January Happenings

We opened the new year on January 1 with the drawing of patrons for the year. The sisters gather in the chapter hall, where a list of the sisters names has been randomly shuffled, along with a list of patron saints, and a stack of holy cards with a quote and a prayer intention for the year. After each sister’s name is called, she kneels in front of a crib with the baby Jesus. Then, her patron saint for the year is read, and she is given a holy card with a quote and a prayer intention. This year, the community drew Mary the Mother of God as our patron, which felt very fitting as we drew her on January 1, her feast day!

On the feast of the Epiphany, we have a tradition that the novitiate sisters invite the community up to their community room where we sing Christmas carols and crown the three kings. On Epiphany morning, three of the cinnamon rolls had a large almond hidden inside. The lucky sisters to draw an almond were the kings for the day - Sr. Mary Ana, Sr. Mary Magdalene, and Sr. Bernadette Marie! Aside from the fun of being crowned, the other plus to being a king is that a couple days after Epiphany, we have a Mass offered for the three kings.

We’ve been in the midst of a cold snap recently, and were delighted to get some snow! We didn’t get much more than an inch or two, but it has been cold enough that the snow has stuck around for a week or two now. We got some freezing rain on top of the snow, which means that the hill in the backyard inside the enclosure is iced over and makes for a very exciting sledding slope at the moment! The challenge is to make sure that you stop before the trees and enclosure wall at the bottom of the hill. The only casualty thus far has been a sprained wrist, regarding which Sister has stated that it was “worth it.” The sisters have been having too much fun sledding to get any pictures!