Hello Everyone! As I write this update today it is hard to believe that I have been here with my FSCC community for almost 2 ½ months. I feel as if each day I am continuing to learn something new. And how amazing to be back in an area where the leaves change to so many amazing Fall colors. Do I miss the mountains of Colorado….. of course I do. But there is a definite beauty in farmlands and rolling hills and the inviting forests here in Wisconsin.
What a great time of year for a transition through the Fall season. We witness the trees letting go of their leaves and giving back to God. Such as we need to let go at times and place ourselves in the hands of the Lord as we trust in where He leads us. In the Christian prayer book it shares “Let your Word, Father, be a lamp for our feet and a light to our path, so that we may understand what You wish to teach us and follow the path Your light marks out for us.” From the first day I stepped into the convent it has been about letting go and listening and being open to where the Lord is leading me through my community one step at a time.
So how are things going? I will admit that the entrance has been challenging with the changes to daily life and new routines/schedules, especially when you are someone who was independent and living by yourself. I do feel blessed that during the last 6 months in Colorado Springs I was living with an amazing couple/friends. Having a chance to live with others before entering definitely made a difference. Of course now I am living with about 80 sisters at the motherhouse. Hmmm…. Bit of a transition. If anyone says that is easy, I would wonder. But how amazing it is to be around so many Sisters with different gifts and talents and to see what they bring to our community and how much I can learn from them.
In the learning comes the direction and ease into understanding and living the vow of obedience. The first year is structured in a way to "get your feet wet" while preparing you for the next step, God willing, into Novitiate which is a more cloistered two years. Of course with each step, with God and the community, there is the purpose of preparation to understand and live the life of a Religious Sister as all of you discern this vocational call. People have been asking me what my days look like so I thought I would share that in this blog post as well. So each step of formation is different so I will speak of what my days are like as a postulant. Each day we have morning prayer, Mass, laundry, mid-day prayer, vespers, and compline. There are also other spiritual prayer opportunities such as Gospel sharing, Adoration, and Rosary times. Then two days a week we have instruction with our formation team of Sisters which is where we learn about the history of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and religious life ongoing discernment. One day weekly we meet with our directress and we are reading through the documents of Vatican II at this time. We also have chores just like anyone else would have in their home. Of course this family is a bit bigger but we all do what is needed to take care of our home and each other. Then two nights weekly we are with the sisters who are a part of our formation team for dinner and recreation, one night a week we are with our directress, temporary professed Sisters and their superior. And then one night a week we are with the temporary professed sisters. I enjoy each recreation night for different reasons. Of course I really enjoy playing sports or other games with my peers. I feel truly blessed to have a group of Sisters here at the motherhouse who are in formation. See the picture from our recent pumpkin carving/smores night below!
And what about Missions or Volunteering? Well as a postulant I am not sent out on Mission, except there is a possibility after my Christmas break I would go on a short Mission experience at one of our convents outside of the Motherhouse. This would give me an opportunity to see the day to day of one of our Mission communities which are usually at least three sisters if not more. As for volunteering, during the week I am out in the local community. Since I entered the convent with a college degree in hand, I did jump right into volunteer work. Typically postulants would begin working towards a college degree if they did not enter with one.
I am currently helping at a local parish and our Sisters hospital. So two nights weekly I volunteer at one of our local parishes which I really enjoy. I help on Sunday evenings with Scripture study and the high school Dead Theologian Society. And then on Monday nights I am helping with the middle school Edge program. I am the new volunteer to the core team and I have been learning so much from the others and the youth minister. I really enjoy working with the youth.
I also am helping with random projects with young adults and vocations through our Vocation directress which I really enjoy as well. Then two days weekly I am helping at Holy Family Memorial which is the hospital my order founded in 1899. I am able to help in hospitality as an escort to people who are coming to the hospital as patients, visitors, vendors, etc. We greet them and take them where they need to go and also assist with wheelchairs. Then we will also assist patients as they leave appointments or are discharging from the hospital, similar to an orderly. I work with some wonderful groups of volunteers at the hospital. From what I have experienced, there is a real sense of community spirit and care here in Manitowoc.
Alright that is it for now but I will leave you with some funny moments in the convent since I entered:
-For months I wondered why there seemed to be so many tennis racquets in various places around the convent. I thought the Sisters must really enjoy tennis. Well………..I found out that sometimes in older buildings like ours that we can get bats! And the tennis racquets are used to help get them out an open door. I was not ready for that one. Ha!
-I was cleaning St. Francis chapel, within our Motherhouse, which has statues that were brought over with our founding sisters from Germany and yes……… I managed on my first day to knock loose one of the chains on an angel but God watched out for me and nothing broke as I held the lantern in my hand. Luckily it was an easy fix for one of the Sisters. Did not get fired from the cleaning crew. Ha!
-At our Transitus ceremony (The Transitus, from the Latin word for passage or crossing, commemorates the completion of St. Francis' earthly life, and his passage through death into eternal life.) which was a beautiful experience this year. I was carrying up the Saint Francis candle and even though in practice there were no issues, I could not get the candle in the holder. So there I am in front of all the Sisters but I kept my cool and I really thought I might just have to turn around and hold it the whole ceremony but luckily my directress kindly came over and with a magic touch put the candle in the holder. Then I was helping to light candles as sisters came forward in the ceremony and managed to trip on the altar step but I did remain standing. Ah, to be human and not perfect. It is in moments like these that we learn to laugh out ourselves.
Thank You so much for reading my update today! I will leave you with a Prayer request. Please pray for all of our Sisters in formation here at the FSCC. Also pray for two new applicants to our Order that are currently in the application process, May God’s will be done. And as always pray for our Colorado Springs, Green Bay, and Milwaukee seminarians and religious in formation. Blessings to you on this beautiful day!
Pax et Bonum!
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