Drawing of Patrons
As per tradition, we had our annual drawing of patrons Saints on Jan 1st. Our three youngest in religion have the privilege of calling up each sister, announcing their patron, and reading their prayer intention for the year along with a short quote. Not only does each sister receive a patron and intention, the community as a whole and the novitiate get 'called up.'
This year our three youngest were Sr. Marissa, Sr. Kendra, and Sr. Maria Rose. As each sister is called up she kneels before the baby Jesus in His crib. After she receives her patron she bends down to kiss the infant before returning to her place. It is always interesting to see how well the quote matches the sister who receives it, and often there are many smiles and a little laughter to go along with a particularly well suited quote.
After everyone has received her patron, we sing the Magnificat antiphon for the new patron Saint of the community, this year the Sacred Heart. Every day when we finish praying the rosary as a community the prioress asks for the intercession of our patron Saint. It can be a struggle at the beginning of the year to remember that it has changed and who the new one is!
