June 8, 2009

Praise God for gentle rain. I think we got about half an inch. May the rains continue throughout the growing season. Next week I should have a picture of the poppy blooms near our house. Today I saw the first bit of color on one of the many buds.

Friday a number of us went to the St. John’s Abbey Church for the Funeral Mass for Josephine Cecelia Kwatera, (age 91), the mother of Father Michael Kwatera, OSB. Father Michael comes here to Little Falls, several times a week to preside at Mass at the Motherhouse. May Josie be enjoying her new life with the Lord. Peace and comfort to Father Michael.

Saturday many of our family went to Hutchinson for the graduation party for Emily Eltgroth. It was great to see so many family and friends. Joe had a big tent set up over the driveway, but because of the rain and cold, no one used the tent. Emily’s Grandma Louise made her a really neat quilt using the fronts of all the t-shirts she’d gotten in her Girl Scout years. The quilt will go with her to college in August.

Sunday was Family Fun Day in Little Falls. Admission to several Little Falls attractions was free. So I went out to the zoo. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. How lucky we are to have such a great place right here in our own back yard. I walked around for an hour and saw most of the animals. I especially enjoyed seeing the little bear cubs. They were having such fun climbing in their pen. Then I went to the Lindbergh Interpretive Center. That, too, is a wonderful site to visit. There is so much Lindbergh history on display there.

Departure Day: For the last number of years a female duck has laid her eggs and hatched her little ones in the courtyard between the convent buildings. It happened again this year. She can fly in and out of the area, but the little ones cannot do that. Seven eggs hatched, probably on Saturday. So today with the assistance of the maintenance staff the doors to the hallway were opened and the little family made their way from the courtyard to the freedom of the grassy lawn. The mother duck headed straight west toward the Mississippi River and all the little ones, single file, followed her. Traffic on the highway stopped to let the little family on their way. (Photos by Sister Georgine Larson .)

The big event this coming Saturday is the Reception ceremony into the Novitiate for Isa
Berrones Morales. Congratulations, Isa. We now have two novices.

Starting Sunday evening we have the beginning of Community Days. This is the gathering of all of our Franciscan Sisters. We will all be together for the week It is always good for us to be together. Besides the meetings, there are always good fun times, too.

God bless you. Have a good week. Let us continue to praise God for the rain and add prayers of petition for continued good rains.

Peace and goodness,
Sister Mary Lou