Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Counting Your Blessings

Amid the turmoil of today's world I think Thanksgiving is coming at a really good time.   Tonight I listened to the news while some of the Sisters and my companions were watching it.  The entire show seemed to be filled with lots of turmoil and story after story of some other horror that is happening in today's world.   Listening to all the tragedy that people are dealing with makes me look even more at the many blessings I have been given as we celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow.   All week I have been trying not to think about the fact that I am spending the holiday far away from my family, but after listening to the news that should really be the least of my worries.  Am I sad to not be joining them tomorrow? Absolutely.  Am I going to miss them and all the traditions and inside jokes from years past? Without a doubt.   But tomorrow I will wake up in a house that has heat, I will have three square meals, I will spend the day with people who care about me and even if it isn't my blood relatives, I'll be spending the holiday with a group of people, who over that last few months have become some sort of family to me.  There are plenty of people out there who don't know if they will have a meal, if they have shelter from the cold, if they will spend it with people who care about them, or how they are going to spend it.  On this new adventure of my life there are sacrifices and in the scheme of things the things I find to be huge sacrifices are minimal compared to the many issues people face each day.

Today we attended the Thanksgiving prayer service the high school had before they left for break. One of the things I found very striking was when one of the girls read a piece about being thankful for our misfortunes and our struggles because they give us an opportunity to really see how lucky we are in this life.  I'd never thought about it that way and it is definitely giving me something to think about today.  

I'm thankful this year for many things, to name a few, my family without them I would be lost.  They support me always I don't know where I'd be without them.   My friends, watching someone pick up and leave can't be easy and I'm very grateful for those of my friends who make an effort to stay in touch with me.  My companions, I can't say I'm always thinking this, but I really am thankful for them.  Together we are all growing on our journey to become Sisters and they help me over come difficulties and challenges that come with this life.  They also point out things I need to work on to become the best version of myself.  I'm thankful for that pile of homework I have to do because it means I have teachers who want me to excel and become better.  I'm thankful for the tears I shed every time I leave my home because that means I am leaving a place where I am loved and accepted.  It means I always have a place I can go to and be welcomed. I'm thankful for the cold because it reminds me how lucky I am to have a warm house to live in and good clothes to keep me warm.

Big picture I'm very blessed.  I'm thankful each of you.  Thank you for being in my life, whatever capacity that may be.  I hope you all have a very safe and blessed Thanksgiving, that you may enjoy lots of good food and the company of your loved ones.  Happy Thanksgiving all!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

On the Road Again

We're taking our show on the road again to help the vocations director at another event.  This time we're heading west to go to the National Catholic Youth Conference.  Three days surrounded by tens of thousands of teenagers hyped up by the Holy Spirit, it's going to be intense and totally awesome all at the same time.  Plus a true test of our relationships as aspirants since the trip begins and ends with driving 11 hours to get there.  

Before we head out though, I thought I'd answer the next couple of questions.  The next two come from the Mrs.

Question 1:  Is there a Sr. Mary Clarence in your convent?

Answer:  No, unfortunately there is not a Sr. Mary Clarence.  We do however have several Sr. Marys, Sr. Mary Ann, Sr. Maryann, Sr. Mary Louise, and Sr. Mary Bertha. (These are from all of our houses, not just the one I live in. I do live with one of the Sr. Marys and Sr. Mary Ann and down the hill are several more Sr. Marys and Sr. Mary Bertha.)

How often have you watched Sister Act (1 or 2) since being in NJ?

We haven't watched either of the Sister Acts at all since we've been here.  One night we watched a movie called Lillies of the Field which is movie about some Sisters who move to the U.S. from Germany.  It was pretty good.  Last weekend we watched The Sound of Music because one of my companions had never seen it.  Sad I know.  No worries she is now culturally in the loop. One of the Sisters found out I hadn't seen Troubles with Angels so that is on our to do list for Thanksgiving weekend.  Needless to say we do watch movies about nuns.  


Thursday, November 12, 2015

Line Up

Next up on the line up: Sr. R

First I introduced to you our main teacher. Sr. TK teaches us a lot about the Sisters, discernment, and our faith, but we also are learning a lot of just how things go in the convent. Sr. R doesn't teach us any classes, but we spend a decent amount of time with her being her extra sets of hands.  She's the house economer which means she's in charge of all the money, so she is the one who we have to check with for a vehicle, does all the grocery shopping, and calls the plumber, roofer, etc.  She is also in charge of the grounds we live on and the school.  During the summer, she runs the camp held here. Sr. R teaches us a lot of life skills because while we are working with her we learn all the time.  About running a cafeteria, about running the property, and about a million other things.  She does an excellent job at looking out for all of us and making sure everything in the house is running smoothly.  It's big job and she keeps it all in line.  Although she has her moments where she can be intimidating it's very easy to tell that she's actually softhearted and out of her love for the people she serves she is tough for them.  Sr. R also has a great capability of making people laugh.  Originally she's from the Dominican Republic, so she has an accent and sometimes her pronunciations are a little off which will make all of us, herself included laugh.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A Golden Day

Today I'm taking a brief pause in the Convention Q&A and introductions to recognize a special young lady on her golden birthday.  This girl is full of sweetness and thoughtfulness always trying to make those around her feel loved and welcome.  She is always willing to give out hugs and will jump on any opportunity for someone to let her snuggle.   She has a great creative eye and is always producing different works of art to give out to those people she cares about.  Any occasion is a good occasion for her to craft something for someone special.  She has a big smile that lights up her face and when she smiles you can't help but want to smile along with her.  She lives in her own little world, carefree and loving life and all those in it.  As a disclaimer, I have to say that I haven't always greatly appreciated or understood her sweet, caring ways and I have most definitely had my share of misunderstandings with her as I don't always share her outlook on the world.

Little Miss you are silly, spunky, and sweet and I wish you a very happy golden birthday!  I hope you have a wonderful day filled with lots of wonderful things! Love you!


Monday, November 9, 2015

Convent Q&A

I didn't realize I answered AL's question twice, sorry about that.  On to the next question. This question comes in from Anonymous: "What made you enter the convent."

Answer:  The short answer for this question would be to simply say God.  However it was a much more in depth process to get here.  God has a plan for each one of us and it is our job to discover what that is and then to live it out to the best of our ability.  I hadn't really put a lot of emphasis on allowing God to show me His plan for my life until I was at college.  At college I was surrounded by a lot of very devout young people and I opened myself up to listening to God.  During a retreat I felt God really nudging me towards religious life so I talked to the assistant spiritual director who just happened to be one of the Salesians.  She started accompanying me through the discernment process after that. A few months later, I had a very powerful moment in adoration and felt God calling me at that particular moment to leave college to enter the convent.  Although I was very happy at college and loved my life there, I knew that if I didn't follow what I was being called to I would never have peace.  When we are living the will of God we are filled with an inner peace from the Holy Spirit which helps us to become the best versions of ourselves and work for the glory of God. Entering the convent is me going into deeper discernment of my vocation and trying to find where it is that I may be filled with God's peace and therefore work all for His glory.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Line Up

Mrs. MC made a request for an introduction of the lovely folks who live here in the convent, so I'll try to make an introduction each week.

First up in the line up is our formator, Sr. TK.  Sr. TK is the animator of the community and the aspirants' formator.  This means she is in charge of the community of Sisters, making sure every thing is running smoothly and everyone is doing okay and in charge of the formation process for us aspirants.  This job is very important and takes a lot of time because she besides teaching several of our classes, she also meets with each of the Sisters individually once a month and with the aspirants and temporary professed Sisters every two weeks. She also teaches classes to the novices.

Sr. TK entered when she was very young and has had a variety of positions in her time as a Sister. She has been a teacher, principle, animator and she is one of our former provincials.  Needless to say she's seen pretty much everything and therefore has a lot of wisdom to impart on us newbies.

She's also very anti having her picture on the internet, so I can't post a picture for you all to put a face to a name.