February 10, 2009

Today is the Feast of St. Scholastica, Partroness of the Benedictine Sisters. May God continue to bless them for their witness and services to the people of our St. Cloud Diocese.

On Saturday, several of us went to the first anniversary of the opening of Diamond Willow Assisted Living home in northeast Little Falls. I’d heard of the place but didn’t know where it was located or had never been there before. What a nice and homey place for the twenty residents who live there.

Sunday was World Day for Consecrated Life. It was a day to acknowledge the women and men who belong to Religious Orders, and for us to celebrate our Religious Commitment. The Crosier Brothers and Priests invited the members of the Religious Orders to Onamia for Evening Prayer, a social time and delicious meal on Sunday, February 8th. It was a great evening. We had twenty-nine Little Falls Franciscans in attendance. Five Vincentian Priests also came. God bless all members of all Religious Orders for their service to the Church.

The rain yesterday and this morning certainly has lessened the piles of snow. In a couple hours it will cool off and the rain will turn to snow.

The Library is sponsoring a “Book Exchange” three days this week for Sisters, Employees and their families. What an assortment of books have been turned in for someone else to read! I will go look it over and see what I can see…and maybe pick out a book or two, also.

Work on the kitchen renovation is in full force. Yesterday was a noisy day and it may be that way for a couple days. The men were removing the floor and some walls so saws and jack hammers were busy tools. To keep the dust from spreading to the whole building, they put up a temporary wall outside the kitchen. So for awhile we will have a mess, but it will be very nice when the work is completed. The Dietary Department is most affected by this work since the cooking is being done across the street in the small kitchen in Hurrle Hall.

May the Lord continue to bless and care for you.

Pax et Bonum.
Sister Mary Lou

February 2, 2009

Feast of the Presentation—Jesus presented in the Temple…and also the blessing of candles. We use candles in so many ways. And because of our Baptism we are expected to be lights to all around us. Let us strive to make the world a better place, one person at a time starting with ourselves.

Last Friday we had a blessing service for those being deployed to Iraq. Relatives and friends of employees and Sisters were invited for this prayer service. Four men were present for the blessing, but I included all those being deployed in my prayers. May they come back safe and sound.

Yesterday I attended the thirty-sixth annual l Pro-Life dinner at the Falls Ballroom. They were expecting four to five hundred for the dinner. As full as the Ballroom was, I believe there were that many present. The guest speaker was a local lady, Laureen Witt. She spoke on the blessings and challenges of raising a Downs Syndrome child. God bless all families who live with any challenges especially in this time of a tough economy.

Well, we didn’t have a January Thaw. I think I heard that you have to have two days in a row with temperatures over freezing to make it a January thaw. January ran out of days before the second day of warmer weather. It was 40 degrees above zero on the 31st and into the 30s on February 1st. So was it a January ½ thaw? And the Groundhog saw its shadow today. Even without that I believe we will still have another six weeks of winter!

Our Community Newsletter recently carried the following article submitted by Sister Gloria Haider. I hope you can relate to it.

On the sixth day God turned to the Archangel Gabriel and said:
“Today I am going to create a land called Minnesota. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty; a land of 10,000 beautiful lakes—each one full of fish.’

It shall have tall majestic pines, peacefully flowing rivers, landscapes full of buffalo, tall grass, and eagles, beautiful blue skies, forests full of bear, elk and moose and rich farmland.”

God continued, “I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper and they shall be known as a most friendly people, people who practice being Minnesota Nice every day.”

“But Lord,” asked Gabriel, “don’t you think you are being too generous to these Minnesotans?”

“Not really,” replied God. “Just wait and see the winters I am going to give them.!”

The remodeling project in the Convent kitchen started in earnest today. The workmen were there in full force. This past week there has been much activity in moving some of the needed cooking items to the small kitchen in Hurrle Hall across the street where meals will be prepared the next three months while the kitchen is being fixed up. A temporary bakery is set up in the storeroom across the hall from its usual home. So again we will have the mess of reconstruction going on for a little while, but it will be so nice when it is all finished. The remodeling projects in the other areas of the Motherhouse are so beautifully done. Now the last project is under way. May the work proceed without accident, injury or without unforeseen delays.

Peace and blessings,
Sister Mary Lou