Whew! July has been a very busy month, with 3 conferences and a visit with my family up in Dubuque. All of it was wonderful, but I am so glad to be back home and getting ready for school! 🙂
St. John Bosco is helping me. He wrote, “It is not enough that young people are loved. They must know that they are loved.” Continue Reading
Or at least it did today, in our dining room.:)
During the school year, I’m never home during the day for events featuring speakers or performers. Usually the only Sisters who attend are our elders and those who work in administration. And I rarely am home for Mass (I go with my class at school). Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
The scent of coffee fills the dining room as the Sisters gather, by foot and by wheelchair, for our 4th day of retreat. Today we are treated to the story of Jacob, which we are reminded to read as our own story.
Jacob, whose name means “to grab,” spends a goodish portion of his life taking advantage of others, and controlling whatever he could control. Indeed, when God visits him, Jacob says he will worship Him if God makes good on his promises. Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
Overhead lamps cast a warm glow in the dining room where we have gathered for Day #3. It’s been raining, gently and intermittently, for 2 days. Sister Mary Schmidt’s lettuces are thriving!
Abbot Jerome opened our session this morning by saying there are 2 steps to accepting a vocation. The 1st is to ACCEPT it, but we can get stuck there when we accept it with bitterness or halfheartedness. Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
As a light, gentle rain fell on the patio outside our dining room, Day #2 of our retreat began. Abbot Jerome continued his talk on our journey through the wilderness, noting that we need a guide. We need God.
Even when we know that, we can go the wrong way. How? By avoiding the journey entirely. How? In denial, escape, and control. Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
At long last, retreat time has arrived at St. Mary Monastery. A profound quiet fills our hallways and rooms. Many smiles and pats on the shoulder replace conversation. The sense of relaxation is palpable.
What do we do during retreat? In some ways, nothing different from usual. We follow our same schedule, give or take an hour. That is, we gather for Lauds, Noonday Prayer, Vespers and Eucharist. We pray Lectio Divina. We take our meals together at noon and 5:30. Continue Reading
I am not a teacher who has ever counted down the last days of school.
I enjoy my job and the students and families I work with every day during the school year.
I’ll miss every one of them!!!
I’ll miss the excitement and joy that only a preschooler can offer. Continue Reading
By Sister Stefanie MacDonald, OSB
Today is the feast of Pentecost. What does that mean? As Father Karl Rahner wrote, “God is ours…he has given us His whole being without reserve; He has given us the clarity of His knowledge, the freedom of His love and the bliss of His Trinitarian life. He has given us Himself. And His name is Holy Spirit. He is ours … God is our God: that is the glad tidings of Pentecost.”
If God is ours and has given God’s whole being to us, what does it mean? What should we do?
We hear that God expects nothing in return, which is comforting but not an answer.
Think how much we expect from God. Should we not give back? Should we not live our lives as we are called? Continue Reading
When Sister Mary Core’s youth group began hatching a plan to stay overnight at Camp Loud Thunder along the Mississippi River in Illinois, she knew who to call for help. Sister Stefanie MacDonald loved to camp; she had taken her nephews every chance she got. But now that her nephews were grown – and her own students were just preschoolers – Sr. Stefanie missed cooking and sleeping outdoors.
So when Sr. Mary asked her to help out, Sr. Stefanie said yes. Together with 9 youth group members – and a few parents and siblings – they created a delicious, fun, Benedictine and memorable experience. Continue Reading
Our last field trip this year was to the public library. It was only 4 blocks away, so we walked. YAY! No struggling with car seats!!! 🙂 Continue Reading
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