I have in mind.

Let us pray for peace in the many troubled parts of our world…and all those who suffer because of all the violence.

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

February 21, 2011

2011-02-21T10:32:00.001-06:00

Well, the dirty snow banks don’t show anymore! It was quite late in the day when the snow started here in Little Falls. And when it started it meant business! I pray for the safety of all who HAVE to be out in this kind of weather. I hope this blizzard doesn’t interfere with too many plans.

Saturday night at 11:18 p.m. our dear Sister Marguerite Barbeln, age 86, left us and went to heaven. Not too long ago she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she chose not to seek treatment. She was a gentle and quiet person with a good sense of humor. She was very patient in her suffering and was so ready to meet the Lord. May she be enjoying life with the Lord. Sr. Marguerite, pray for us.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week we are having a furniture sale and clothing exchange. When I took this picture a few days ago, items were starting to collect. Many things will have new homes and many people will be happy with their new treasures.

This coming Saturday morning there will be a group of CCD students and parents at the Motherhouse for a tour. For many this is the first time they ever visited the Motherhouse.

We show them the Chapel and explain the large San Damiano Crucifix and it’s importance to us Franciscans. We also show them the Library and explain to them how we made the altar breads that become the Body of Jesus at Mass. This was a ministry our Sisters did for over 100 years. Now we no longer bake the wafers, but we order them and then distribute them to over 100 churches and hospitals, mostly in Minnesota. At the end of the tour the students usually go to the dining room for a little snack. They like that part, too.

This past weekend we had eleven couples here for the Marriage Encounter. Next weekend we will have a group from Anoka, MN here for a Stephen Ministry experience. That is such a good program to train parishioners to mentor those in need of a friend in tough times.

A couple times a year the Employees and Sisters serve a meal at Oasis Share-a-Meal at First Lutheran Church here in town. This is a free meal to any and everyone who comes to the Church. Usually it is about 60 people who come. It is a wonderful opportunity for good food and fellowship. Our kitchen staff makes the meal, with donations of ingredients from the Employees and Sisters. And then we go, too, to the Church to serve the meal. I have helped many times and it is a good experience.

I forgot one item that I had intended t o include in last week’s blog. On the opening night of our meetings a week ago, each of us received a lovely bronze medal of our Community Logo. The Tau Cross is in the center. St. Francis signed his name by using the Tau symbol.

God bless you and keep safe.

Sister Mary Lou

February 13, 2011

2011-02-15T09:08:00.001-06:00

WOW!!!... From minus 23 on Thursday morning to 46 this afternoon. It took a while for our January thaw to arrive, but it is here for a few days, at least. Then with the cool-down next weekend, that should help control the snow melt and maybe the flooding situation, too. There is open water below the dam on the Mississippi River here in Little Falls. Two gates are open to let the water through.

Our week of meetings is over. It was a good week with lots of prayer and discussion and some decisions made…and LOTS of information. We had Mass at 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thursday’s homily is one I will never forget…and not a word was spoken. The opening song was “Gaze upon Christ. Consider Christ. Contemplate Christ.” Carolyn went to the altar and looked at the big San Damiano Crucifix we have behind the altar. She looked at it from several directions. Then she knelt and prayed before the Crucifix and finally bowed low and prayed in silence. It was profound!

Each morning and afternoon session started with a call to prayer by the ringing of the big bowls. Tapping the bowls with a special mallet and/or moving the mallet around the rim of the bowls made such a full and resonating sound and brought our attention back to the work of the week.

Since our theme was around weaving our future, there was a loom set up in the meeting room and whoever wanted, could weave the strands of cloth through the many threads. Quite a lot of work was done.

Evenings were mostly free for visiting, playing cards or board games etc. The planning Committee frequently had meetings during the noon hour or in the evenings. One evening we had a talent show. Many Sisters shared their talents. Here we see Sr. Fran playing her harmonica and Sr. Antonette telling us a funny story. It was a time for lots of laughter and so much fun.

All but about a dozen Sisters were here in Little Falls the past week. Now most have returned to their homes and places of work throughout the United States and Ecuador.

It seems pretty quiet around here now, but not for long.

Tuesday and Wednesday we have a group of about 35 Episcopalian Ministers and their Bishop meeting here. Then on the weekend a Marriage Encounter Group will be coming. Sister Christelle does a wonderful job of hostessing all these groups.

Monday is Valentine’s Day. In our family this has always been a special day as it was Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary. They were married 67 years at the time of Mom’s death in 2000. What an example of love and fidelity they were to us and to so many.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

February 6, 2011

2011-02-07T10:13:00.001-06:00

Bask in today’s temperatures in the 20 degree plus range, because tomorrow it is predicted to be 20 below zero in the morning! There is so much snow buildup on roads, parking lots and sidewalks. Though it is nothing like the picture my brother sent me of a road north of Dubuque, IA where the road is carved out of snow banks that are 2 or 3 times higher than the cars. That’s a lot of snow. I hope melting takes place slowly when spring comes.

Sister Mary Ann and I were suppose to go to Browns Valley for a SFO meeting today, but that got cancelled yesterday afternoon because of the rain, ice and snow they were having in the western part of the State. So today for me feels like a “snow day” like when I was teaching—a day when I can do things I hadn’t planned on doing—like writing my blog!

This is the week of our Legislative/Direction Setting part of our Delegate Assembly Meetings: from tonight’s opening with prayer at 6:30 in Chapel until after noon on Saturday. Most of the Sisters who are coming have arrived. Chapel was pretty full for Mass this morning…and the singing was full and resounding, too.

Judy and Julene from Archives put together a lovely six-bulletin-board display of some of the highlights of our Community over the past 120 years. We officially became the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Little Falls, Minnesota, on March 1, 1891—120 years ago. Sister Mary Francis was elected the first Mother Superior of the Community on March 3, 1891. After a month the display will be set up in Archives for the coming year. Since I’ve been a member of the Community nearly half that time, I remember lots of the things shown.

Last night we had our Soup Supper. I don’t know how many people came, but Terry B. said we served a lot of soup! Guests could also purchase loaves of fresh home-made bread to take home with them. It is always great to see and hear Sisters and guests having a good time sharing memories. (Last year the Soup Supper was cancelled because of a blizzard.) April 16 is the date for the next Spaghetti Supper.

Sister Grace is here from our Mexico Mission and is staying at our house during the time of our meetings. On Friday five of her nine sisters came to visit. Now that was a good time!

Friday morning, Sister Celine was busy decorating cookies for Valentine’s Day…trays and trays of cookies. What a good treat awaits us.

We have four guest Sisters staying at our house this week, so it is exciting with all the visiting and activity.

God bless you and please keep us in your prayers this week. Thank you.

Sister Mary Lou

February 2, 2011

2011-02-02T13:49:00.001-06:00

Feast of the Presentation

And, also Groundhog Day.

As I write this, the sun is shining and the temp is minus 10 degrees…no wind chill.

I noticed on my calendar this morning that today starts the Frostbite Festival in Fergus Falls and is Winter Frolics in Two Harbors. They will have the cold and snow they celebrate. I heard on the radio that is was minus 44 wind chill in Morris this morning. I’d not feel bad if we didn’t get another flake of snow this winter, but I doubt that will happen.

Saturday evening, February 5th, we will have the Soup Supper from 4:30 to 7 p. m. We will have chicken wild rice, beef barley vegetable and tomato tortellini soups along with fresh baked cracked wheat and white bread, bars and beverages. Hope you can come. Today Sister Julien and Terry will be on the Party Line radio program this morning to talk about the Supper.

Last Sunday afternoon several of us Sisters attended the Pro-Life Dinner and program at the Falls Ballroom. The program and speakers were interesting to listen to, and the food as usual, was very good. There were about 400 persons in attendance. When I think of pro-life, I also include all life issues, not only the abortion issue.

Yesterday three of us former teachers went to Pierz to visit students at Holy Trinity School as they celebrate Catholic Schools Week. That week was always my favorite week of the year. It was a lot of work, but so much fun. I visited the two Kindergarten classrooms. I talked with the students, read them a story, told them a Bible story and treated them to a cookie and gave them a little gift. It was a fun time for me.

Next week we will have Legislative/Direction-Setting Meetings of the Delegate Assembly from Sunday evening through Saturday (February 6-12th). April 8-10 we will have the Election Session of the Delegate Assembly when we will elect new leadership Sisters for our Community. June 12th we will have Installation of New Leadership. Please keep us in prayer these important days.

Keep warm and safe.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

January 24, 2011

2011-01-24T13:40:00.000-06:00

Things are looking up. After last Friday’s -28 degree temperatures, anything warmer is better! I am grateful that we had no wind that morning. The steam from the heating plant chimneys was going straight up.

Last Tuesday we celebrated the anniversaries of 21 of our employees. Dolores Gaffke has been part of the housekeeping department for 30 years. WOW. Thanks for hanging in there with us for that many years.

That same evening we gave the Francis Award to Allen Riedeman for his positive spirit and leadership in showing the Franciscan Values at work and to all at the Motherhouse. Congratulations, Allen. Thank you.

Last Thursday, Liz Rydeen and Sister Michelle were presenters at our noon enLUNCHment program. They came wearing the clothing they were given from their hosts. They told us about their trip to Homa Bay, Kenya, Africa in December. They had a wonderful slide show and entertaining stories about their ventures. Liz is our grant writer. And we, Franciscan Sisters, have given grants to assist the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph in their ministries. We are a Sister Community to those Sisters.

There are about 50 Sisters making an 8-day silent retreat at the Motherhouse from last Thursday to this Wednesday. The retreat director is Father Jim VanVurst, OFM.

The other day Sharon Kloss brought pictures of the frost on the chicken house windows at her son’s farm. All who have seen the pictures marvel at the beautiful, intricate designs. Only God could do something like that.

The Soup Supper is coming up on February 5th fro 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Motherhouse dining room. There will be 3 kinds of soup and fresh home-made bread. “Come hungry. Leave Happy.”

God bless you and keep you safe.

Sister Mary Lou

Martin Luther King Observance Day—January 17, 2011

2011-01-18T15:40:00.003-06:00

On the radio this morning I heard two interesting statements: “In the past three days we’ve picked up 4.5 inches of snow." “We’ve had 12 inches of snow already in January.” I think I would rather have six inches of snow in one day rather than one inch every day for six days.

Bloodmobile report: Our goal was 250 units of blood collected. In actuality we collected 209 units and had 13 who were turned away for whatever reasons. Though we did not reach our goal, we did very well. Two hundred nine units is a lot of blood. I know that some of are donors are “snowbirds” enjoying warmer temperatures and missing out on our Minnesota winter event. Thank you to all you generous donors. You are life savers.

The “Make a Joyful Noise” fundraiser in December for the local food shelf, raised a total of $5,150 which is over $1,300 over last years collection. We know that the number of persons needing to use the food shelf services is up. So, thank you, too, to all who donated to this good cause.

Friday afternoon the Sisters who live in Clare Residence celebrated Sister Justina’s 99th birthday, which was yesterday. Her nephew brought a big cake yesterday. So Sister Justina’s family and Sisters enjoyed cake, ice cream, nuts and mints to celebrate her 99 years of life.

Tomorrow we have our Employee Recognition Dinner and awards for those employees who have worked here 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years. We have wonderful employees.

A silent retreat starts Friday evening at 7 p.m. and lasts until noon on Thursday, January 27th. It is a quite large group of Sisters making this retreat. The retreat director is Father Jim VanVurst, OFM. I am not making this retreat. I have too many things on my calendar that would keep me from prayer and quiet.

Another beautiful 1,500 piece puzzle was finished last week. It is fun to see employees and Sisters spending time working diligently in little spaces of time to fit the pieces together. As soon as one puzzle is finished, another one is started.

Peace be with you and God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

January 10, 2011

2011-01-10T14:14:00.002-06:00

The Christmas decorations are all put away—almost. I was so happy that everything was boxed up and back on the shelf. The next day I saw two items that missed the packing! Has that ever happened to you? All the poinsettias are still vibrant and full. They last a long time. More snow is predicted in the next few days.

The new Memory Care Unit at Clare Residence is shaping up very nicely. Walter has been very busy painting bedrooms, hallways and the dining room in lovely pastel colors. The first Sisters will be moving into the area this week. Since January 6th, the area is staffed with staff who have had training/experience working in a memory care area. May God bless this new effort of our Community to care for our Sisters who have memory challenges. There is a little Chapel with a TV so the Sisters can participate in the Mass from our Sacred Heart Chapel over closed circuit TV. Holy Communion is brought to all those unable to come to Chapel.

The other event of this week is that the bloodmobile will be here Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The hours Wednesday and Thursday are 1 to 7 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. This activity takes place in St. Francis Hall—the big room under Chapel.

One of my Christmas cards had the following message: “Be a beacon of hope for all those whose lives are troubled…” This is a fitting thing to remember especially after the shootings Saturday in Tucson. Let us pray for all whose lives are affected by violence.

That’s it for this week.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

January 5, 2011

2011-01-06T09:08:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR May God bless you and continue to care for you all through 2011. The old year ended with 8/10s inch of rain last Thursday and 1 ½ inches of snow on Friday. A high temperature of 35 degrees on Thursday turned to very cold on Friday and Saturday. Roads and sidewalks are icy, so walking very mindfully is a very good idea.

I am most grateful for my walker, but always I have to sweep off my wheels when I go inside.

The old year went out with a 24-hour time of prayer for peace and a holy-hour on December 31st, Blessed are the Peacemakers Prayer service. “It was a time to reflect upon the gift and power of peace: its place in the heart of Jesus’ message and its importance in the world we live in.” The prayer service was based on the Beatitudes and the words of St. Francis. My prayer for us is: “O God as we begin a new year, help us to be bringers of peace to all those with whom we are called to share life, whether at home, at work, in our relationships or in brief encounters. Fill us with the renewed conviction that we CAN make a difference in our world and through our efforts to live peacefully.”

And the day after New Year’s Day was the Feast of Epiphany, the Feast of the Three Kings. Here is a picture of a crib set with the Kings in attendance (one below also).

On January 2nd we had our Sisters’ Christmas celebration. We had evening prayer followed by a social hour and special dinner. Sister Julien carved the roast. After the meal we had a sing-along. Sr. Maurita played guitar. It was a relaxing and fun evening.

The line of walkers is a common sight in the dining room or chapel or wherever we are gathered.

On Friday we will again have another Bilingual Eucharist. This time we are honoring Felipe and Maria Barreda, a couple martyred for their Catholic Faith, on January 7, 1983. They were an ordinary couple, devoted to God, who raised a family of six children and who worked hard at their trade. While picking coffee beans they were attacked on December 28th and endured unbelievable torture. Throughout their cruel treatment they continued to respond with prayer and refusals to betray their Christian Faith. God bless them for their example of fidelity to the Faith.

God bless you and keep you safe.

Sister Mary Lou

December 28, 2010

2010-12-28T15:35:00.000-06:00

This will probably be one of the last times I will write “2010.” It seems not so long ago that we started writing “2000.” On January 11th we can write “1/11/’11”

I hope you had a great Christmas. (Folks stranded in airports and other places had a hard time of it.) I have some nice pictures from around the Motherhouse…lots of poinsettias in Chapel and around the building. I counted 20 plants in Chapel. Two families donated ten plants just before Christmas. We are grateful. Thank you.

Many friends and neighbors joined us for the Christmas Eve Pageant and Christmas Eve Mass on Friday. I was pleased at how many people joined us after Mass in St. Francis Hall for cookies, hot chocolate and other goodies. Thank you.

On the 23rd, Sr. Julien and I spent four hours at Coborn’s “Making a Joyful Noise” as part of the Food Shelf fund-raiser. Total collection from the 14-day’s work was over $5,000. Thank you, generous donors and all volunteers who sat near the green collection box. You help make life easier for a LOT of needy folks.

On Sunday we celebrated Sister Sylvia’s 90th birthday. Many family members and friends joined us Sisters for cake and ice cream, etc. Congratulations, Sister Sylvia.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, we start the 24-hour Vigil of Prayer/Fast for Peace. Individuals are signed up to pray every hour for 24-hours for World Peace. May the Lord hear and listen to our prayers. May peace start in our own hearts.

I want to share with you two blessings from our prayer book. It is my prayer for you.

“May God bless us all with peaceful homes and loving communities.”

“May knowledge become clearer in us that we may know the breadth of God’s blessings, the length of God’s promises the height of God’s majesty, the depth of God’s judgments.”

May the Lord bless and continue to care for each of us in the New Year.

Sister Mary Lou

December 21, 2010

2010-12-22T12:57:00.000-06:00

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF WINTER!!! This is the calendar day, but to my thinking winter has already been here a month! The snow piles are growing wherever one looks.

At Mass this morning we sang the song, “Soon and very soon we are goin’ to see the King… Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.” We are well into the fourth week of Advent and all the candles on the Advent Wreath are now lit. Soon and very soon we will celebrate the birth of Our Lord. Jesus came in history two thousand years ago. Jesus comes again to us in the Eucharist as His Body and Blood. Jesus comes to us in one another, our brothers and sisters. My prayer, for you, my readers, is that Jesus will come to you in the graces and blessings you desire and need in your personal life.

Last Thursday we had our Employee/Sister noon pot-luck luncheon. After the meal we had the drawings for the baskets and other items. All the proceeds from this Caring by Sharing project were donated to the Boys and Girls Club and to Hands of Hope. Each group received approximately $530. Thank you for your generosity, Employees and Sisters. During the meal a group of employees sang some Christmas songs for our entertainment. What talent!

Last Friday evening the group From Age to Age presented a marvelous program in our Chapel. They are a professional vocal ensemble who makes beautiful music together. They sang the Our Father (Otche Nash) and Hail Mary (Bogoroditse Devo, Raduisya) in Russian. (We had the translations.) Except for the music, the Chapel was wrapped in meditative-prayerful silence. Violin, harpsichord, cello and viola added to the beauty of the evening’s music.

In earlier writings I’ve talked about reading to Mrs. Hanson’s First Graders. I brought a box of Christmas mice from my mouse collection to the classroom and they used them to decorate the Christmas tree in their room. I was please to share my treasures with the students.

Our services in the Motherhouse Chapel on Christmas Eve begin at 7 p.m. with songs and Scripture readings. The Mass begins at 7:30 p.m. There will be refreshments in St. Francis Hall after Mass. You are most welcome to come. Mass on Christmas Day is at 8:30 a.m. The next day, Sunday, December 26th is the Feast of the Holy Family. Again, Mass is at 8:30 a.m.

Merry Christmas to you and those you love. Let us pray for peace in our hearts, our world and our universe.

Pax et Bonum.

Sister Mary Lou

December 14, 2010

2010-12-14T14:19:00.000-06:00

BRRRRRRRRR! We got only a few inches of snow last Friday/Saturday and now the cold…it was minus 16 yesterday morning. I’m happy there is no wind. The snow piles are growing. (But nothing like the snow they received in the Twin Cities!) Snow mobilers have something to play on now.

We are into the third week of Advent. May your preparations for Christ’s birth be taking shape…especially the spiritual preparations to welcome Jesus.

Sunday was the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe—Patroness of the Americas. May Mary look upon our country and bring us peace and blessings…but we’ve got to work at it, too.

We had two wonderful concerts this past weekend. Friday night’s strings concerts brought a full house with standing room filling up, too. The St. Francis Community Chorale joined the Strings Orchestra in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from G. F, Handel’s Messiah. It was fantastic! You can listen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auZcaznDMRB8.

Sunday night’s Community Chorale Concert brought another full house. I say “Thank You” to those forty singers who practice long hours and so generously share their talents. The fourteen Sestri Na Mir choir opened the program with four Slavic Folk Songs.

Thursday night the Lion’s club members came to sing for us. Then afterwards, we enjoyed pizza with them.

One more concert note. Friday night, Dec.17, at 7:30 p.m., the group “From Age to Age” will be singing in our chapel. They will have excerpts from Handel’s Messiah with harpsichord, a string trio and a cappella selections to help us celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This group performed in our chapel last June and they were great. Take the time to come and listen. They will be at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Onamia, MN on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. And they’ll be at First Lutheran Church in Brainerd at 7:30 p.m. on the 18th.

At the back of our chapel gathering space are two large Christmas trees decorated with all the ornaments containing prayer requests from our donors. After Christmas 5 or more of these ornaments will be given to each Sister and we will pray for these persons all of 2011.

Peace and prayers,

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

The Choir prayed before their performance.

December 7, 2010

2010-12-07T15:45:00.001-06:00

Here we are into the second week of Advent already. It is nice that we have almost four full weeks of Advent this year. May the Lord bless us and keep us peaceful as we prepare for the Birth of Christ.

Last Saturday we had a retreat day. The presenter was our Sister Elise. One of her comments was something about the tsunami of shopping that goes on in this consumer society. We often get so engrossed with “presents” that we forget about the “presence” of Jesus in our lives. Sunday I was given a button that says, “JESUS is the Reason for the Season.” Jesus coming into our world is what it is all about.

Last Thursday the Franciscan Sisters hostessed the Little Falls Area Ministerial Association Christmas luncheon. The picture shows St. Francis Hall decorated for the occasion. We were expecting between 25 and 30 guests. Our Sister Mary Pat is the representative for the Franciscan Sistesrs.

On December 2nd, the United Church Women’s group hosted a Christmas Tea at First United Church, the church across the street from the Motherhouse. It was a time of prayer, songs and stories of the flowers of Christmas—and then a delicious lunch. Thank you, ladies.

Saint Nicholas visited us on Monday, the Feast of St. Nicholas, and gave us a little treat with our noontime meal. St. Nicholas, pray for us…and help us be generous as you were.

This is a picture of the Second Floor Clare Residence Advent calendar. Each day the message from one of the little bird houses is posted to remind them of the coming of the Lord on the 25th.

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the paternal feast of our religious community. Our original title was “Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Little Falls, MN.” Then because that was too long for computers, we are now titled “Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN” We will have morning and evening prayer together in Chapel, Mass and a festive meal to celebrate the day.

When my sister, Rita, was home from Indonesia two years ago, she gave me a lovely painted picture of the Loaves and Fishes. It is painted on “pulled bark”—tree bark that is pulled and stretched out to a thin sheet. I finally got it framed and we hung it in the mailroom. Now on days when I work there, I am reminded of Jesus’ multiplication of bread and fish and also reminded to pray for missionaries through out the world who spread the Word of God.

This coming Friday we will have the St. Francis Strings Orchestras Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. It is my favorite programs of the year. Then on Sunday we will have the Community Chorale Christmas Concert—again at 7 p.m. It, also, is my favorite concert. I invite you to attend.

On Friday, December 17, the group Age to Age will be performing at 7 p.m. in the Chapel. This too, is a wonderful performance group. I, again, invite you to attend. This group performed in our Chapel last August—and they were good! This group has been together only a couple years.

There has been lots of activity in the kitchen as we get ready for Christmas. Last week, one evening, we had a “Cookie Baking” evening. A number of Sisters and friends got together to make cookies and candies.

God bless you and have a good week.

Sister Mary Lou

November 30, 2010

2010-11-30T14:13:00.001-06:00

Here we are into the first week of Advent. How will I use this time of waiting so that when the Lord comes, I will recognize the Lord? Will I be ready? Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of all Franciscan Saints. The saints are the ones the light shines through—the light of Jesus’ love and hope. May we be that light to those who are part of our day. All Holy Franciscan Saints, pray for us.

On Sundays, our opening music at Mass, in semi-darkness, is the lone sound of Rita playing the harp. Each week of Advent she will add a few more notes.

I do hope you had a safe and good Thanksgiving. I spent time with my family on the farm near West Union. I know that the deer hunters didn’t get them all—two deer crossed the road ahead of me on my return to Little Falls on Friday.

We had 4 or 5 inches of snow yesterday and today. May all walkers and drivers be safe—and all snow shovelers, too.

This coming Saturday we will have an Advent Day of Reflection presented by our Sister Elise Saggau. Many of us Sisters will be attending. It will be a good day.

St Francis Music Center will be having Holiday Recitals Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).

Last Saturday, I went to the 4th annual Christmas at the Mansions. This is a fundraiser for the preservation of the historic Weyerhaeuser and Musser mansions, known as Linden Hill. These beautiful old houses are an important piece of the history of Little Falls.

Before I went to Linden Hill, I went to see the many decorated Christmas trees at the Minnesota Fishing Museum. People worked hard to decorate these lovely trees. The most unique decoration I saw as a chin made of birch bark circles. It was lovely.

May St. Nicholas (feast on December 6th) leave you a few treats—and no chunks of coal—on the eve before his feast.

May you be blest these Advent days.

Sister Mary Lou

November 22, 2010

2010-11-22T15:35:00.001-06:00

Happy Feast of St. Cecilia, patroness of musicians. God bless all those who bring music and song into our lives. You be a song, too, and share your love and joy with others.

As I write this, I see tiny flakes of snow falling…and over the icy coat already on the ground, this is not a good sign. I’m not looking forward to going out. The weather prophets give a dismal forecast for Thanksgiving travel. Plans could change. Better to be safe than injured!

Last week I made brief mention of the bilingual Mass last Tuesday. It was to commemorate the martyrdoms of the six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in El Salvador on November 16, 1989. Martyrdom continues to take place in our life time. We know the name of only a few, but there are nameless other witnesses to the Faith. Let us pray for the many who are persecuted because of their beliefs in our own day.

Yesterday morning we had the pleasure of a half-hour concert by the younger members of the St. John’s Boys’ Choir. What a treat. These 21 young men so joyfully share their musical talents. (They had performed earlier at St. Mary’s Church here in town.) After singing, the boys had lunch with the Sisters.

From Nov. 29 to Dec 15th, the Values Committee is sponsoring the “Caring by Sharing” project this Christmas Season. Proceeds will help support the Morrison County Boys and Girls Club and the Hands of Hope Resource Center. The Boys and Girls Club’s programs promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. The Hands of Hope Resource Center provides, free, confidential services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. For each $1 donation, donors will receive a slip of paper for a chance on many donated gifts. Last year I won a pair of homemade mittens. They are great and I am using them now. I find mittens warmer than gloves.

Speaking of donations, the Morrison County United Way Campaign just concluded. Our employees donated a total of $3,078.50 to the United Way Campaign. Thank you to everyone who contributed. God bless you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to each of you. We have much to be thankful for. Let us remember our blessings.

Have a safe and healthy week.

Peace and all good.

Sister Mary Lou

November 15, 2010

2010-11-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

With our first real snowfall, I can say, “Winter is here.” Our little covering of snow is hardly enough to mention when I see on TV the 9 to 11+ inches of snow in parts of the State south of us.

Our SFO Regional Council meeting on Saturday was cancelled. All the snow in the Cities was the main reason. The road to Brainerd yesterday was dry.

On Sunday there was a Belgium Waffle Breakfast in Annandale as a fundraiser to purchase medicines for the mission trip to Nicaragua in January. Several of the Sisters from the Motherhouse attended.

Last week I was in Dave’s Framing Shop here in town. I saw the biggest puzzle I’ve ever seen. It was six by four feet and made up of 6,000 one-inch pieces! It was beautiful—and will be hung in the pre-school classroom at Bethel Lutheran Church. I can’t imagine working on a puzzle that size!

Last week, too, the Sisters and employees finished this beautiful 1,500 puzzle. It is very timely with Thanksgiving next week.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 16th, Fr. Tony Kroll will be the presider at our Bilingual Eucharist/Mass at 11 a.m. We have them several times a year. We have been learning any number of songs with Spanish words.

I hope all the deer hunters had/have good luck in their sport. The more deer they get, the fewer, hopefully, there will be on the roads.

God bless you.

Stay safe and healthy.

Sister Mary Lou

November 8, 2010

2010-11-09T09:36:00.000-06:00

I like the kind of November weather we’ve had the past few days. And when it changes the end of the week, we’ll say, “Well, this is November!” This week, November 8 to 12, is Winter Weather Awareness Week. Refresh in your mind your driving skills and clothing types needed for bad winter weather conditions. Be prepared for winter weather…and in the meantime enjoy the present conditions.

Last Sunday, my friend John said something about the Mississippi River being high and flooding their lower lawn in Royalton. So after brunch I took my camera and went to look at the dam here in Little Falls. I was amazed to see all the turbulent water—much coming right over the top of the spillway. As I was looking, I was thinking this looks like how I’ve seen the river in the spring snow-melt season. I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that to the north of us places got three inches of rain a couple weeks ago and now the water was coming our way.

Tuesday was Election Day. I worked the second shift at City Hall in Ward 2. We were busy. Had lots of people registering, many because they had moved, and some were new voters. I took this picture of first-time voter, Joshua, as he put his ballot into the counting machine. It does disturb me that some people do not take the privilege of voting seriously and show it by voting for Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny.

Last week, too, we had the Red Cross Bloodmobile here for three days. Our goal was 260 and we got 254 units of blood. Had the 25 people we had to turn away been able to donate we would have gone way over our goal. Thank you, all you generous donors. YOU are a blessing.

Saturday evening we had another successful Spaghetti Supper. Many hungry spaghetti eaters filled the main dining room twice and St. Francis Hall once. I’m hoping there will be some leftovers for today’s noon lunch. The gift shop seemed to do good business, too.

God bless you.

Remember God loves you.

Love God in return.

Peace

Sister Mary Lou

November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T15:21:00.002-05:00

What a nice way to start November. It is so bright and sunny. One day last week three trees in our yard dropped all their leaves in one day…and with all the winds most of the leaves have moved to our neighbors’ yards…and theirs to our yard.

Last Monday evening several of us Sisters attended a program, IL POVERELLO: EXPLORING ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI’S LIFE AND DEEDS at St. Francis Church in Brainerd. The musicians were the Rose Ensemble from St. Paul. What a wonderful presentation. The music was of 13th and 14th century origin. Some of the instruments were new to me.

The big events of this week are: the elections Tuesday; the Bloodmobile at St. Francis Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; Taize Prayer at 6 p.m. on Thursday; and the Spaghetti Supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

On Sunday I saw Sisters Olga and Blase playing with the kittens. Last summer a mother cat adopted the Motherhouse as her home. The kittens seem quite tame and don’t mind being held.

The Halloween ZooBoo event at Pine Grove Park was a great success Saturday night. Lots of kids and parents attended. We had 72 Trick and Treaters at our house Halloween night. I expect lots of students are on sugar-highs today!

Sister Joel put up the Memorial Board in Chapel. Each year in November we have listed the names of Sisters, Priests, Family, Associates and Friends who have died the past year. We remember all these people in our prayer and at Mass each day of November.

Remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night before you go to bed.

God bless you.

May the Holy Spirit guide voters in the elections.

Sister Mary Lou

Every couple weeks I go to read to Mrs. Hanson’s First Graders at Lindbergh School. Here we are when I went to read a couple days before Halloween. Having taught first grade for so many years, there is no other grade as good as first grade in my estimation.

October 25, 2010

2010-10-26T12:24:00.002-05:00

Now it looks and feels like fall. Tree leaves are mostly down. The 1 ½ inches of rain the past couple days have probably slowed corn harvest. I’ve heard and seen the word “snow” in the forecasts for later in the week—and strong winds, too. Enjoy(?) the changing of the seasons!.

Last Tuesday we had the funeral for Sister Mary Gerard Wald. Abbot Brian Wangler, OSB, Sister’s nephew, was the Presider at the Mass…and it was his birthday. There were four religious Sisters in her family. At the time of the death of a Sister, the Archives folks put up a beautiful memorial display of the Sister’s life and achievements. Sister Gerard loved to dance. One of her favorite songs was “You Are My Sunshine.”

Last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 55 to 60 wonderful volunteers came to “stuff envelopes.” The envelopes are to about 17,000 of our generous donors in our Annual Christmas Appeal.. The volunteers started Tuesday morning and before noon on Thursday had stuffed, sealed and addressed all those envelopes. They work hard and fast and have a good time, too. Next week the post office will get a big present! We pray for our donors every day. God bless them.

We’ve all most likely, heard about the changes in the Liturgy of the Mass that will come about the First Sunday of Advent 2011. Last Thursday evening, I attended and informational meeting at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in which Anita Fischer, from the Diocesan Office of Liturgy, gave a very fine presentation. I understand the “what” and the “why” a lot better now. There is much more information at www.USCCB.org’romanmissal, if you are interested.

A number of us Sisters attended the Geritol Frolics program in Brainerd the past week. Geritol Frolics is a 2 ½ hour lively, fast-moving vaudeville song, story and dance type show. All singers, dancers and performers are senior citizens: age 55+. I was most impressed with the tap dancers, two of whom were over age 80. It’s a wonderful entertainment and if you can, think about attending next year.

The Take Back the Night program will be held in St. Francis Gym Thursday starting at 6 p.m. I am always touched to see the clothesline display of shirts and the stories remembering the lives lost through physical abuse of children, women and men.

Halloween is next Sunday. Some up-coming related events are a Sister/Employee Pot Luck noon lunch on Thursday (28th), ZooBoo at Pine Grove Zoo on Saturday from 4-8 p.m. for the younger children and Cage of Terror for people age 13 and older also at Pine Grove Park. After 8 p.m.

Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. are two Halloween music recitals sponsored by St. Francis Music Center. Young performers will come dressed in costume. These concerts are always fun. And I am always amazed at the talents of these young performers.

Remember to vote on November 2nd. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you exercise your right to vote.

The Bloodmobile will be at St. Francis November 3, 4, and 5. Times: 1 to 7 p.m. on the 3rd and 4th, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 5th.

We have a Spaghetti Supper November 6th from 4:30 to 7 p.m. This will benefit the St. Francis Music Center and St. Francis Health and Recreation Departments

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday November 7th. Move the clocks back one hour before you retire on the 6th.

God bless you,

Sister Mary Lou

October 18, 2010

2010-10-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

The temperatures are getting a little more fall-like, but the warm sunny weather surely is welcomed. The leaves are hanging tight on the oak trees, though most of the other trees have shed their colorful dress. Sister Joel has a lovely corn shock set up in chapel. Makes one really believe that fall is here.

They did it! The Vikings won their game Sunday. It didn’t look good at half-time.

Sunday was Mission Sunday. Who is a missionary? A missionary is one who shares her or his faith in Jesus Christ with other people and thus brings them to Christ and His Good News. I’d have a long list if, I listed all our Sisters who have served in foreign missions. Let us keep all missionaries in our prayers.

Early last Thursday morning, our Sister Gerard Wald left us for heaven. We knew she was on hospice and getting weaker. Then suddenly her breathing changed and her soul took flight. We welcome her body back to the Motherhouse this afternoon with a short prayer service. The Franciscan Wake is at 7 p.m. tonight and the Funeral is Tuesday at 11:a.m.

At the death of a Sister we do what we call Project Alert calls to all the Sisters.

Usually I am the one to make the calls, but because I was out of town most of the day Thursday, Sr. Julien did most of the calls and I finished the list when I came home. Besides the calls we also do an e-mail to all the Sisters who have e-mail. I do that, too.

We also do Project Alert calls at the death of a parent, brother or sister of a Sister.

Saturday, October 23rd is Make A Difference Day. Shaq O”Neal says, “ If you can help someone, do it. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. People with influence can help make the world a better place.” He is working to make a difference. How can I make a difference on October 23? And every day? Do it.

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

October 12, 2010

2010-10-13T16:02:00.001-05:00

What a difference a year makes. Last year on October 10th we had an inch of snow on the ground. This year we have temps well into the 70s and 80s. I’d be happy to keep this nice weather for a couple more months!

Sunday we welcomed 8 new Associates into our Associate Relationship. We had many guests for the Mass and a delicious meal. At the afternoon program Sister Janice Wiechman was one of those who received the first Franciscan Earth Citizen Award. This award was given to those who have observed well the principles of the Earth Charter. There were also many others deserving this award. I congratulate you, Sister Janice, on receiving this award.

Sunday I attended the Canonical Establishment of the Saint Alphonsa Fraternity as Secular Franciscans in Columbia Heights, MN. It was a happy time for all. Congratulations.

Monthly the Chamber of Commerce hosts an event called “Friday Morning Coffee.” Last Friday The Franciscan Sisters hosted 57 Chamber members and guests. Many Sisters also joined the Chamber members for rolls, fruit and coffee.

Homecoming was celebrated last week in our local public school. It was a beautiful day for the parade and football game…and the Little Falls Flyers were victorious.

Friday afternoon we celebrated the 90th birthday of Sister Leonette Bursch. Her brother and sister-in-law joined us for the celebration.

Work is being done to repair a leak in the roof of the bell tower section of Chapel. God bless people who can work in those “high-up places.” The view must be great from such heights!

God bless you and together let us thank God for these lovely Indian Summer days we are experiencing.

Peace,
Sister Mary Lou

October 6, 2010

2010-10-11T11:19:00.019-05:00

Oh, so many things to write about!

First was the celebration of the Feast of St. Francis on Monday. Our celebration starts with the Transitus the evening before the Feast. The Transitus is a prayer service commemorating the death of St. Francis. Seven Sisters, Associates and Friends do the acting out of the narrative with another group reading the dialogue. It is a prayerful time for all who attend. The Feast itself started with Morning Prayer together in chapel, followed by brunch. Next is Mass and lunch. And the day ended with Evening Prayer and a festive meal. It was a good day. St. Francis, pray for us.

Sunday noon we participated in the Blessing of the Animals at the little park across from the Episcopal Church. There were LOTS of dogs, two cats and a gerbil. At Brainerd’s blessing they blessed a pet snake, too.

Last Saturday we hosted the 50th Orphan Train Reunion. We had a full house with over 150 guests. The main morning event was a theatrical performance by Pippa White. In spoken narration and song, she gave a touching presentation of the history of the Orphan Train and the stories of some of the riders. Senator James Oberstar was one of the speakers in the afternoon. In the United States there are still 100 survivors who rode the Orphan Trains…Minnesota has 11 of these and six of them attended the reunion. Orphan Trains ran from 1854 until 1929. An estimated 250,000 children from the urban East Coast, predominately New York, were placed out on what has become known at the orphan trains. One of the planners for the reunion purchased a Lionel train which was given away at the end of the day. One lucky Orphan Train descendent went home with a nice toy for her grandchildren to play with when they got to Grandma’s house. Our 98-year-young Sister Justina had a wonderful day visiting with her many family and friends.

Yesterday morning when we came to prayer we had a special birth. A beautiful Monarch Butterfly spread its wings for the first time. After prayer we set the bouquet outside and during the day the butterfly took flight and left us.

Tomorrow we have the flu clinic for Sisters and Employees. I’m scheduled for 8:45 a.m. I hope you seriously consider getting a flu shot, too.

Sunday the Associates will have their day with the renewal of their commitments and new persons making their commitment. More about that next week.

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

September 28, 2010

2010-09-30T09:22:00.000-05:00

“Praise God from whom all blessings Flow.” These words come to my mind as ponder the blessings that are ours. We had only a couple inches of rain last week…and a promising dry and sunny weather most of this week.

Saturday I went to St. Paul for the SFO Regional Fall Retreat. Then I drove to Waseca for a SFO Visitation for the Fraternity there. Oh, all the water everywhere in that area! They had 7 to 10+ inches of rain in that area last Wednesday and Thursday. In every low place there was standing water…road ditches, farm field drainage ditches, fields, lawns, pastures, everywhere. Coming home on Monday, I stopped in Owatonna to get gas before I got on the freeway. I asked if the gas was good or if water had leaked into the tanks, because water had covered that whole area, too. The tanks had been checked on Sunday and because of good seals on the tanks there was no water in the gas.

The business place across the street had a big pile of water soaked merchandise outside the building. And in the roadside the park alongside the highway the tops of picnic benches were sticking out of the water. My prayers are for farmers and all those who are dealing with flood damage.

Saturday, October 2nd, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Orphan Train Riders of New York. Between 1854 and 1927, an estimated 200,000 children were put on trains heading west and south. Our Sister Justina was one of those riders who came to Minnesota in 1913 as a 22-month old child and was adopted by the Bieganek family. We are expecting 140+ participants at this year’s reunion. The afternoon program will be a one-woman show created by Pippa White of One’s Company Productions titled Story of the Orphan Train.

Sunday, at 12 noon, there will be a Blessing of Animals at Washington Park—across from the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour.

Sunday evening, at 7 p.m. in our Sacred Heart Chapel, we will celebrate the Transitus, a commemoration of the death of Sr. Francis. It is a moving and prayerful ceremony.

Then, on Monday, we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. We start the day with Morning Prayer at 8 a.m. followed by brunch. Mass is at 11 a.m. and evening prayer at 4:15 p.m.

Come, join us. St. Francis, pray for us.

A week from Thursday, Oct. 7th, we have the Employee/Sister Flu Shot Clinic. I will be there. All our precautions last flu season paid off. And I wish the same thing again this year.

Our State Governor will be coming to Little Falls for the Deer Hunting Opener this fall.

Maybe more on that later. May everyone be safe.

Peace and blessings,

Sister Mary Lou

September 21, 2010

2010-09-22T16:48:00.001-05:00

The last day of summer… bright and sunny this morning…and a tinge of fall in the air. We all like the sun and dryness…especially farmers who are trying to harvest corn and soy beans. On Sunday, our friend, Larry, from Morris, brought us more garden vegetables. Thank you, Larry. Some day soon we will again have a meal of stuffed green peppers.

I was on a journey most of last week attending a Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) meeting in Beaverton, OR. I was thinking about all my modes of travel—car, bus, wheelchair assistance in the airport, plane, train and van. Travel was good. People are so helpful. It was a good week. I learned many things and now have some more questions…and new resource folks to help.

Lots of activities were going on around here, too. Saturday, we had 82 guests for the Sisters/Associates Retreat Day with Franciscan Father Patrick Foley as presenter. From what I heard, all were spiritually energized from the events of the day: the talks, the Mass, the good meal and all the visiting.

On Sunday we had 160+ guests for our Donor Appreciation Day activities: Mass, dinner, and program by the Franciscan Community Volunteers. Those five young people have a lot of enthusiasm for the volunteer jobs they are doing. Thank you, Donors and Volunteers for all you do to spread the Word of God.

Another Sunday activity was the Solidarity in Mission Eucharistic Liturgy honoring Father John Kaiser, MHM at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in St. Cloud, MN. Our Bishop, John F. Kinney, and Bishop Philip Anyolo, bishop of Homa Bay, Kenya, concelebrated the Mass. Father Kaiser, originally from our Saint Cloud Diocese, was a missionary in Kenya for MANY years. He was martyred in Kenya ten years ago.

Sarah, a lady from Thunder Bay, found our name on the internet. She came for a retreat weekend. I heard she had a very good time during her stay here. I think she will come again for another visit.

Last Tuesday the Secular Franciscans of the St. Francis Fraternity here in Little Falls, celebrated their 75th anniversary. Congratulations.

Last evening”they” finished the flower puzzle. It was a hard one and took about three weeks to complete. Work started this noon on the next puzzle.

Sunday the KCs will come to serve cake and ice cream to the Sisters. God bless you for sharing your time and treat with the Sisters. We appreciate it.

Pax et Bonum (Peace and all good.)

Sister Mary Lou

September 13, 2010

2010-09-13T14:14:00.002-05:00

Praise God for several days in a row with no rain! Farmers are happy, I’m sure. The Arts and Crafts vendors were happy for the dry weather but could have stood a little less wind, especially on Saturday. Over all it was a very good weekend. As Block Host, I spent many hours at the fair these past two days and saw many beautiful and creative works. I would rank as #1 the original wood hand carvings by Richard Southard. His birds are exquisite! His booth was Impressions in Wood.

The food was great. I had the second half of a delicious chicken sandwich for breakfast this morning. I was gifted with a small package of Creamy Apple Dip from the Annie’s Garden booth and the directions to make an Annie’s Garden Apple Dip Cheesecake. I had a sample taste yesterday and can hardly wait to make it myself.

I drove through the downtown area about 6:30 last evening and except for the empty trash barrels and a few barricades, that was about the evidence of a big weekend in Little Falls. I want to thank the Chamber of Commerce workers and all the volunteers who helped make the 38th Arts and Crafts Fair such a success. It was another good event for our city

One thing I forgot to write about last week was that Sr. Maurita received the blessing of Community before she left for our mission in San Rafael, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. God bless all the Sisters living and working in our Mexico Missions.

We have two big events this coming weekend. First, on Saturday is the Sisters/Associates Retreat Day. Father Foley will be the guest speaker. It will be a good day.

Then on Sunday our Donor Day Appreciation celebration begins with Mass at 11 a.m., a delicious beef dinner with all the trimmings and a program featuring The Franciscan Volunteers.
Tomorrow I leave for a Secular Franciscan Order gathering in Beaverton, OR. And will return next Sunday. Pray for a safe journey for me. You travel safely, too

God bless you.

Sister Mary Lou

P.S. In my comings and goings through town this weekend I saw license plates from: MN, MT, IA, NE, VT, AL, ND, SD, WI, IL, MO, CA, CO, FL, TX. After seeing the first few license plates, I started making my list.