Hello Everyone and Many Blessings to you all as we have entered the joyous Easter Season! Here in Wisconsin, we are definitely on a weather rollercoaster. The flowers are blooming but the snow keeps coming.
This 2nd year of Novitiate has been a time of much growth. I would actually say that the year did not pass by too quickly. But then I realize I have been absent from my blog posts for a bit of time and so I feel that some parts of our lives can pass by quickly while others move at just the right pace. I am sure all of us have had those feelings before.
To backtrack a little bit, Sister Michelle Marie and I had a wonderful time joining the Yooper (Upper Peninsula-Michigan colleges) crew and our Sisters Jacqueline and Linda, for SEEK 2024 in January. Throughout the week the energy and spirit filled the air as 20,000 college students, focus missionaries, priests, seminarians, deacons, consecrated/religious, and lay people soaked in the graces being received in this place filled with hope. How beautiful a sight to see so many alive in their faith and to know that our amazing God was planting seeds in the hearts of many. It was also a chance to meet up with friends and make new ones. Unexpected experiences came up like joining a pushup challenge with Spiritus to raise money. Also had opportunities to play some cornhole and pickleball with seminarians (Colorado Springs Diocese and Marquette Diocese) and students. Great time to have some friendly competition which lead to great conversations and so much more. Each daily Mass began with a procession of about 500 priests and 44 bishops and seminarians according to FOCUS. And on the night of adoration over 3000 confessions in 2 hours were heard along with daily confessions readily available. To think of how this conference began with a small number of Focus missionaries and now we see how it keeps growing every year. If you did not know, SEEK put their talks online for free this year at https://seekreplay.com . Definitely check it out!
(Sister Michelle Marie and Me, Col Sp Seminarians - Kevin, Stephen, Vincent & Joseph, Pickleball with students and Marquette Seminarian Zachary, Spiritus Crew, Pushup challenge, Yooper crew)
After SEEK I headed home to our Motherhouse and then at 3am I was off to the airport for my Mission experience to West Point, Nebraska. Each year we have an opportunity for one or two experiences to stay with our sisters on mission for a week to join them in community and learn about their ministries. When I arrived in West Point I shared I was missing the snow of the Colorado mountains but I guess I forgot to push the stop button. We had about two feet of snow by the end of the week with subzero temperatures. I did have a chance to see each of our sisters in action. Sister Louise took me to where she works as the Assistant Director of Mission at St. Joseph’s Retirement Community and St. Joseph’s Hillside Villa nursing home where there was visiting, BINGO fun, and indoor snowman building. I then went with Sister Joy to Franciscan Healthcare and learned about the different parts of her work as Director of Mission at the hospital including attending an orientation and yearly mission refresh. You could feel the family atmosphere among the employees. While I saw the snow falling I had hoped for sledding and before I knew it I was joining CEO Tyler’s kids to go sledding at a local park. There was about a foot of snow at that point and lots of fun was had by all. I also had a chance to go to Guardian Angels Central Catholic School with Sister Elizabeth Ann. How amazing to see classrooms filled with kids throughout all of the grades from elementary through high school. I had a chance to share my vocation story with different classes from 8th grade to 12th and then I was able to sit in on one of Sister Elizabeth Ann’s classes. In all my experiences throughout the week, Franciscan joy was present.
(Sister Louise, San Damiano Crucifix in the Hillside Villa Chapel, Snowman building, Sister Joy & Tyler, Sledding fun, Sister Elizabeth Ann)
Throughout all the time I continue the journey through Novitiate with my Sisters in formation and within our whole community and God. And of course with all of you that have been a support through prayer over these past years. I submitted my official request at the end of April to profess First Vows on June 2nd. Now I wait for the decision and to find out the next steps. In my next Blog post, I will share more happenings over these past months.
As always, If you have any intentions, please send me an email (Logan1018@gmail.com) and I will post them to our motherhouse prayer board. "May the glory and the promise of this joyous time of year bring peace and happiness to you and those you hold most dear. And may Christ, Our Risen Savior, always be there by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide." (author unknown)