Sierra Vista Sister-Franciscan

One Day of Darkness Down and 39 More To Go!

2012-02-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

Busy week of activities before the peacefulness of Lent begins.

Sunday there was an appreciation breakfast for Deacon Jim who served the parish for many years. School parents and parishioners pitched in at 6:00am to begin cracking eggs, frying bacon, sausage and all the behind the scenes jobs that take place before a delicious breakfast is served after the first two Masses.

Monday we went to Kartchner Caverns on the way to Tucson to take Sr. Mariadele to the airport. No cameras were allowed in this horizontal, humid cavern. This is a must to see if visiting Arizona. It is a newly discovered cave that was opened to the public around 1999. It was an excellent hour tour of straws, stalactites, stalagamites and much more of God's beauty.
Tuesday was Mardi Gras at All Saints Catholic School-beads were passed out to students and parents as they arrived. A party was held from 2-3:00pm. Karioke was done by willing students from Kindergarten to 7th grade. While students picked out songs others were in line for make your own sundaes and they could even have seconds.

Even the teachers got into the Mardi Gras spirit-even the most reserved.

Ash Wednesday, the students were in their church clothes and finalizing what they were going to do for Lent. Each family has a Rice Bowl and each classroom has a bank to put money in to help pay off the school mortgage. These will be brought up in the offertory at each school Mass during Lent.

For personal penance some students told me the following: I am not eating at all on Fridays, no meat and no cereal, no texting, no chips and pop and so on.

Ashes were blest and distributed at all of the three Masses.

For a Penance for the whole parish Father Ariel announced that he will be keeping the brown curtain closed on the beautiful glass windows behind the altar that look out onto the mountains and wildlife. The darkness created by the brown curtain will be a true reminder it is Lent. What a joy it will be on Holy Saturday Night to see the curtains opened and to watch the sun go down and the sun rise on Easter Sunday morning.
The closed curtain will be a true penance for me who loves the outdoors, the mountains and seeing the deer, horses, dogs etc that appear through the beautiful glass windows. The windows open you to the beauty of God's love for nature.
One day of darkness down and 39 more to go. I sure hope he opens the curtains on Sundays since Sundays aren't considered days of Lent or in the 40 day countdown!

WELCOME SISTER KAY!

2012-02-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last week we welcomed a 3rd Sister to our Franciscan home-Sister Kay. She is teaching Math to the 7th graders, helping out in the school office & at the parish office. Also, she is willing to fill in where needed. She has already subbed as my secretary and for the 1st/2nd grade teacher, (only 45 minutes).

Sr. Kay went to her first parish event on Saturday night-Mardi Gras Dinner put on by the ladies of the parish.

Father Ariel joined our table. We almost all came in classic "black" for the festive affair.

Valentine's Day was celebrated with reds and pinks. The Student Council sponsored a contest. The class with the most red and pink won a large box of chocolates. It was a tie between Grades 5 & 6 with Grades 3 & 4.

I joined in with the "Red Party" . It is my favorite color.

The insurance inspector from the Diocese of Tucson came for his annual inspection. His first question was-"Do you check for scorpions on the playground?" I said no I don't-should I? He said, yes, some schools have the scorpions especially in the sand. I told him I keep a look out for snakes but not scorpions but I will for now on.

Besides being Valentine's Day we also celebrated the 100th Birthday of the State of Arizona-one of the younger states in the continental U.S. My 1st/2nd grade teacher made an AZ cake for the party.

We also had a surprise on Valentine's Day and AZ's 100th Birthday-hail. Around 1:00pm the sun was shining and the wind was fiercely blowing and the hail came down for about 8 minutes. A new sight!

Muffins For Mom & Donuts For Dad

2012-02-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Catholic Schools Week is about the busiest week of any Catholic School-it surely was for All Saints Catholic School. Here is the week in review:
Sun.,29th-9:30am Mass attended by faculty, parents & students with an open house for all,including parishioiners, at the school
Mon.,30th-"Hats Off to Catholic Schools" -students got to wear a hat of their choice today and also a Pep Rally-each class made up their own cheer about our school. Sr. Carol also attended a meeting with parents at Fort Huachuca to do some recruiting. One family of four children signed up for next year.

Tues., 1st-Muffins for Mom-Students started the morning in the cafeteria with their mom/grandma enjoying muffins. The newspaper came too and gave us front page coverage. YEAH!!!
Open house again for prospective new parents and also the parents of our students were asked to come and take part in their Art class that day. Mrs.Herig planned "Yarn Bombing"-google it and you will find it is the wrapping of yarn around things you see outside in the design you choose. Parents and students had lots of fun as you can see from the pictures.

Wed., 2nd-Donuts for Dad-another great start to the morning. Dismissal at 12:45pm because of the Benefit Concert put on by the Morales Brothers of Texas. One played classical guitar and the other a pianist. They did two performances for us: 2pm at our school and 6pm at St. Andrew's Catholic Church, also in Sierra Vista where some of our students come from. They were outstanding!! Our school choir also sang at both concers.

Donuts For Dad

Singing at St. Andrew's

Singing at Our Lady of the Mountains

Thurs., 3rd-Career Day! We heard from the Chimney Sweeps, Sherriff with K-9 Dog, Fire Dept., a vet with her dog and the manager of Texas Roadhouse Restaurant.

Chimney Sweeps-a married couple from our parish.

The Vet letting PreSchool listen to the heart beat of Penna, the dog.

Sherriff from Cochise County with his $20,000 drug sniffing dog.

Fry's Fire Dept. from down the road from our school.

Texas Roadhouse Manager explaining how they must weigh every steak they have twice a day-that day they had over 600 steaks they had to weigh. Steaks lose weight the longer they are in the fridge. If you say 6 oz you better have a full 6 oz steak.

Blessing of throats by Father Ariel

Fri.,4th- a closing Mass preceded by benediction for First Friday and also the blessing of throats-two Catholic traditions in one Mass.

Sat.,5th-6am-1pm garage sale to raise money for the plane tickets of the four of us going to Camp Franciscan-2 girls, a mom and me. We made over $1,000!!!!!
Now-can you name this item that was in the garage sale-didn't sell because no one knew what it was. What is your guess?

Sun.,6th-Super Bowl Party at a parishioner's house!
The busy week was now over! Now the doldrums of winter may come-with snow maybe as they told me February is our coldest month.

P.S. I stopped at Dillards to check out the sales when a young lady came up to me and said, "Are you a Sister?" I said yes. She replied, " I have never seen a Sister before." She just stared at me in awe. She asked where I worked. So I explained what I did and where. She said, " I have just never seen a Sister in Sierra Vista and I have been here all my life." I explained how we are the first Sisters in Sierra Vista and that we just arrived in July. She then said, "Thank you for who you are and all that you do. "

Called to be.....at the City Council Meeting by the Mayor

2012-01-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

When one gets a call from the diocesan office you know you better listen up. A month ago they called me and said I have a first for the diocese! The Mayor of Sierra Vista will not give me the proclamation for Catholic Schools Week unless I show up at the City Council meeting. The diocese was thrilled to have this media coverage and please take a picture for the diocesan newspaper. This is the first time any school was requested to appear before a City Council for such a proclamation.

I thought, I am not going alone. I invited the pastor and he said he would be my photographer. I invited Student Council and asked the President to tell what we are doing for Catholic Schools Week. I gave information about Catholic Schools as to how we embrace: Faith, Academics and Service.

The parents of the Student Council and the younger brothers and sisters also came to the meeting. All Saints Catholic School was well represented. It was very nice how many of the Council people and others at the meeting came up to talk to us before the meeting started.

Mayor Mueller read the proclamation after we were called up before all. It was very impressive and parents were beaming at their child. (This is the first Student Council at the school.)

When we got done the Mayor did a Proclamation for Cowboy Poetry Weekend. Yes, this is a first for me but I have found out how very important this is in Cochise County. Our students entered this county wide contest and we had three winners. It is a full weekend celebration of cowboys, horses, guitar and harmonica playing, lasso twirling and much more. One of the cowboys who received the proclamation recited by heart one of his cowboy poems- A Cowboy's Prayer at Christmas! They said this is their way of preserving the Cowboy in the Wild West of years gone by. A rich and colorful history and the poems tell it in great detail and expression.

SANTO NINO CELEBRATION

2012-01-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

On Sun., Jan 15 our parish had the Santa Nino Fiesta, a major celebration in the Phillippines.
It began in the church's courtyard with the Sinulog Dance. All those who brought a staute of the boy child Jesus, which looks like the Infant of Prague, only dressed in red and looks like a child, formed a line and did the sinulog dance as they processed into church.

Once in church the statues were placed in front and were blessed. We had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the rosary was prayed by all in church.

The Sunday Mass was celebrated and at the end of Mass those who brought the statue once again did the Sinulog Dance out of church into the parish hall for a Filipino potluck. The church was filled as many Filipinos came from Tucson to join the celebration.

And of course, to end the day, we have the beginning of a beautiful sunset over the mountains by our church and school. The beauty of these sunsets never fail to make me stop and pause and wonder how God can paint such colorful and different sunsets all the time.

Diversity--with a little effort!!!

2012-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

Seeing we are the first Sisters at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish they did not have a convent so a house was rented for us. It is a new experience to have a "land lady". Our South Korean land lady invited Sr.Mary Gabriel, Fr. Ariel, our pastor and myself to dinner this week. As we were driving there our pastor said to me, "They probably will ask you to start the I-20 process." I groaned as I thought this was just going to be a social event. The I-20 is $2,400 and lots of paperwork.

We got to her beautiful home and had to take off our shoes. We sat at this elegant formal dining room table for the dinner which was the following: grilled round steak, rice, potato noodles (in all colors and shape), sliced and deep fried zucchini and sweet potatoes and shrimp, and a pickle dish. The whole meal was served cold. For dessert-good old fashioned blueberry cheesecake. I loved this. At the end of the meal is when they asked me to start the process for the I-20 form so that the students from South Korea could stay at our school till they graduated and not just the three month student visa they are able to get now. They were willing to pay the online filing fee of $1,700 and the $650 site visit fee. The process will take about six months and they want me to start it right away so the students we have now in 6th grade can return in August. I know I have my work cut out for me along with writing our accreditation self-study book this year.

As we sat talking about how they came to the U.S. and what is North Korea like I was in shock at what they shared. They told us that no one is allowed into North Korea so they have never crossed the border and they don't want to as they know they won't be allowed back. Also, the people in North Korea aren't allowed out of their country.

The 20 year old student from South Korea attending college in Sierra Vista said that a friend of hers escaped from North Korea via the river but when North Korea discovered he was gone they killed his mother as punishment. We were all in shock to think something like that was happening now in our world. But to think that a country could hold their people captive and keep them from knowing anything besides their country's boundaries. One forgets what communism is like. Perhaps we need to pray the rosary to free them from communism like Our Lady asked of the children at Fatima to defeat communism in Russia.

Our South Korean students celebrating one of their birthdays with their classmates.

Walking the Neighborhood

2012-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas vacation I had lots of time to walk the neighborhood around our church and school. Here is what you'll find if you come for a walk.
Starting out I saw 7 deer in the neighbor's yard across from church. My family of 4 I usually see increased by 3. As you can see they aren't too afraid of people. They stood quite still for awhile for me to take several pictures.

How many do you count in the trees?

Continuing up the road one is going uphill and you can feel the higher elevation and very dry humidity. I see now someone is building a new home. This is one of many in our neighborhood. No signs of a poor housing economy around here.

Now I pause from the top of the road to look down at the great view-why so many people build their homes here in the desert amidst the mountains.

I continue on the road which is gravel, rock and dirt by now and I come to the dead end. The road doesn't go through. Most of the roads here are not maintained by the county and are made by those who own the lots here.

I head back down then towards the church and school to continue my walk in another direction. I meet one of our parishioners at her house and she told me Christmas morning she had 10 javelinas in her driveway with the boar at the end of the long line. Javelinas are not my friends. I would like to see them from the car or house not on my walks.
I continue down to Yaqui Street which is in front of the church and school and behold our neighbors are out riding their horses right next to the church. The other day 6 horses with riders walked past school.

I now decide to go and check some of my other walking friends. I head down Calle Encinas Road that school is located on and right by our playground one finds this sign:

And here is the road from then on:

Many beautiful homes lie beyond and off of this road. It is amazing at night to see all the lights in the desert below the mountains. They had the best Christmas lights too.
I stop and see my friends---

They are always ready for me to pet them and they love to race the fence line with me.
The dogs belong to one of our students. They also had chickens but a bobcat got them.

Here is the end of my walk where I always think of one of my favorite movies-"The Bells of St. Marys". Remember, "Just dial O for Fr. O'Malley-good old Bing Crosby. Sr. Benedict and the Sisters prayed for the donation of their new school and their prayer was answered at last.
Here is a picture of the house on the corner opposite our school. This is the 2nd time it is up for sale this year. I believe it would make a great convent!

There is even a coral and shed for horses so we can give riding lessons as one of our extracurricular activities.

This is where I say-"Dial G for God's Help".

......and Mary came into Bethlehem on Training Wheels

2011-12-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

My school choir sang and acted out the Gospel at the 3:00pm Christmas Eve Mass for families. Fr. Ariel read the gospel and paused at the appropriate places for the action to be shown.
Here is Caesar Augustus with the proclamation that all from the House of David must come to Bethlehem to be registered.

Mary and Joseph are still journeying down the aisle, ( as you can see the church was packed).

Then it was time for Mary to give birth. ( Baby Jesus was waiting in the front row.) And she wrapped him in swaddling clothes.

Yes, we had a real baby. (The pacifier helped greatly to keep him quiet and still.)
And suddenly, (clue for the archangel to make her move to the shepherds), there appeared in the sky an angel to the shepherds who were in fear!

Then there was a multitude of angels singing, "Glory to God in the highest!"

All went to adore the newborn King-Christ the Lord!

There was no room in the inn in Bethlehem, well, there was no room in our church. Fr. Ariel asked the choir and I to sit on the sanctuary step and give up our chairs for those standing. So going with the flow of things we picked up our song sheets and relocated for the homily and we sang from the sanctuary step for the rest of the Mass. And yes, my little choir did sound like the heavenly angels on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Tis the Season to Party and Sing Carols

2011-12-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

Our Lady of the Mountains Convent officially held their 1st party. The school choir came caroling in the neighborhood and then parents and students were invited to the convent for cocoa and homemade Christmas cookies. There were 18 children and about 12 adults in our combined living room/kitchen. One parent commented," I bet you never had so much noise in your house before." I responded, "No, but it is good news."

Adults and children had great fun for their 1st time caroling. One family gave the carolers candy canes as Rudolph looked on.

The choir also sang at the 9:30am Sunday Mass. Their last song was "Stay Awake". When it was announced Fr. Ariel in shock exclaimed-:"STAY AWAKE?" The choir sang the 4 lines of the song over and over and over and over...... as Fr. Ariel smiled in awe at the choir singing this new learned song he had never heard before. We finally stopped and then he processed down the aisle.

The choir in the evening sang carols at St. Andrew's Catholic Church before the performance of Handel's Messiah that Sr. Carol sang in with an ecumenical choir. Never sang so many carols within one weekend.

Sunday morning as I sat in church for the 7:00am Mass I saw two fawn come to the large window behind the altar. The fawns stared in awe as everyone came up for communion.

In the evening at the 5:00pm Mass I watched it snowing on the mountains through the beautiful window. When I left church, it was pouring rain-I think I would have rather had the snow from the mountains.

Monday morning as we drove to school we saw the snow on the mountains all around us. Here is a picture of the mountains that you see through the church window......

Our school has no flag pole. One of my requests for a fundraiser early on in the school year was a flag pole. Woodman's of America donated one immediately. It got dropped off at a school in Tennessee by mistake so we had to wait awhile to get it. Now the Knights of Columbus are installing it for me. Here the cement is being poured around the casing to hold the pole secure. With the strong winds we have coming down from the mountains this is important.

Our students in grades 5-8 made this beautiful stainglass window for our Parish Hall. Our Art teacher-Mrs. Harig-one week had each student draw one part of the stained glass window. The next week they each had to paint it. She put it together for all of us. What a blessing and reminder of this Christmas season soon to be upon us.

Kino Border Initiative

2011-12-13T02:33:00.000-08:00

Fr. Sean, a Jesuit priest, celebrated Mass at our parish one weekend. He spoke of his new ministry of aiding deported families in Nogales, Sonora-Mexico. In talking to him after Mass he said their program depends alot on volunteers and many teen and college groups help out. Through many emails we set a date to bring our Jr. High students to observe the migrant project in action. The parents of the students did not want their child crossing the border. Plan B-the students would stay at Lourdes Catholic High School in Nogales, AZ and myself and our pastor, Fr. Ariel and our school nurse, Dot would go across the border.

One of the six Jesuit priests who minister at the border met us at Lourdes Catholic High School. From there we rode in Fr. Ariel's car. We parked outside the border because the wait to come back into the country would be too long because so many Mexicans are crossing the border now to shop in Tucson for Christmas. As we began to walk it began to rain.

Your first taste of the migrant plight is seeing the caged area they must walk in when the bus drops drop them off on the U.S. side. One side is rocks and rest is a wired cage-top and side that they walk through to Mexico. We walk along side them in the open space. The cage is to keep them from escaping back into the U.S. and also to shame them. We were not allowed to take pictures here, the border agents watched you the whole time till you crossed the border.

You knew immediately when you stepped into Mexico. The poverty hits you in the face. Right on the border is the Jesuit place-Kino Border Initiative-where migrants may come. They are fed two hot meals a day here and can only stay here two weeks. The land is owned by the city of Nogales but the building belongs to the Jesuits but was paid for with money donated by the city of Nogales. The mayor was embarrassed because every border city has a place for deported migrants except them so he willingly paid for one to be built. The Kino Border Initiative came about at the request of Bishop Kicanas, of Tucson. It is supported by the Diocese of Tucson and CRS, which the Bishop chairs. Many donations come in. The Methodist Church of southern California donated hundreds of blankets, which each migrant receives one.

On entering the migrant shelter you see it has a metal roof and the sides are heavy canvas and one side is rock as it is built into the rocks. The floor is concrete. Very dim lighting and crowded. There were about 20 people to a table, sitting very close. One row of just women, three rows of men and a back row for families. There was only one family there. I talked with them and they spoke English. The dad worked at PopEye Chicken in Alburqurque, New Mexico. His wife was sick and the U.S. docotrs could not figure out the problem. She came back to Mexico for medical help and the doctors discovered she had three hernias which they operated on. They had two little boys, ages 3 and 5 who were U.S. citizens because they were born in the U.S. They want to go back to the U.S. so their boys can be educated but it is too hard now crossing the border.

Before they are fed a meal today because it was so cold and rainy, they received a large plastic cup of coffee or hot chocolate and animal crackers. One of the Jesuit priests prays with them before the meal is served. One of the three Mexican Sisters who works in the project explains what they expect of them and the services they can offer them: help to locate their family in Mexico, help in getting a bus ticket to where their family is in Mexico,and medical help. Women and children (no boy older than 10 years old) may stay in their women's shelter. Men stay in a cheap hotel or in the public housing for migrants.

While we were with the migrants, a young, good looking Mexican in his 30's came to the wire gate of the shelter. The Jesuit priest immediately said, "Don't let him in. He is a "coyote" who buys and sells people".

As volunteers we helped serve the food. We passed the plastic plates filled with beans, rice, macaroni and a tamale to the migrants in assembly line fashion. After the meal was done we helped to dry the dishes.

A Jesuit PreNovitiate candidate from Mexico and Fr. Ariel.

Because it was raining very hard and the streets were muddy we were taken by truck to see the clinic for women.

Clinic for migrant women.

There is a nurse from Mexico who treats the migrant women. The most common things she treats them for are feet problems from walking the desert for days and weeks and for cacti bites. The University of AZ sends their nursing students here at times for their emergency medicne practicum. Often times the Mexicans wander for weeks, months in the desert of their country before they reach the U.S. border. Often times they are lost in their own desert and the government agency called "Grupo" go out into the Mexican deserts looking for lost Mexican migrants and pick them up and bring them to Nogales.

After this we went to see the housing they are able to provide to women and children. It is a high rise the government no longer wanted. One of the apartments here is the convent for the Sisters and for a volunteer from Georgetown University student who took the semester off to experience the life of a migrant. She is an immigration major and wants to work in immigration. In asking what she has learned from her experience she said, " It is to wake up each morning with a spirit of hope and not despair. This is what I have learned from the migrants."

We went through the mud and flowing water into the highrise where we watched a power point presentation on the women they have helped. On the walls of the room are posters from the United Nations telling of women's rights.

We then went back to the main project area. No one was left there except for the volunteers, Jesuit priests and the Mexican Sisters. They were peeling potatoes for the next meal. All of the food is donated from both sides of the border and the Sisters cook the meals. The cats are walking on the floor eating any scraps that fell.

After all have gone,the empty migrant shelter.

Because of the down pour of rain at this time we got a ride to the border. We walked to the border agent to present our passport one at a time. Myself and the Jesuit priest got through ok. Fr.Ariel and Dot who are Filipino were detained and put in a room to be asked questions. The Jesuit priest and myself had to stand outside in the rain waiting for them. We were not allowed in the building; a border patrol was inside by the door with a rifle keeping all of us out. After 10 minutes they were allowed to leave. They were detained because they were Filipinos. Fr. Ariel has a green card and Dot has a U.S. passport. The Jesuit priest says he sometimes gets detained and questioned because he has a beard and mustache and that creates suspicion that he might be an Al Quaida terrorist from Mexico.

In asking why Mexcio is so poor right now the answer I got is that the U.S. set up factories in Mexico but then closed them and opened them in China because the labor is cheaper there. In Mexico they had to pay the workers $7 a day. Also, because of the drug cartel problem Mexicans are trying to leave the country to get away from it.

The Jesuits asked that even if we can't bring volunteers down to help if we would form a committee in our parish or on our student council for migration. Many have pro-life and other committees but nothing on migration. Bishop Kicanas wants his priests and people of the diocese to be educated about the plight of the migrant and that is why he so strongly supports this project. It was an eye opener for me. It is a day I will not forget and yes, I will continue to study the migrant plight and hopefully have my Student Council learn about it and do a fundraiser for it.

Brrr....rrr it's Cold in These Mountains!

2011-12-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Am I back in a Wisconsin winter?? Mon., Tues. and Wed. of this week it was very cold.We were as cold or colder than Green Bay!!! Tuesday morning as I drove to school at 6:30am the thermometer in the car kept drawing as I left the city and headed into the valley within the mountains. It was a down right cold 21 degrees. One degree colder than Green Bay! And to think I left my mittens and long winter coat in Wis. thinking I wouldn't need them. The wind really whipps around by our school.

At 11:30am that Tues., I was supervising our kids' lunch in the cafeteria when my neighbor calls to tell me I have a broken water pipe. The water is running into the street. I called our landlady but no answer. I asked my maintenance person to come with me to our house. The neighbor's side yard was flooded and water was in the street. We were lucky enough that the pipe that froze and broke was the drip system that waters the tree and couple bushes in our yard. I never knew we had that. We got the water shut off and back to school we went. The landlady got me at the end of the day and asked that I take towels and wrap them around the three outdoor faucets and the three water pipes that are outside. Towels! We have no extra towels seeing we had to buy them when we arrived. My janitor helped me out by giving me large rags. I did the wrapping as dusk set in.

Wed., we had the Kino Teens from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Nogales speak to Grades 6-9th about their work with the Jesuit priests in Nogales, Sonora with the families who have been deported. It was an eye opener for my students who only know Mexicans from seeing the border patrol round them up. I asked why Mexico is in such dire straits with their economy. Two of the three students live in Mexico and cross the border each day to go to the high school in Nogales, AZ. They said the factories that use to be there are now gone. They were started by companies from the United States to make staplers, binders and now the U.S. companies have closed the factories and moved their production to China as labor is cheaper there. The Mexicans were being paid about $7.00 a day so just imagine how much the Chinese are being paid by the U.S. companies.

Friday, I led an Advent retreat with the students in Grs. 7-9th. We went to St. Andrew's Catholic Church and were able to use their Divine Mercy Chapel.

Sunday, the 11th was a day of activities. It started early in the morning at 6:00 AM cooking Breakfast with Santa. We had a great work crew and Santa showed up on time.

Santa's Elves who worked the breakfast.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Procession at night.

Our students in their native costume who led the rosay in their native language: English, Korean, Spanish.

This evening I went back to church for the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It began with a candlelight procession outside under the full moon. We processed with the statue of Our Lady from the church, through the parking lot, onto the road in front of church and back into the parking lot. It was pitch black outside as there are no street lights or yard lights. We sang the whole way. Once back in church the rosary was prayed in church in four languages to represent the four nationalities in our parish: Filipino, Korean, Spanish and English. I was proud that three of my students led the rosaries in their native language. Two of them are coming to Camp Franciscan in June. Our pastor led it in Filipino.

After the rosary we went to the church hall to see the play of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Bishop was played by our online 9th grader. After the play there were Mexican dancers, a fiesta and a Mass starting at 11pm so the mananitas could start at midnight on the 12th. I left after the play because tomorrow I am going to Nogales, AZ and Sonoroa as a field trip with my Jr. High students to see the work of the Kino Teens.

And yes, our pastor wore pink today for Gaudete Sunday.

1st Week of Advent

2011-12-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

The 1st week of Advent was a busy week of special events. Here are the happenings:

Sunday-Christmas lights were put outside our house. We live in a residential neighborhood and WOW! our neighbors have outstanding Christmas lights. We couldn't be the dark house on the block so here is what we came up with.
We received a donation of money to buy some Christmas decorations as we had none. Trees went on sale so I bought one. The school maintenance heard about it and told me to take the tree back as a parishioner donated a good tree to the church that we could have. So we now had two trees in our garage waiting to be put together. It went against my principles to put a tree up the 1st week of Advent but I had to see what the donated tree looked like and if it had a tree stand that worked before I returned the tree in the box. So here is our Advent tree-lights only no bulbs till it gets closer to Christmas. ( Our other janitor donated Christmas bulbs.)

Next on the list was to prepare for Bishop Kicanas' visit to our school-his first visit ever. Bulletin boards were done up, desks cleaned up, a reception planned, 45 minute choir practice with Advent songs never sung before and using the new Roman Missal for the first time at a school Mass! We were ready but low and behold the wind kicked up that night and day (51 mph at noon when the Bishop was here). I arrived at school to find our Jesse Tree blown over, bulletin board pieces all over the sidewalk and PreK playground ( classrooms open to the outside so outside bulletin boards). So everything was quickly put back together. I have found out that it might be calm at our house but our school is in the midst of the mountains and it is colder and windier there.

The liturgy was outstanding and the Bishop invited students by name to help him act out his homily. The Bishop has the gift of remembering people's names the first time he hears it.
After Mass a reception was held for parishoners and parents, then the students came to meet with him and had great questions: What is your coat of arms? What is your favorite part of being a Bishop? We found out his mother will turn 100 years of age in May and lives in Chicago with some Sisters.
The Bishop then toured the classrooms. He was impressed with the facilities and promised to help build up our enrollment.

Now the week still isn't over-Saturday is the 53rd Sierra Vista Christmas parade-the longest running parade in AZ. It is a light parade starting at 5:30pm so all must have lights on the floats and if possible on yourself. Last year no coats were needed; this year winter jackets, mittens, ear muffs and hand warmers. The wind that came with the Bishop was still with us and snow or rain showers were predicted.

We were at our float at 4pm and we were blessed to be entry #28 out of 80. Parade started on time with the fire department leading the way. The theme of the parade was: Tribute to the Monument Fire Fighters. This honored all those who fought the fire in our area this summer-well chosen tribute.

Our students dressed up as fire fighters and we had a banner made giving tribute to the Monument Fire Fighters. The parade was about 3 miles long and it was the fastest walking parade I have ever been in. I was soon warmed up and off came the earmuffs. Our school choir dressed as fire fighters sang carols the whole 3 miles and when there was a pause between songs they would yell, " All Saints Catholic School the Best-Please come to our school!!" See -everyone is recruiting students to our school. They did this on their own.

The parade was the most different Christmas parade I have ever been in or seen: lots of horses and decorated with lights (this is horse country), tractors decorated, Coke truck with lights, every restaurant had a float.

As we sang our way down the parade route we received many cheers and applause. It was great and kept us singing all the way to the KMart parking lot where all floats ended up.

Snow clouds sitting on top of the mountains-you could see the snow falling. Clouds stayed there and we received no snow or rain.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Old time tractor with antlers up front.

Border patrol on horses.

We're on our way!

Kiara (Mary) is coming to Camp Franciscan.

Our choir at the Bishop's Mass.

Bishop enjoying the cards the students made for him.

All of us with the Bishop.

Bishop is Lebanese and he is pictured with one of our moms who was born in Lebanon. All 3 of her children speak Arabic.

Horses waiting for the parade to begin.

More horses yet with Christmas lights on.

Tomorrow we welcome the 2nd Week of Advent!

Thanksgiving at All Saints Catholic School

2011-11-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

A short week in school before Thanksgiving but a busy one!

We had a procession of food on Monday to our parish hall where St. Vincent de Paul packed over 60 food boxes for Thanksgiving for families in need. Each class filled at least one brown shopping bag of food for the food baskets. Parishioners donated turkeys, pies, celery and rolls. Our parish hall was transformed into a store. Students ate in their classrooms or outside that day-they loved the change.

Tuesday was our Thanksgiving meal for students, parents and grandparents. We served about 175 dinners. Our chef lives down the road from us and donated his time. Turkeys were cooked, dressing and gravy made, buns and pies were baked and the cranberry sauce was sliced. It was truly a Thanksgiving feast. Parents helped to serve and we had a great clean up crew of staff, parents and 7th and 8th grade students. It was truly a community event! We had food left over which we took to the Forgash House for abused women.

Before the dinner grades 5 and 6 had a class Mass with Fr. Ariel to celebrate their patron saint-Martin of Tours. Every class selected a patron saint and Fr. Ariel on the feastday of the saint or close to the date has a Mass for that class in their classroom. It is a beautiful experience for the students and teacher. We are grateful that Father "A" takes such a strong interest in our school.

Wednesday we have dismissal at 11:30am to allow families to travel for Thanksgiving. Being a military town most families travel back to see their families.

Apple or Pumpkin? With or without topping?

Men at work-maintenance, chef, grandparent

Serving is done, time to eat before clean up-

L-R: Business Manager, Principal, Pastor

Happy Thanksgiving from All Saints Catholic School at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish!

Christ the King, Bread Sunday, SOS Sunday, Bake Sale Sunday

2011-11-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

This was a very busy weekend at our parish. We celebrated the Feast of Christ the King and the last time of saying the Mass the way it began after Vatican II in 1967-a historical moment for the Church today.

Besides this our parish celebrated Bread Sunday. At each Mass different types of bread were brought up at the intercession time. It was said what kind of bread and what country or nationality it represented and then to pray for this country. For Africa an empty basket was brought up because most people in Africa have no bread and we are to be bread to them. We need to nourish them.

This was also the 3rd Sunday of the month and SOS-Save Our School was started. I went to all 5 Masses this weekend and had students at each of the Masses to be the ushers to take up the 2nd collection for our school. Our school choir also sang for the first time at the Sunday Mass at 9:30am. One older woman told me that it brought tears to her eyes to hear and see the children sing as they did.

Because of the Feast of Christ the King, our pastor, Fahter Ariel had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament before each Mass and invited people to stay after Mass or come early for the next Mass to spend time in adoration. I set a record for myself-4 expostions and mini-benediction in one weekend. Also, I had to get my choir to sing O Salutaris in Latin when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the end of the 9:30am Mass. We did not practice this as we did not know this was happening. Thank goodness, the parishioners chimed in and helped carry it.

The people have been very generous with their money and their comments about hearing the children and seeing them.

After each of the Masses was also the parish bake sale. Everyone was to bake something and then buy something. I baked chocolate chip cookies and they were gone right away.

Now I don't think we could have added one more thing to this weekend of Masses!

Mountains Have Seasons

2011-11-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to see how mountains change with the seasons.You would think that mass of rock would stay the same.

As we drive to and from school it surprises us to see the changes in the mountains, especially on the top of the mountains. We have seen the mountain tops go from green after the monsoons, to a patch of burnt yellow in Fall when the bushes change colors, to a white frosting on the top when we had rain down below but it was colder up there and the mountains were frosted with snow.

The wildlife continues to surprise me here.Saturday I was walking behind school when right in front of me were 2 deer and 2 baby fawns. They stared at me and I back. But they did not look like Wisconsin deer-there were too much of a dark gray color and they looked different. I thought perhaps they might be antelope but no they didn't look like antelope. I was disappointed I didn't have my camera with me to catch their surprise look at me. I was as surprised as they were.

That night I was reading the AZ Highway Magazine that our maintenance man shares with me and there I found my answer-AZ has mule deer. Called so because of their tall ears that are shaped like mules. That is what I saw then-a family of mule deer. I hope to get their family photo soon for all of you to see as I will be taking my camera with me from now on when I take a walk in our school neighborhood.

All Saints Day Celebration at All Saints

2011-11-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

When your school is named All Saints you have to celebrate all day this holy day. We started our celebration first thing in the moring. Almost all the students and teachers came dressed as saints. Seeing that the day before they were all in their Halloween costumes and ate lots of candy that day and night I wondered if we would have much of a turn out for the Saints Celebration. I was shocked to see such beautiful, original costumes and the studnents knew their saints. All students lined up outside of church and processed in singing-"When the Saints Go Marching In". The church was full of parents and parishioners. In Fr. Ariel's homily he had the students talk about the saints. It was fascinating and heart warming to hear the first graders and Kindergarteners name their saint and the older students too weren't afraid to dress up.

It was a great family affair as many grandparents helped to make the costumes and were proud to do so. I believe the best was a 3rd grade girl who came dressed as St. Philomena with a crown of flowers on her head and an arrow since she was shot 3 times with it and then drowned with an anchor and her grandfather made her a very authentic anchor. My favorite though was 3 year old Carlos who came dressed as St. Joseph; he carried a white gladiola and a baby Jesus. He had the biggest smile.

Pope John Paul II even came for the celebration and he wore his white robe and skull cap all day. He was missing the red Pope shoes, however.

In the afternoon all students in the cafeteria gathered in the cafeteria to play bingo and get a delicious homemade sundae with all the toppings. Many students took their bingo cards up with them to get the ice cream so they wouldn't miss a number.

We had lots of thank yous from parishioners for the beautiful display of saints. They said next year to let them know and they can come to school and help make the saints costumes. I already made a note of that. Enjoy the saints as they were so proud to get their picture taken.

Happy All Saints' Day!

Pope John Paul II

St. Barbara is in red, Mary in blue-twin St. Mary's.

A proud St. Philomena

St. Joseph & Our Lady of Guadalupe

Pope John Paul trying to help 4 year old Martin who was not winning.

St. Therese of the Little Flower is thrilled to be out of the cloister to try her hand at bingo & she did win!

Our Lady of Fatima 94th Anniversary Celebration

2011-10-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of the Mountains Parish along with students from All Saints Catholic School celebrated the anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima. It began in church with the ringing of the bells and the angelus and then the full church processed outside through the parking lot to Calle Encina Road and onto Yaqui Street. Parishioners of all ages and nationalites were present: caucasian, korean, filipino, hispanic, nigerian and german. The Knights of Columbus followed behind our pastor and the deacon as they carried the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in processioin. We had blessed white cloths to wave as we sang Ave, Ave, Ave Maria, as the hispanics played their guitars.

We arrived back in church from our lengthy procession and then the history of Fatima was read followed by the recitation of the rosary led by the children of Fatima and assisted by Fr. Ariel. The Knights of Columbus stood guard by the statue and changed guards at the beginning of each decade. The rosary was recited in English and Spanish.

After the rosary we all recited the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, Memorare, Litany of the Blessed Virgin May, The Divine Praises and ended with the final blessing from Fr.Ariel. I was amazed at the children. They knelt on the hard floor for the whole rosary.

A reception followed afterwards in the church hall. This parish really celebrates all the traditional rituals of our Faith. Our Lady of the Mountains Parish is truly a witness of the universality of the Catholic Church.

Can you see the sun dancing in the sky as we begin this day?

St.Jacinta leading the Rosary!

All had a part in the celebration!

As Fr. Ariel said, " It is great to see the children leading us in prayer."

Week of God's Creatures

2011-10-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Fire Drill-all did Great! Quiet and under a minute! Even the pastor came out for the drill and a new prospective parent and child. Also, there was a large red ant that found its way somehow to my knee and BIT! These desert red ants are ferocious! An ice pack later and it finally took the sting away but not the red spot. Today it is itching like all get out!

Now-this morning my secretary arrives and says in a panic, "Where is the janitor? There is a snake in the parking lot and all the kids are going to see it and freak out!" I went looking but of course when one needs the janitor one can not find him. So I took care of the snake myself. After being in Mississippi where we had plenty of snakes also, I thought, give it a try. Got the broom, dustpan and the snake stick with a clamp on the end of it.

The snake was large. It was black with greenish-yellow stripes. It was dead and from the looks of it some hawk got it and not too long ago. The 3rd/4th grade teacher, ( a man), arrived at that time and said, "Should I get a camera and take your picture?" I pushed it several times with the snake stick to be sure it was dead and then I proceeded to sweep it on to the dustpan. By this time several car loads of students had arrived and looked out the windows of their cars at me with all kinds of sounds.

New resting spot was across the road under a cacti!

Let's see what creature of God crosses my path tomorrow!!!

AZ Rosary Day

2011-10-16T12:16:00.001-07:00

Saturday, October 15 was AZ Rosary Day for the Diocese of Tucson. All parishes were invited to come to St. Augustine's Cathedral in Tucson. Our parish planned for this event for a couple months. Some parishioners made a banner for the event and a tshirt was also designed for this special day. We had the largest representation at the celebration. We took a bus and many car pooled.

It was an awesome event to be at to witness the great love for Mother Mary from Catholics of all ages. There were about 140 altar servers who processed in after the Bishop. All groups were lined up outside and processed in under the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard.

The choir sang songs in Latin, Spanish and English. It was great to hear a pipe organ. We also had drums as some of the Native Americans danced down the aisle in tribute to Mary.

The guest speaker was Rev. John Phalen, C.S.C, President of Holy Cross Family Ministries, furthering the work begun in 1942 by Father Peyton, CSC, the "Rosary Priest". How many of you remember the saying-"The family that prays together stays together.".

Benediction concluded this special prayer experience.Fellowship was offered in the courtyard outside the cathedral where mariachiis played away for all to hear. Bishop Kicannis passed on the "silver rose" to the squires, (young Knights of Columbus) who will take it to Phoenix where their Rosary Day is Sunday, the 16th.

HIKING

2011-10-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

We are winding up Fall Break! I took advantage of this week to go hiking with some friends from the parish. Now, they are experts at hiking as they hike down into the Grand Canyon every year. I learned alot the 2.5 hours I was with them. We went hiking at Coronado National Park and in particular Montezuma Point. As we hiked the mountain that overlooks Mexico we chatted. They told me the noise alerts the animals that we are here and also any undocumented that might be passing through.

We have alot of international soldiers at the Army Fort here-Fort Huachuca. They are being trained to fight as NATO soldiers. My friends often take these soldiers hiking as it is one way for them to get off the Fort and to see part of AZ and these soldiers love hiking.

We saw the black fence that the U.S. put up between Mexico and U.S to keep undocumented out and when the fence hits the mountains it turns into a barb wire fence. The international soldiers laugh at this fence because " you are the most powerful nation on earth, and you have to put up a fence to keep out people?"

I learned that before the fence was put up 1,000 people a day came across the Mexican border but now it is only about 600. Also, it isn't just Mexicans coming across the border now but Chinese, Somalians and many other countries.

They pointed out to me the "legal" hiking trail, that we stayed on and the "illegal" trails that those who cross the border take.

Many volunteers take time to pick up all the trash in the mountains left behind by hikers and the undocumented coming through.

When hiking at these high elevations-we were at 6, 755 feet, and with the very dry air, one needs to stop and hydrate every 15 minutes.

I saw where the summer fires burned and new life is beginning to come. They told me the fire moved like a "fire devil". It spun like a tornado and that is why some houses got burnt and the one across the road didn't.

I saw four deer traveling down to the water hole and I finally asked, "What are these animal droppings I keep seeing?" They told me "bear", but not to worry because he had bear spray and as long as we keep talking the bear will hear us and stay away.

Black straight line is the border fence.

Border patrol vehicles were all over the area. We were leaving at dusk with a full moon when the shift of border patrol was changing. There was a bright light by the black fence so we knew there was activity down there and border vehicles were moving fast. Each vehicle has a spot to stay by themselves to monitor the foot traffic. At night they wear night goggles. When we met them we turned our lights off so as not to ruin their night vision. The couple always stopped to talk to the border patrol and thanked them for what they were doing.

Hiking trail

Full Moon to the East

And at the same time the glow of the setting sun in the West! What a contrast we saw from 6,500 feet!

Next week we are back in school and shortly my students should be hearing a presentation from the Jesuit Fathers who have a mission at Nogales, AZ and in Nogales, Mexico. They help the undocumented families who are being deported to Mexico. It will be interesting to hear how they view the border and the black fence.

St. Francis of Assisi Day- a Day to Remember

2011-10-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

The festivities began early at about 7:15am when a couple dogs came up into the church's courtyard and right behind them came clopping two horses that were "rescue horses". By 7:30am the courtyard outside of church was filled with about 30 dogs, 8 cats, two turtles, ( one named Mary), 1 fish and the 2 rescue horses. Everyone remembered Mollie, the mule, who came every year for a blessing but sadly died last week. (She had no teeth anymore and choked on her food. She was about 40 years old.)

Fr. Ariel and Deacon Jim went to each pet individually and calling them by name blessed them in honor of St. Francis who loved animals dearly. There were vey unique names such as "Cletus" for a bassett hound. They each received a certificate from the church's secretary. There were only a few dogs that challenged each other.

The all school Mass started in the courtyard and many animals stayed for the Mass with their owners. Father A said all the pets could stay since all were Catholic now. The children were proud to have their pets there for all to see. Many parishioners stayed with their puppies on their laps. All were very quiet during the Mass except for the tiny chihuaha who growled through most of the Mass.

Father A is known for telling jokes during his homily. His joke today dealt with animals. He asked the children if there were pets in heaven-of course they are in heaven. Father A proceeded to tell them how when each pet reaches heaven they are given a vehicle to drive. When a rat reached heaven, he was given a skateboard. The cat looked at him on the skateboard and said, "Hmmmm-meals on wheels!" This brought a laugh from all.

At the end of Mass one little PreK girl took the collar off of her boxer who then took the opportunity to check out the other dogs. The master quickly caught him and put the collar back on.

The festivities continued as the pastor bought ice cream for all the students for lunch and a chocolate cake for Sr. Mary Gabriel and myself. We also received roses from one of the students.

The first St. Francis Day celebration was beautiful and very memorable!

A joyful blessing!

All listening to the homily!

I think this puppy knows he is being blessed. Look at how he sat up and looked at Father!

BUSY WEEKEND

2011-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Respect Life Weekend-Holy Hour on Sat. from 3:30-4:30pm. My school choir sang the Fatima Ave after each decade and sang all the traditional benediction songs. I was amazed at them. They also knelt on the hard floor for the 1st decade. Free ice cream for all!

Sunday-there was a holy hour before each Mass as part of Respect Life Weekend. I got one of my Army Dads and his two sons in 7th & 8th to lead one of the decades-it was impressive to see these men praying as a family.

Ministry Weekend after all the Masses-there are 46 different ministries in this parish-each had a spot at one of the tables put up in the courtyard. There was a booklet with the description of each ministry and a sign up form to choose the ministry(ies) you care to serve at. I was at my spot with All Saints Catholic School.

I found out why many people came over to me to volunteer to help out in school. Father Ariel in his announcements after Mass talked about the $340,000+ mortgage the school has out. He asked for all parishioners to pitch in and help save the school. He said it was not up to Sr. Carol who has been working hard to save the school and who inherited the debt. I feel a big weight lifted from my shoulders.

After the morning Masses I headed home to watch the Packer game as I awaited the arrival of our six Sisters from Tucson. They arrived and off we went for an early St. Francis Day Dinner at the 50s Diner one of my parents own. Since we are all products of the 50s we enjoyed all the memorabilia on the walls-Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, John Wayne, Ricky Nelson etc. A walk down memory lane with poodle skirts and saddle shoes! We all remembered how these shoes never wore out but a pain to polish trying to keep the black polish from the white.

Next was a tour of our school and church. They were impressed with all the space we have and the beauty of the mountains all around us.

Came home and saw our Packers won with a high score of 49-7 touchdowns and still unbeaten!

Time now to put my feet up and get ready for a busy week in school: Monday off to Bisbee to meet with the deacon and strategize about recruiting students from St. Patrick's Parish there.
Tuesday-7:30am blessing of animls in the church's courtyard followed by our all school Mass outside with the animals. I know it won't be as quiet as the stable in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

Coincidence or God is Speaking

2011-09-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Our pastor is on vacation so Mass was celebrated by Rev. Sean Carroll, a Jesuit. He is the Executive Director of a new Initiative by the Jesuits called Kino Border Initiative. It has been going on for 2 1/2 years. It is bi-national located in Nogales, Az and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Nogales is about 45 minutes from us.

Their ministry is to provide assistance to the Mexicans who are deported. They provide shelter, food, clothing, medical and counsel to those who are being sent back to Mexico. He works with people on both sides of the border.

He explained how we can help: 1) through donations of clothing, food or money 2) by volunteering your time there, many high school and college groups come and give of their time. He said if you wanted to know about his mission and how you can help see him after Mass-so I did.

As a result, my students and parents will be conducting a clothing drive and he or some of his team will come to speak to my students about their project and the need for it. I know this will be an eye-opener for my students-to see the other side of the border patrol and those they "round up".

Rev Sean explained how it has not been easy getting this project going. Many nights he just wanted to walk away. He is to be commended for having this project be bi-national.

If you care to know more about this project check out their very informative website:
http://www.kinoborderinitiative.org/ Maybe you can help too!

What Would Jesus Have Done?

2011-09-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, I had my 7th/8th grade Religion class in the church journaling. I was sitting in church looking out the big glass window in the sanctuary, where you can see the mountains- a beautiful view. All of a sudden I saw about five men in front of the window on the church lawn. They didn't look like men from the neighborhood and they were lurking around. I quickly put the 9th grader in charge of the class and went to make sure all the gates to the school property were locked. Then I went to the parish office to ask the secretary to help me.

They were undocumented men who crossed the border. We went to see if they needed food or water. When we got out to the lawn they were gone but a border patrol vehicle was speeding by church. Before we knew it we had about five border patrol vehicles all around us.

I took my class back to their room. They didn't say a word. About a half hour later I saw a border patrol in our parking lot. He told me it was safe for the students to come out for recess-they rounded all the men up.

I took the students out for recess and there were about six border patrol vehicles still lined up on the dirt road next to the playground and by the wash that is right behind the school. I was told that the undocumented often hide out in the wash and that our church used to be the pick-up point. My 7th grade girls then told me that they saw the men too from where they sat in church. They also told me about the time the undocumented were fed in the school cafeteria by the former pastor and then he hid them on the stage while the students came in for lunch. People protested this and as a result we have the gates around school.

I really pondered my first experience here with the undocumented and the border patrol today because that morning before school started I read on the internet that about 35 bodies were dumped in the busy street of Mexico City-work of the drug lords. With all the violence in their country they risk their lives trying to escape to the U.S. knowing that they might get "rounded up" by the border patrol or die in the desert or the mountains. What is the better life for them? If Jesus were on our church grounds on Wednesday what would He have done?

Monsoon Season

2011-09-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Monsoon season starts in the middle of July and goes to the middle of September. We are almost at the end of it. Then it doesn't rain anymore for the rest of the year. Around 2:30 or 3:00 you hear thunder and you look out and see blue skies and you know the monsooon is rolling in for the day. Lightning comes and then the dark clouds followed by the downpour for a couple hours or just 15 minutes. It might rain on one street but not the one next to it.

Monday night I was hurrying home from school to watch the Packers play on Monday Night Football. It wasn't raining on Yaqui St. where our school is but as I turned up Cherokee it started to rain and then it poured as I hit Buffalo Trails Hwy. I made it home and it downpoured for about 45 minutes.

I waited till the end of the 1st quarter to head back to school to get my laptop. As I turned onto Buffalo Trails Hwy I was in awe as in front of me was the stem of a beautiful rainbow. As I drove I looked to the left of me and saw a white shower coming down on that neighborhood. I knew they were getting heavy rain in that one spot but not anywhere else. Turning left onto Yaqui Street I exclaimed, " Oh My God!!" There by the mountains I saw a golden glow coming from behind the clouds hanging on the top of the mountains. I thought -"Is this what the end of the world is going to look like?" I forgot all about hurrying home for the 2nd quarter. Of all the times not to have my camera in the car. Perfect picture but the beauty could no way be captured by anyone but God.

Double rainbow after monsoon.

A rainbow shines as the sky darkens again; for the monsoon returns for another soaking.

Duties of a Principal

2011-09-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

Our school-All Saints Catholic School-is located outside the city amidst the mountains and most of the roads by school are dirt or stone. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked with the two lessons the janitor taught me today.
1) I was shown the stick to carry snakes-rattlesnakes and others-off of the school grounds. The stick is about 4 feet long with a clamp at the end. Upon seeing a snake open the clamp and get the head and then carry it off school grounds-do not kill it. Capture and release program!
2) African bees are very common here. If you see a hive of bees call the beekeeper in Bisbee. He knows how to get rid of them.
Maybe I will be blessed and not have to put into action what I learned today.

1st Month of School Accomplished

2011-09-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

It is Labor Day Weekend! Thank you, God!! This means one month of school is over and I survived! Our Supt. came for a whole day visit. She was pleased to see the great spirit among teachers and students, all classrooms were being used and positive changes are being made at All Saints Catholic School. One of the biggest changes I have seen was today at our 3rd school Mass. The students sang songs they really enjoyed and there was even student cantors and a duet at Communion time. The pastor was very pleased with the students' participation and with all the parents who came to the Mass. We surprised the pastor and put smile on his face!!

On a humorous note-I did playground duty at noon. One student commented to me-"You are only the 2nd teacher to be on the playground." I found out other teachers stood at the edge of the playground and I actually walked by the students. When one of the girls asked me if I could swing on the swings-I showed her. Then when I heard there were bees by the trash can I jumped off instead of completely stopping. The student quickly informed me that she didn't think jumping off the swings was allowed!! I guess she is right.

Do you remember the first time you saw a Sister in habit?

2011-08-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the first time you saw a Sister in habit? What was your reaction? Do you remember watching to see if you could get a glimpse of the Sister's hair when she wore the wimple, or a chance to see her ankle or did she change the style of her shoe from one with a heel to no heel? I remember noticing little things like that when I had Sisters in grade school at St. Mary's School in Luxemburg. Well, that is what I am experiencing now being the first Sister in habit here at All Saints School. Here are a few examples to illustrate this:

1) About day 4 that I was working at the school, my janitor who is in his early 60's and not Catholic came up to me and said, May I ask you a personal question? Sure. How many blouses do you have and skirts? You wear the same thing everyday. So I explained about the habit, the vow of poverty etc. Do you mind just wearing the same color always? No, I get use to it. You don't have to think too hard in the morning when you're getting dressed as to what to wear. He just nodded his head as I saw the wheels turning. Thank you- I was just wondering.

2) I have been here more than a month and it isn't as hot as Yuma or Hawaii and I thought I can wear a black blouse today instead of my usual white blouse and vest. Do clothes make a difference? Do people notice what Sisters wear? You better believe they do. I wasn't on campus a half hour when I saw the janitor and his reaction was,-WHOAAAAA-What's this??? You are wearing a black blouse now? Is that allowed with the habit.

3. Then I met students and did they look at me and stare. In the 3rd/4th grade room as I walked into the room the girls all said-OHhhhhhhh-you're all in black; you are black, black except your buttons are a little light in color and you still have white on that thing on your head. Great opportunity to teach the word Veil.

4. I was in my office working with my door partly open. I heard an adult who gives money monthly for Adopt A Student Program. She was talking to my secretary that she heard a Sister is the principal here for the first time. She told her she hadn't seen a Sister since she was in grade school-may I peak in her office to see the Sister? And that she did and she smiled and said-this brings back so many memories. I haven't seen a Sister since I went to high school. (She also doubled her monthly donation!)

Besides clothes they watch what you do:
After our parish's 20th anniversary dinner I pitched in to help wash the dishes. People were in shock but pleased to see that I was human, down to earth and not afraid to work.

I met with the deacon who is working on Arizona Rosary Day. He is planning a breakfast to raise money for the bus from our parish. I told him I would help work the breakfast. He had the most shocked look on his face and he looked at me and said, You will help work the breakfast?? I said sure. I 've done this many times. Do you cook or do you do dishes? I said I am great at dishes. I was trained well at our Motherhouse. I come with experience. A parishioner who was at the anniversary dinner spoke up and said, I saw her doing dishes. She really went at it. She's good!

Sometimes we think we don't make a difference or that people don't notice us. But they do! And we are appreciated. In our Franciscan way we often bring a smile to people and we keep them guessing as to who we really are. We are a mystery to them at times-in a good way!

Our Franciscan Community Director's First Impressions

2011-08-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

Imagine our excitement to have our Community Director Sister Louise and Sister Mariadele with us for the first time in this new mission spot at Our Lady of the Mountains, AZ.

Click here to see the photos Sister Louise took on her camera.

My Great-Grandmother was a Sister!

2011-08-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Being the first Sisters at a parish is alot of work for the parishioners to get ready, before the Sisters arrive. In our case at Sierra Vista, they had to do the following: find a house to rent for us, buy us beds and dressers and put them together, get dishes, towels, silverware, and everything needed in a kitchen. They also had to get us a car.

I saw in the Parish Finance Meeting Minutes the discussion about contacting two car dealers. It turns out they didn't have to. One of the parishioners donated his 2010 gold Honda with only 9,000 miles on for us to use. Joe Hood, the parishioner, is blind and his wife,who was the driver died in Spring. When Joe heard that Sisters were coming to the parish he knew he had to donate the car he no longer needed for the Sisters because his great-grandmother would want him to do that. For as you see, his great-grandmother was a Sister.

We asked to meet Joe in person to thank him and he took us out for breakfast after Sunday Mass and then told us the story of his Sister Great-Grandmother. She was married and had three children when her husband was accused of stealing horses (this is in Ilinois). He was quickly lynched from a bridge. Being a widow with no job she could not afford to keep her children so she gave them to relatives to take care of and entered the Convent herself. It took three months after his death for his wife to prove her husband was innocent. Joe was 5 years old when his great-grandmother died and she was buried from a cathedral. Joe proudly has a picture of his Great-Grandmother in her full habit of wimple, coif etc with her three children and Joe in her arms as a baby. Like Joe said, " It was only right that he donate the car to the Sisters" for that is what he knew his Great-Grandmother would want him to do. We are so happy too! God bless Joe!

Beautiful plants of the desert!

2011-08-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

As you can see the ocotillo in our school parking lot is taller than me.

I don't get too close to it. I can hear the bees buzzing in the purple bush behind me. The beauty of the desert!

The Day is Here At Last!

2011-08-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago today Sr. Mary Gabriel and myself landed at the Tucson Airport-not knowing what to really expect at our new mission in Sierra Vista. Today I can take a look at our convent and school and know that we have accomplished alot in these three short and very busy weeks. Nine new teachers with energy and enthusiasm galore have been hired. Classrooms that weren't used last year have been cleaned out and are ready for today's Open House. Sr. Mary Gabriel worked hard at putting the library back together. We now have book shelves in the computer room with books that had been abandoned in boxes for several years.

As I arrived early this Saturday morning to take a walk through the school neighborhood I was welcomed by the Young At Heart group from the parish cutting the grass and weeds on the parish and school grounds. I was surprised and very grateful as the grounds definitely needed trimming up for the Open House. As I walked the gravel roads by school into the mountains I saw beautiful homes with desert landscape nestled below the Huachuca mountains. Wow! I would love to live in this neighborhood. I could walk to and from school and be apart of the beauty of the mountains.

Upon returning to the school grounds I met two of the men who finished the grass cutting. They were very sweaty but had smiles on their faces when I stopped to talk to them. One of them proudly told me, " I put your bed together." He was one of the Young at Heart group that came to our convent before we arrived to put our beds and other furniture together. They are just a couple of the very generous and outgoing parishioners I have met here.

Yes, we are ready for Open House today to meet the parents and students. Monday school begins and we will have 3 year olds through 8th grade coming through our gates to begin the 2011-2012 school year. I thank God for the many blessings of these past three weeks that got us to the point where we can really be proud of All Saints Catholic School and Our Lady of the Mountains Parish.