This is the Day the Lord has Made

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

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