1 Franciscan Way

We are grateful for our Junior Professed Sisters who renewed their vows on April 11th.  Please keep them in your prayers!  

I am a firm believer that children say some of the most heartfelt prayers that I know. So, I asked my 1st grade class on Thursday to do me an extra special favor. I explained to them that 23 sisters would be renewing their vows on Sunday and I would be one of them. Could they pray for us at Mass? They gave me many heartfelt assurances that they would do so and then immediately a plethora of hands went up into the air. What exactly are these vows? Explaining the vows in a way that 7 year olds can understand is very tricky, but I did the best I could. The one that they really understand, however, is the one about poverty. I believe all of my questions had to do with this vow. “You don’t have any money?...Not one dollar?... Not one cent?” With small children it turns from the broad to the miniscule, “What about the mechanical pencils?” Question after question, with a statement of recognition thrown in about being married to God, until finally one of the biggest questioners raised her ...

Winter has been long!  The Novitiate enjoys the warmer weather.  Are you?  May you be attentive to the blessings of each day!

“Am I a rich soil that helps my sisters, friends and family grow closer to God?” I was prompted by a friend of mine to ask myself this question and take a deeper look into the Gospel parable of the “sower who went out to sow.” I chose that verse as a theme and prayer for the next step in my religious formation, Mission! Last fall when I found myself covered from veil to sneakers in dirt, I knew it wasn’t chance but divine inspiration that had led me to choose this Gospel parable: Luke 8:11-15. Hours of weeding and tilling and then preparing our garden with several buckets of compost made this parable come alive and gave me a new light to understand my mission. As I joined our small community at Mater Redemptoris Convent and the House of Formation in August, I was elated to implement in a new way the life I’d been studying and learning about during novitiate. My apostolic work was full of variety. During the week, I assisted the Offices of Consecrated Life and Vocations in providing...

Mary's Fiat:  "Let it be done."  Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  The angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce the plan of God.  She responds with trust and a simple yes.  Yet, this yes is powerful!  She takes part in the plan of salvation. Does Mary hesitate or wait for answers to many questions about what this yes will mean before saying it?  Does she allow fear of the unknown hold her back?  No.  She says yes immediately, in faith and trust.  She loves and has encountered the Lord.  She believes.  What was it like after the angel left her?  What were her thoughts?  Gratitude?  Wonder?  Trust?  Silence?  Questions? What is the Lord asking of you, inviting you to, this day?  Have you responded yet?  What is holding you back?  Like Mary, through her intercession and example, may you have courage and trust to respond like she did.  Simply say your fiat to...

At the end of my first year as a novice, when I received my mission assignment in July, the only words and emotions that were going through my head were, fear, worry, and “I can’t do this. How in the world am I am going to fit into the Apostolic Nunciature and actually be helpful there?” August quickly came and as Christ was obedient to the Father, I went in obedience. With a mysterious eagerness I went off to my new apostolate. I arrived at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. which would be my new home until February. Our community helps to care for the household of His Excellency, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, and several other Monsignors. Some of the ways we serve them include cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of the chapels. Throughout mission I felt God’s grace pouring out especially when learning how to cook, sew or fix things I had never done before in my life. I became a living testimony to the words of our foundress Mother M. Anselma, “Obedience works miracles”. ...

Trust! This is such an easy word to say, but for me it is a hard word to follow. My whole vocation has revolved around this one word. My name is Miranda Edgar. I am 19 years old and I grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I recently entered the convent after graduating high school in May. I was your normal teenager. I loved to hang out with my friends, listen to music, go to all the school games, text/talk on the phone, and go to church. I attended high school with over 800 students, but only 10 of them were Catholic. Therefore my friends weren’t attending Mass on Sunday and they weren’t going to the parish youth group to learn about the Catechism. Because I didn’t want to be different, I ran away from the Church and tried to find meaning in the world. I began to date my freshman year of high school, but no matter who I dated I always had this longing in my heart. I was never able to say, “I love you,” to any of them because of this hole that they couldn’t fill. I became very confused b...