Novice Mistress's Feast Day

Every year the feast day of the novice mistress is celebrated with special festivity by the novitiate. Sr. Joseph Maria's feast day is the Visitation, but because it conflicted with the Monastic Theological Study program the novitiate had their celebration on June 15th...which just so happened to be Sr. Joseph Maria's 10th anniversary of entrance!

All planning and decorating is done by the novitiate sisters as a surprise for their novice mistress. This year's theme was Home & Garden....very appropriate for our green-thumbed sister! Besides coconut cookies and a veggie platter, the creative novices put together a dirt pudding complete with worms (of the gummy variety). They also crafted a rose centerpiece using all of the different roses blooming in the monastery gardens. 

In between chatting and eating the sisters played Monopoly. Sr. Joseph Maria's crippling hotel taxes ended most of the sisters in jail (a new rule--go to jail and stay there until you can pay!)...which ended up meaning Sr. Joseph Maria was the only one paying taxes! When asked who won the answer was "We don't know!" An interesting twist on an old favorite.