Convent Life

Thank you all for your responses.  I'll start with Mrs. MC's question first, a typical day.

That is kind of an ironic question because since we've been here no day has really been typical. One of the things the Sisters have told us is important about being Salesian is the ability to adapt because we have to a lot.  However we do have a schedule with what a day is supposed to be like.

5:40 a. m.:  We start our day in the big chapel with meditation.  My meditation usually includes trying not to fall back asleep, especially since they sit the aspirants in the front two pews.

6:10 a.m.: Mass, followed by morning prayers.

6:45 ish a.m.: Depending on the week I head back to the house for breakfast and then unloading the dishwashers and putting away the breakfast stuff, or I go down to the high school and help supervise the girls and sell them breakfast until school starts.

From the time morning chores are done until 9 is time to study or get other things done that we are working on.

9 - 10 a.m.: Class.  This changes daily.  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, one of the Sisters teaches us a class at this time.  On Tuesdays we use the time to study and do Italian online.

10:30 a.m.: Most weeks this is the time we head to the high school to help get lunch ready for the girls.  Then we help through lunch, giving them their lunches, selling snacks, and wiping down tables.

If it's my week to help at the high school we usually get back from that around 12 and then we raid the walk in fridge for leftovers and have our own lunch. If it isn't my week to help with high school lunch then I go down to the Provincial House where all the older Sisters live.  Two of us go down each day and eat lunch with them and then help with chores. Chore time at the Provincial House gets interesting because there are a bunch of elderly women who are all set in their ways trying to tell you 50 different ways to dry and put away dishes and mop the kitchen floor.

The afternoons are either study time again or we have class depending on the day, until 4.

4 p.m. starts our free time.  I generally use this time to take a decently long rosary walk with some of my companions and/or any Sisters who are around, or I go for a half hour run around the soccer field. On days when the girls have home volleyball, soccer, or tennis, we try to go to the games during free time to be moral support.

5:30 p.m. Spiritual reading and evening prayer in the big chapel again with the whole community.

6 p.m. Supper and chore time.  This is one of my favorite parts of the day because the whole community comes together and sometimes it's the only time some of the Sisters are around because their ministries keep them busy all the rest of the time.

7 - 8 p.m. Recreation time.  Recreation consists of anything from board games to a three on three basketball game, not cards though.  No one here really knows how to play cards and it makes me sad.

8 - 9:30 p.m. More free time, but it is generally quiet time.  I use this time to chat with friends on Facebook and send e-mails.

9:30 p.m. We have to be in our rooms by this time.  I usually try to get there before then.

10:00 p.m. Lights out.

Repeat.  The weekends are only slightly different because instead of class time we have chore time and more free time on Sunday afternoons.  So that pretty much sums up what a typical day is like.  It sounds pretty monotaneous, but since we rarely actually completely go by the schedule, life stays pretty interesting.

Reader Poll

Alright for all five of you out there who are reading this, I need ideas.  What do you want to hear about?  To me the daily in and outs of life at the convent are pretty much a rhythm at this point so it doesn't really seem like a lot of bloggable moments.  Granted when I say rhythm there really isn't one.  Our formator gave us a schedule when we got here six weeks ago and I can honestly say I don't think we've followed it the whole week through once.  There is a lot of last minute changes and spur of the moment things that come up, not necessarily interesting ones.  It's more like we're supposed to having class with Sr. So and So at this time but she can't make it so Sr. So and So is taking her place, or we're praying at here at 5:30 tonight.... ten minutes later scratch that we're praying in the other chapel.

So leave your idea in the comment section.  Feel free to make it questions about convent life too.  If I get enough of those I could start doing a weekly post answering one or two of your questions.

A Unique Experience

Sorry for the lateness in posting about Philly, but we came home and had to get right back to class and help get ready for a very large fundraiser for the high school.

Turns out we had tickets for the Papal mass all along, but when the vocation directors switched at the end of the summer that wasn't communicated.  So Monday we had the van loaded up and off we headed to Philly for a week at the World Meeting of Families.   The WMOF was a very cool experience.  There were people from literally all over the world.  My only speaking English status was a bit of a hindrance in communicating with some of the foreigners, luckily some of my companions and the sisters with us were able to talk to those people.  In order to make up for missing a week of classes we were encouraged to go take in some of the talks taking place throughout the week.  I sat in on the talks from Bishop Robert Barron and Dr. Scott Hahn.  Both men had some really great points to make that although directed at the family could also be applied to people in religious life.

Friday is when the real fun began.  After tearing down our booth and sending all the stuff back to the convent, we headed out to explore historic Philly.  Being the Revolutionary War history nut I am, I thoroughly enjoyed touring Betsy Ross's house, attending church at the oldest Catholic parish in the U.S., and seeing other places our Founding Fathers frequented while in Philly.

Saturday we got up super early in order to be present for all the activities the Pope would be participating in upon his arrival to Philly. We somehow managed to be standing right next to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul when he arrived to say mass.  Unfortunately, due to the large number of people we couldn't see him.  After listening to the mass on the jumbotron we headed to find good places for the parade and in doing so I met up with a group of students form U of I.  Pretty much made my day getting to see the folks from home.  Then along with one of the sisters, the priest who spent the week with us and a friend from U of I we went and stood along the railing for something along the lines of 4 hours waiting for the parade.  The parade finally came and although it was very exciting to see Pope Francis in person, it was a bit of a let down because they drove him by really fast and we literally only saw him for 6 seconds.

Sunday was the big day.  We got to the Parkway super early so we could have good seats. One of the Sisters grabbed a nice section of a hill and we parked it until the Mass. It was amazing the number of people who were crowding into the area to attend the mass and in hopes of seeing Pope Francis. Shortly before the parade started, the same sister who found our sitting area suggested to Companion B and I that we go try to get a closer look for the parade.  I'm so glad we took her advice.  We found a spot next to a family that wasn't super crowded.  The great part, the family had a two month old baby.  When Pope Francis drove by, the dad held out the baby and the pope stopped for the Secret Service to bring the baby to him so he could bless her. It was amazing! For a solid two minutes the Pope Mobile was parked all of about 20 feet away from me.  Seeing him that close was a very moving experience.  I had to chuckle because when he stopped he looked down at his watch to check how much time there was before mass started, showing his punctuality and humanity.  Mass was also pretty cool.  The only downside was he did the homily in Spanish so I have to find it online and listen to the translation.

All I can say from the whole experience is that God works in wonderful and mysterious ways in providing us with such a unique and monumental experience in our formation.

Taking this Show on the Road

With the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this next week comes a major vocation fair.  The Salesians are taking us aspirants along as part of their booth.  So for the next week we'll be hanging out at the World Meeting of Families encouraging other young women to discern their vocation.

Perks:  We get to go to some of the sessions and hear some really great speakers.

Downside: Pope Francis doesn't hit Philly until we're gone.  Guess the closest I'm getting is watching him on T.V.

A Very Special Day

Today I'm wishing a very happy birthday to several important people in my life. 

First wishing my Great-Grandma on BOTD's side a happy 96th birthday! 

Next to Madam Treasurer.  For the last 18 years you have been the Buzz to my Woody, the Dory to my Marlin, the Mike Wazowski to my Sully.  To have a friend willing to drive 2 hours to come to my convent send off party for a few hours only to turn around and drive back those 2 hours, drive to my house at 4:30 in the morning to wish me one last goodbye, then a week later to show up at my house with half of her closet so I (and Elizabeth Taylor) have something to wear, that is a very true friend and an absolute blessing to my life. I wish to you the happiest year yet as you begin your next decade of life!  Goodbye to the teen years!

Third to a little girl who kept us impatiently waiting for her arrival five years ago.  Then on this day I arrived home from Madam Treasurer's 15th birthday slumber party to have AL tell me she was going to the hospital and I needed to stay awake at least long enough for Grammy and Poppa to arrive at our house.  Ever since then you have kept us entertained with your spunk and sass and ability to state the obvious when no one else will.  It's been an honor to be able to watch you as you grow up into a big girl getting ready to take on the school world next year.  Happy birthday Star!  I hope you have an awesome 5th birthday, may it be filled with lots of celebrating!  I can't wait to Skype you later!

I'm Official

As of last night, I am officially an aspirant with the Salesian sisters. We got our uniforms, went to evening prayers and received our medals.

They weren't joking when they sad they like to party.  After the ceremony we had an awesome supper and then as you can see they got us a cake.  They even let us stay up let and watch a movie and by late I mean the movie got over at like 10:30....  Amazing the difference of the meaning of the word late between college and the convent.

She's Legen, Wait for it..... Dary

It's not everyone who gets to go to McDonald's with their great-grandma and explain to her how you order a plain burger because she doesn't understand why asking for no cheese still means they put onions, ketchup, and pickles on it.
It's not everyone who at seven years old spends the weekend at their great grandma's house and gets to rent The Wedding Planner. (AL didn't know that until yesterday.)
It's not everyone who can share in the confusion of trying to wrap their head around why someone who dislikes cheese so strongly she won't eat pizza enjoys chowing down on a bag of Cheetos.
It isn't everyone who's goal in life until they are 9 to pass up their great-grandma because it's a right of passage in the family.
Not everybody gets to go hang out with their great-grandma and watch Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies when they come home from college on Christmas break.

I remember one time when you babysat me and we were going to get McDonalds for lunch and you told me how much you disliked backing out of our driveway because you were sure you were going to hit the telephone pole.  I remember going to your house and having supper with you and we knew when you said we could have Pepsi if mother said it was alright that we were going to get to drink Pepsi because Mom wasn't going to say no to G.G.  I remember searching at grocery stores for the little cans of Pepsi because you just couldn't finish a whole can.  We didn't find them very often so I also remember frequently splitting a can of Pepsi with you at family functions. I remember watching I Love Lucy dvds at your house when we visited sometimes.  I remember when Dad Skyped in for somebody's birthday and you were absolutely amazed he could see and hear you from half way around the world.  I remember turning red in the face at Fourth of July while Mrs. MC and Munckin doubled over in laughter when you told AL my date was a pretty good looking guy and he was sitting three feet away from you. I remember when you kicked me out of your room at Evenglow twice in one week, because "I should go home and help Mother."  I could go on forever with my I remembers, but that would turn into a novel and not a blog post.

G.G. you are legendary and you left behind a legend that I'm sure will live on just as long as you lived with us because how can you spend almost a century on this earth and not leave behind a legacy that will live on for much longer.  I've spent some time trying to wrap around my head what it would be like to have a life that spans from major communication moving from the telegraph to text messaging, that spanned both world wars and the Great Depression, and to see the evolution of computers. You inspired us all to live life to the fullest, to take advantage of every moment in our lives and to above all place our trust in the Lord above to carry us through even the darkest of times.  You share so many things with us, your love of chocolate, movies, dancing, family, and learning.  Although I seem to have not inherited all of your enthusiasm for chocolate and shopping, I do believe you are probably part of the reason I enjoyed my Monday night swing dance at Newman so much last year.  I'm so grateful that I got to spend the last 19 years with you and witness you in action. You are so loved and you will be missed so much.