The school year is rolling on and Autumn is surrounding us here at the Motherhouse while the hope of a couple more weeks before the first freeze holds on as our flowers continue to bloom. This summer of 2023 had so many happenings but I thought I would just highlight a few in the blog today.
I had a wonderful home visit to Colorado Springs at the end of May beginning of June. It was short but packed with moments of God fully alive and working in the lives of so many. I felt truly blessed to be able to be home to witness the Transitional Diaconate ordination for Patrick, Anthony, and Sean. The cathedral was packed and the Mass was beautiful. May our amazing God continue to bless them as they look towards their Priesthood ordination in 2024. Also I was unable to attend but I was there in spirit for Father Thomas Pressley's Ordination in Colorado Springs as well! And blessings and prayers for our seminarians, priests, religious sisters, and deacons in the diocese of Colorado Springs along with Bishop Golka. God is truly working!
(Deacon Sean, Fr. Kyle, Lisa Hunt)
(Deacon Anthony & Kevin)
(Deacon Patrick & Maria)
(Our funny picture: Kevin, Josh, Mark, Ian at Ordination)
(Father Thomas & Kathleen)
During the summer we have about a four-week formation program. All Novices and Temporary Professed are a part of this coming together which includes instructions, prayer, and fun. We all enjoy this time because our Sisters in formation who are out on mission come home and so it is an extended time to be together which we all look forward to each year. In July Sister Mary Teresa took her Perpetual Vows which was so exciting to witness. There were not enough seats for all of us Sisters and the guests which was an amazing Blessing to see the amount of support and prayer Sister Mary Teresa has in her life.
(Sisters Mary Teresa, Maria Guadalupe, Theresa, Concepción)
(Relay race at Arise Milwaukee - I loved the dinosaur hat)
(Arise Milwaukee - Magic show for the kiddos)
(Perpetual Vows - Sister Mary Teresa)
In August we had two Postulants enter, Elise and Jenn. A time of welcoming them in to a journey of discernment with God and the community. It is also a time of new beginnings and many graces of what they have to bring and what our community shares back with them. Sometimes through prayer and discernment young women may decide God is not calling them to this place at this time and this is what happened with Elise. Our amazing God called her back to her hometown where she continues to discern what is next in her life. She will be missed but we are thankful for how her life impacted our lives while she was here and God had his reasons. Jenn was received into our community officially as a Postulant through the Insignia ceremony. So wonderful to see how God works in all of our lives in so many different ways. But the only way to truly understand is to listen and respond and to know that God is always with you in each step you take. So now our initial formation, who lives at the Motherhouse, has grown by one which is a true blessing. Jenn (postulant), myself (2nd year Novice), and Sister Michelle Marie (1st year Novice – Canonical year) are enjoying the time we have together as we grow to know one another along with our wonderful team members (Sisters Adrianna, Mary Kay, Laura, June, and Sue Ann) and directress (Sister Kathleen). We have wonderful support as we each receive separate instructions which are helping us to grow in understanding of religious life, God, others, and self. As we journey together we discern this amazing path in which the Lord is leading us down. This semester I am taking a couple courses and the one that has been really interesting is a graduate course in Youth culture. The focus of the course is on Generation Z. It is interesting that they are the next generation from mine but are seemingly so different. This course has also caused me to reflect on how important it is to understand the different generations you may be working with or ministering to because we are all so different. We of course also realize within those generations each person is so unique in who God created them to be. But maybe if we took time to see through the eyes of a generation we may have an ability to connect in ways we did not see before. The very first week of my class had to do with such an important aspect of community and relationships and ministry which is listening. Our Professor shared a great quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer which I thought was fitting to mention. “Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God”. How amazing is it to have someone in our life whose love is unending and He is there to listen to us and we are there to take the time to listen to what He wants to speak to our hearts. We had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago to attend two wonderful back to back events. The first was the Eucharistic Congress in Madison, Wisconsin and the 2nd was a St. Francis Day Celebration at the Catholic Ecology center in Neosho, Wisconsin. I just wanted to share the two reflections I wrote for these events.
“At the end of September, we traveled to the Madison Diocese for their Eucharistic Congress at St. John the Baptist Church. The day began, as all days should, with a beautiful Mass. The Presider fed us with the Word and the Eucharist as we came together in community to sing and worship our God while the voices of the choir took us to a place of deep prayer. Nourished and energized we headed into the day of reflection as we listened to the wonderful speakers, spent time in adoration, had opportunities for confession, explored the Eucharistic miracles displays, watched an award ceremony to young people from the Knights, and of course played a short game of corn hole. One of the speakers, Father Vasek, shared "our inheritance is like an anchor behind the veil" and we were reminded "to receive God as He comes to each one of us because without Jesus, we have nothing, but with Jesus we have everything". Every person is equipped, with their unique gifts and talents from our loving Father, to bring the message of Christ to those we encounter on a daily basis. Thank you, Bishop Donald Hying, and to all who were a part of making this memorable day possible. Blessings to all of those who said Yes to attend.” "What a joy-filled sunny day we had at the Catholic Ecology Center in Neosho as we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi a few days early. The sounds of laughter filled the air as children and families explored the different hands-on activities on the beautiful grounds at the center. We started off the day as we took a moment to say a prayer and light a candle to add to the beautiful altar in honor of St. Francis on this day of celebration. After some exploring, Fr. Malucha from Holy Family Catholic church led a wonderful Blessing of the animals for all the adorable pets present. Then we joined in with the families to play some different games and activities, such as minnow racing, ring toss, tomahawk throwing, pumpkin painting, and bubble making. Of course, we cannot forget the petting zoo or the fun face painting. It was inspiring to see all of the families engaging in the outdoor activities. It was wonderful to chat with the kiddos, parents, staff, and volunteers. The atmosphere of the Ecology center is one of a spirit of peace and a true family feel as you learn and interact with one another. We look forward to the possible future events coming up during the year and are excited to see the completion of the chapel and additional spaces next May. Thank you, Catholic Ecology Center, for all you do to foster stewardship through the Catholic faith and bring the outdoors fully alive in all of your programming. Pax et Bonum!"
(Me, Regina (Sr Mary Teresa's sister), Jenn, and Sr Michelle Marie)
(Fr. Malucha - Pet Blessing)
(If there is a chance for bubble making you just have to join in.)
As I come to an end of this blog posting I wanted to share to please pass along any prayers that you would like added to our prayer board here at the Motherhouse. Also if you have any questions you think would be interesting for me to share in my blog just let me know. You can send the prayer requests and questions to Logan1018@gmail.com. I did also want to ask for your prayers as well. Prayer Requests: - Please continue to pray for the Colorado Springs Diocese and Green Bay Diocese Seminarians and Priests and of course all Seminarians. Special prayers for Deacons Patrick, Anthony, and Sean as they look towards Ordination in June. -Please pray for all Religious Vocations, both men and women, especially for those with connections to the Colorado Springs and Green Bay Diocese but of course all vocations as well. -Please pray for Sister Marcus, one of our Sisters who had a stroke and is in rehab at this time working to gain back speech and mobility. -Please pray for Sister Concepción, one of our Temporary Professed Sisters in our formation group, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is in the process of 3 rounds of chemo treatment and then looking to surgery in the Spring. Blessings to you all! Pax et Bonum!