August 30, 2017

For a quick second, I wondered what I would write about today. One look at the bulletin board and I had plenty of items.

August is almost over…and soon the new school year starts for many students…but not for those students in the hurricane area in Texas, if they even have a school left for them to attend. I cannot imagine such devastation. For them we pray.

Sister Mary Alice Doll, age 96 and a Franciscan Sister for 75 years, died Saturday morning, August 26. 2017. Sister Alice was Director of Religious Education for the Saint Cloud Diocese for many years. As an example of her influence, when she began her diocesan ministry only 15 parishes had a religious education director while at the time of her retirement, 74 parishes had developed religious education programs. Her Franciscan Wake is at 7 p.m. this evening and the Mass of Christian Burial is tomorrow, August 31^st, at 11 a.m. Sisters had been sitting with her during the night for several days before she died. During the day, her niece, Patty Doll, stayed with her. Eternal Life give to her, O Lord, and let Perpetual Light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Sister Alice was also a gifted artist. She drew pictures for the Stations of the Cross that line the pathway to the cemetery. Here are a couple of her paintings.

We had another very successful American Red Cross blood drive here Monday and Tuesday. We collected 196 units of blood. God bless and care for all the generous donors and the staff who worked the drive.

Another note on the bulletin board asks us to pray for a donor, Greg, who will have a bone marrow transplant tomorrow (31^st). The donor is a 100% match and lives in Germany. That takes teamwork between doctors, pilots and others to carry that off! For Greg it is a matter of life and death. Again, let us pray for the success of this endeavor.

I’ve been watching the news about hurricane Harvey. Thank you to all who are helping out there.  The need is great. One news article said that in a 1927 hurricane the Mississippi River was 600 miles wide. Could that be true?

Yesterday our friend, Larry Anderson, from Morris, brought us 585 pounds of cabbage. That will make lots of coleslaw and sauerkraut! God bless you, Larry.

Last week, the folks in the Development Office sent out a bulk mailing of 3,000+ appeal letters. The proceeds from this appeal will benefit our Franciscan Ministries. Because of your generosity and love of the Gospel, we are able to provide assistance and care to people who are poor, marginalized and forgotten. Again, we are praying for all our generous donors. Thank you.

How about this for a beautiful tray of little tomatoes from our convent garden.

While filling in for lunch-break this noon, I picked up the little book from the Music Center that describes their many offerings. They have a staff of 26 people and offer many types of lessons:  piano, organ, guitar, music therapy, violin, viola, brass ensemble, orchestra, cello,  bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, gymnastics, dance, voice, theory, accordion, percussion, etc. Sister Cecilia Schmitt was instrumental in establishing the Music Center 38 years ago.

That’s enough for this week.

God bless and continue to care for you.

Sister Mary Lou