Here I am again!

May 18, 2016

Here I am again after a long absence! The picture shows what I have been doing much of that time. Monday I finished the last of 15 radiation treatments for stomach cancer. After the last treatment we get to ring the bell to let the world know that that job is done. I am most grateful that I had no ill side effects from these treatments. I am now feeling quite well and able to enjoy these beautiful spring days.

During these months, I have been staying at Clare Residence, second floor where some of our elders and sick Sisters live and are cared for. I have been well cared for and am most grateful for that.

Many things have happened during these four months and I am not going to even try to recall them except for one event. This year our Community is celebrating its 125th Anniversary. One of the activities was to attend the play Late Nite Catechism at the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud. It was a time of many good laughs! In July we will be having a celebration here at the Motherhouse where family and friends will be invited. More about that as the time gets nearer.

We have long rows of lilac bushes here on campus that are a joy to look at and even a greater delight to smell. I just wish that their season lasted longer. Oh well, I’ll enjoy then while they are here.

At this time, the big field is plowed and ready and waiting for 63 gardeners from the city to come plant and watch their gardens grow. I am so grateful that we can share this land with gardeners who don’t have a garden plot available to them.

Every month or so, we celebrate a State or Country with what we call a “Dining Adventure.” Today we will celebrate Latvia. I needed to get out a map to see where that country is, and I’ll be interested to see what kinds of foods we are served.

On Thursday, Sister Joel Bieniek, age 99, will be the speaker at our noon enLUNCHment program. About once a month during lunch time a Sister talks about the “Old Days.” These are always very interesting presentations and I always learn something new about our Community.

According to our calendar, Saturday is Armed Forces Day. Let us pray for all those—living and deceased-- who are/have served in the military. They sacrifice a lot for us. God bless and care for them all.

On Sunday, the 22nd, we are expecting over one hundred guests for our 11 a.m. Memorial Mass for our donors--living and deceased. Then we will enjoy a good luncheon with our guests. May God richly bless all who support our Franciscan Community.

Until next time…

Peace and blessings,
Sister Mary Lou

Celebrate the Holidays!

December 30, 2015

This is probably the last time I will write “2015.” This little quote probably fits: “HEAL the past. LIVE the present. DREAM the future.” My wish for you is that your Christmas Season will continue to remind us of God’s Great Love for us by sending His Only Son to live among us, to guide and direct us, to support us in our needs, to show Mercy to us and Love for us. We are never alone. What a gift it is to have the gift of Faith and to be Baptized.

I hope you saw the full moon on Christmas Day. The last time it happened was in 1977 and will not happen again until 2034. I took this picture Christmas Eve. It was beautiful.

On December 12th MANY volunteers placed 4,190 wreaths on graves at the Veterans Cemetery. What a nice way to honor our Veterans. Thank you, volunteers. I have not been out to take a picture yet. I’ll post it when I get a picture. I always get goose bumps when I see all the green wreaths with the big red ribbons…especially with the white snow cover.

The Values Committee sponsored our Advent Giving Project of donating to Employment Enterprise, Inc (EEI). This program trains adults with developmental disabilities to achieve greater independence and self-sufficiency Earlier I showed all the gift boxes. The total we donated to EEI was $1,577! Pam Baltes, (red shirt) accepted the check. With her are some of the winners of the baskets. Table decorations that day little painted penguins made from long-stem glasses. I was fortunate to win one.

These two Christmas Trees, in the back of the Gathering Space of our Chapel, have the tags of the donor’s needs and intentions listed on them. In a couple weeks each Sister will get a little pile of these cards and those are the people we individually pray for during the coming year. We pray for all our Donors every day.

The snow on the walls in the courtyard makes for a lovely scene. We didn’t get very much snow from the mega-storm that was moving around earlier in the week. I don’t mind.

Here are a few of the crib sets I found around the campus. The card with the Nativity picture in the candle flame was the card we received from Bishop Kettler. It was drawn by a student from Mayhew Lake.

A special group of singers sang a song or two before the Christmas Eve Mass. All the music was beautiful. Sister Jean does a great job of selecting music and practicing with the Sisters.

A new marble bench arrived in our cemetery the week before Christmas. It is a gift from the Weier Family nieces and nephews to honor the six Franciscan Religious of the Frank and Nellie Weier Family (of twelve12 children). Four of the girls are members of our Little Falls Franciscan Community (Sister Lenore {1917-1974}, Sister Camillus {1919-1982, Sister Vianney {1924-__}, Sister Elizabeth {1927-2015}. Sister Helen, OSC {1933-­­___} is a Poor Clare Sister living in Bloomington, MN. Father Thomas Weier, OFM, Cap {1914-1980} was a Franciscan Priest ­of the Capuchin Order.

On Wednesday, December 23rd, from 3 to 7 p.m., Sister Julien and I “Made a Joyful Noise” out at Coborn’s Superstore as part of a fundraiser for the local Food Shelf. Folks were extremely generous. We had $674.77 in the box when we counted the money at 7 p.m. THANK YOU, GENEROUS DONORS.

Monday I had the nicest surprise. Kathy, a teacher I hired in 1977, to teach as St. Mary’s School in Morris, MN, came to visit, along with her husband, Dave, and their son Jason, who will graduate from Medical School in May. What a treasured visit!

The Blood Mobile will be here Wednesday and Thursday, January 6th and 7th from 1 to 7 p.m. and Friday, January 8th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

And I wish you peace and blessings in the NEW YEAR!

Sister Mary Lou