May 18, 2010

Praise God for the 2½ inches of rain last week. ..and now we’ve had four days of sunshine and warmer weather. The grass is really growing. And I can hardly believe how full the leaves are on the trees. I covered many miles this past weekend for Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) business and saw only two farmers working in the fields. The poppies in my flower bed at home are starting to show many heads, so soon we will have lots of red flowers.

We have enrichment programs during lunch hour that we call “enLUNCHment” programs. Our speaker last Wednesday was Andrew Jilani who was originally from Pakistan. He is a Catholic and currently lives in the United States and has a USA passport. He holds a doctorate in International Education and social Justice. His talk was titled “Understanding the Taliban and Developing Strategies for Peace.” It was a most informative program. He worked four years with Amnesty International. Last year he was teaching at St. Cloud State University. He speaks several languages: English, Punjabi, Hindi, German, Spanish and Urdu. Most of us would have enjoyed listening longer to him. And we will be able to do so when he gives a two-hour presentation, Tuesday, June 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Many sisters do many kinds of fancy-work. Pictured here we have Sister Julien with the quilt she made. It has the state name, bird and flower for the states of the USA. It is beautiful and a real treasure.

I will close with a blessing of St. Francis: 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.

Peace and blessings on you and on those you love.

Have a good week.
Sister Mary Lou