What Some Franciscan Sisters Do in Their Free Time

Last weekend was one of the discernment retreats for our community, and we had the pleasure of meeting (and seeing again for a couple of them) 7 young women. It was exciting and included music outreach at Holy Family Parish in Brillion. (We occasionally travel to parishes throughout the Green Bay Diocese to do their Saturday evening music ministry.) I was happy to have spent some time with the retreatants and each of them remain in prayer, in a special way.



Sister Pamela Catherine and I felt a need to relax and watch a movie on Saturday night. While we do watch "normal" movies, we both felt like watching a religious one. So we selected the 2005 movie "Pope John Paul II". It is difficult to watch at times, because JPII lived through the Holocaust in Poland and the rise (and contributed to the end) of Communism in Poland. The scenes involved with these two situations are gripping, but each scene had a purpose...it was clear that they weren't just included for dramatic effect. I had no idea that JPII had faced so much...he continued to follow God deeply and use nonviolent means to end violence. It reminds me of what Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said,

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

It was an incredibly inspiring movie.

On Monday, we had Craft Night in St. Al's (the postulants' homeroom). Those are so much fun. People come and bring crafts to work on. There is always a nice diversity of crafts....card making, mosaics, sewing projects, etc. Last year, I tried knitting, but I did not particularly enjoy it. However, some time ago, I was playing "Hand and Foot" (a popular card game here) with two of the postulants and Sr. Theresa. Sr. Theresa told us that it is important to be able to knit/crochet, because when you get older, it will be activity that you'll still be able to do. So that resonated in me and I decided to try out crocheting. I found these instructions online, and Sr. Theresa worked with me to well, get the idea of how to crochet. I am still very much a beginner, but I actually enjoy crocheting. :) I am working on a 7"x9" block which if all goes well could be used for "Warm Up America." It will be good practice in the meantime. Maybe I'll be able to make a lot of 7"x9" blocks for an afghan (over time)...we'll see.