Turn God Around So I Can Talk To Him, Please!

Children will lead us to God and remind us He is always there for us.

As Principal of a PreSchool-8th grade school, I deal with a wide variety of ages. I get to know them well by teaching Physical Education to them on Tuesdays-4 year olds through 8th grade, taking recess duty and interacting with the ones who get sent to me for behavior problems.

We have one very active four year old who has tons of energy and loves to talk. He comes to see me at least once a week for a time out. The first time he came, I sat him in a chair in the outer office and turned the chair toward the statue of Jesus with children and turned the statue so Jesus was looking right at him.  I told him, "I will set the timer for 5 minutes and during that time I want you to look at Jesus and ask Him to help you to be a better boy." I set the timer  next to Jesus and went to my office where I can see the little guy. He was looking hard at Jesus and I could hear him talking to Jesus. Timer went off and back to class he went.

He came to see me the next week and I said, "Ok, I am setting the timer. You have to be quiet in here till the timer goes off." I put the timer down and went back to my office. Then I heard, "Sister Carol, can you come and turn God around so I can talk to Him please?" I laughed to myself as he was so serious and he was already turned around in his chair ready to see God and talk to Him.  A reminder to all of us-turn to God when you are in trouble.

During the week, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with Crazy Hat Day, Crazy Sock Day and Crazy Hair Day. The joy of children enjoying life with something as small and silly as these crazy ways reminds us to enjoy the simple things of life. Don't overlook them as they can  bring us joy.

We also did Read Across America and one little Prek boy said as he opened the book, "Once upon a time"  and we think they don't listen to us grown-ups. They remember more than we think. They imitate us too. We need to watch what we say and do as little eyes are always on us.

Thursday night, it was off to Tucson to the CoWorkers in the Vineyard Convention sponsored by the Diocese of Tucson. It was great to see Pope Francis attending this too.

I bought one of his books -Inspiration from Pope Francis. The section on youth was inspiring for me  as I continue to work with the youth. "Laugh, the Lord loves you. Love others as well. Dreams can enable one to proclaim that it is worth taking a chance on Jesus. Encourage yourselves to dream. Encourage yourselves to walk and even to risk your life for the Lord. "

I kept this in mind as I set up my display of the Consecrated Life at the Knights of Columbus Founders' Day Program at our Parish  - Our Lady of the Mountains.

Upon coming home I saw our first rose of the season in bloom!  Wow! God is all around us.

Consecrated Life

At the Italian fundraiser dinner last night a 7th grade girl from the public school came up to me and asked," I am a Christian so why can't I wear what is on your head? Why must it be only the Catholics who get to wear that?  I think all Christians should be able to wear that!"  So I replied to her, "This is called a veil. I am allowed to wear it because I am a religious Sister in the Roman Catholic faith. I am a member of the Consecrated Life."  Then she said, "Oh!!!"  She understood then.  But I am sure to many people when they see me in my black and white and with a black veil on my head they are as puzzled as she is as - Who is that?  With so few religious Sisters in the United States these days compared to the 1950's when almost all Catholic Schools were staffed by Religious Sisters, many people do not encounter a religious Sister.

 

 

Sunday, February 8, Sr. Joellen and I held an open house at our convent for both parishes-Our Lady of the Mountains and St. Andrew's Parish and also families attending All Saints Catholic School. About 50 people came between 4:00-6:00pm to see our convent. One of the 1st grade girls who attends All Saints Catholic School told her mom as she was ready to ring our doorbell, " Mom, be ready to see lots of Green Bay Packer items because Sr. Carol is a Packer fan!"  I had to smile and laugh when the mom told me this and she said, "It is true! As soon as we walk in the door there is a Packer bear!"

Pope Francis has declared this year the Year of the Consecrated Life. With the focus this year on the men and women who have professed vows to a religious order, the spotlight is on us-Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity.

We are an apostolic religious order with our Motherhouse in Manitowoc, Wisconsin about 40 miles outside of Green Bay. A Motherhouse is where young women go who have a desire to be a religious sister and it is also our home. We serve in many states but during the summertime and when we retire we come home to our Motherhouse.

 

As young women discern whether God is calling them to religious life here is a prayer attributed to St. Basil of Caesarea (ca. 329-379) that can be used for discerning one's calling in life.

Prayer for Discernment
Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbor,
where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.

Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go.

And give me the strength and the courage
to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough
and the waves are high, knowing that through
enduring hardship and danger we shall find comfort and peace.

Christmas Nativity Sets

Tis the season for the Christ Child to be under the Christmas Tree, in a stable underneath the altar, in a classroom or live on the school stage. Have you ever really looked at the figures in a Nativity Set?  Do you see the expressions and wonder what they are thinking if they were alive or what the artist's or sculptor's intent was when he created the expressions or positions? Let us take a look at some of these Nativity Figures.

This King is looking with reverence toward the Baby Jesus and a sort of twinkle in his eye-"Yes, we have at last found the newborn King. "

On his knees, he is looking intently at the Baby Jesus and in awe of the simplicity of the king's birth and in wonderment as how He will rule.

I come  bearing gold for the newborn King. He is still riding his camel, following the Star in the East and searching with his eyes so intently to find this King.

A very simple stable with a very tiny baby surrounded by His loving parents-Mary and Joseph. The angel is proud to tell the Good News to all she can.

The tiniest, hand-carved wooden babe, lying in a wooden manger-arms outstretched to tell the world-The Newborn King is here. Scripture has been fulfilled.  The Christmas cards around the babe tell the complete story.

The Peruvian Nativity Set is precious and small - just like the Baby Jesus that first Christmas Night when he came to surprise the world.

Baby Jesus here, in front of the altar, is larger than His parents-probably to show the big job God the Father has given to Him to do on Earth. He came to fulfill the Scriptures.

Mary and Joseph acting out on Christmas Eve in church why we all gather together in crowds on Christmas Eve. We have come to tell you the story of that First Christmas in the Little Town of Bethlehem. Where the Drummer Boy came to give Jesus what he had-the gift of song and playing the drums.

 

At Midnight Mass, we hear how Mary gave birth in a stable with Joseph at her side. And she named Him Jesus, as the angel told her to.

The ox and donkey witnessed the birth of this new King and gave Him the warmth He needed on that cold Christmas Eve.


With Joseph giving the first light to the newborn King who would bring Light to all the world as He grew in wisdom.

May we all take time to give thanks to Mary and Joseph for their Big Yes to God the Father and may we too give our Yes to God when He calls out to us by name.

Our Teens Step Up!

A lot of people complain about teenagers these days but I have to compliment ours. We sponsored a car wash to benefit one of our parents who has cancer. The teens in our school came forth and worked hard from 8:30am - 12:15pm.

So many cars were lined up we were kept quite busy and we never even had time to take a break and eat one of the delicious donuts provided by one of our sponsors.

We raised over $2,000 for our mom with cancer.
We were suppose to end at noon but the cars kept coming along with the  money. I finally said, "Take the signs down!! Quit advertising"  Many of us had to go someplace else in the afternoon.

One student asked if he could tell cars who get in line after we had our cut off time that we aren't washing any more cars.  I told him, to go for it!  He was great at the job. He let two more cars who had a presale ticket through. When the 3rd car came, with no presale ticket and he told them no to doing "just one more car" he responded with, "We already did two just one more car requests." Good response!

The second time recently when our teens came through to help others was when they assisted St. Vincent de Paul Society in our parish with preparing the Thanksgiving boxes - 156 of them.

 

All the students in school brought food to the parish hall for the baskets. It was great to see the small children's expressions when they saw all the food collected.

7th and 8th graders assisted the St. Vincent de Paul volunteers in preparing the boxes in all ways.

May these teens continue to be of service as they grow into adulthood.  It was a great way to begin the Advent Season.

During this Advent season I encourage you to go to our Motherhouse website fscc-calledtobe.org and listen to the Advent song "Awake The Voice" by Krista Detor.  As you listen to her beautiful voice, picture Mary and Joseph as they prepare for the birth of their child.

Have a very holy Advent Season!

Burning of All Saints Catholic School Mortgage!

September 30th, 2009 a mortgage was taken out through the Catholic Order of Foresters by Our Lady of the Mountains Parish in Sierra Vista and it was finally paid off on October 20, 2014 and the burning of the mortgage happened on November 16, 2014!

Here is the story with a happy ending!

There was a need for additional classrooms at All Saints Catholic School, which is the parish school for Our Lady of the Mountains Parish. Fr. Brazaskas, pastor at the time, took out a mortgage for $486,000 to complete the school building project. It was a 13 year mortgage through Catholic Order of Foresters.

The last three years, Sr. Caro,l as principal and Fr.Ariel Lustan, as pastor, worked very hard to pay off the mortgage so that a new project could be started-the raising of funds for the building of a parish rectory. All these years Our Lady of the Mountains Parish had no permanent rectory for their priest. A house has been rented or the pastor owned his own home.

At last, seeing that the mortgage was paid off funds were raised to build a parish rectory and the rectory is almost neared completion. It was time to celebrate as a school and as a parish.

It was the third Sunday of the month so it was the school choir's turn to sing at the 9:30am Mass and do the Sunday's readings.

As the last song was announced, the altar servers led the procession followed by the school choir singing, Give Thanks to the Lord, as they processed out of church to the courtyard, where a small fire pit was set up to burn the school mortgage.

Passing out the parts for the burning ceremony.

Giving the details of how the mortgage came about and how it was paid off in 5 years. 

Today we gather to celebrate a milestone in our parish and school.
We come today to celebrate the good works God has worked through all of us.

 Candles were given to the pastor, Fr. Mike, two students, a parent, Parish Council President and Sr. Carol Seidl, the Principal.

Little by little it burned away!

Smiles appeared as it turned to ashes!

Debt free at last! Give thanks and praise to the Lord, our God.