This morning, I got the flyer/announcement from Sr. Jean Louise for our Mother Daughter Days this summer!  I hope I can participate again this year!

The Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen invite you to their 2022 Mother-Daughter Days at St. Francis Convent in Hankinson, North Dakota.  
"I have loved you with an everlasting love!"
There will be two sessions offered this summer:
Sunday, June 19 - Tuesday (noon), June 21
~ and ~
Thursday, July 21 - Saturday, July 23
Come, spend time:
- listening to Jesus
- getting to know the Franciscan Sisters
- praying with the Sisters
-meeting others also on their way to a closer relationship with Jesus

To register, call or text Sr. Jean Louise at (701) 208-1245 as soon as possible.  
Participation is limited in number.

On this day following the feast of St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, I had a beautiful experience that enhanced my awareness of the Church’s universality. 
 
According to our schedule (which I have on the sacristy counter), our regular Mass celebrant would not be able to be with us this Sunday; I had made arrangements with an elderly resident priest, who was willing to offer the Mass in his stead. 
 
However, last night, upon returning from reading at the 5 p.m. Mass at the local parish, I noticed a note on our table.  The large black wording me that our normal priest would, in fact, be here to offer Mass.  I passed the information on to the other priest, so he would not have to prepare for this.  This would be easier on him, I was sure.
 
This morning, therefore, I set up for Mass as usual, for our customary visiting priest, having every reason to believe that he would be here, after all. 
 
As I was working my shift at the front desk, another priest walked in.  He knew we had 9 a.m. Mass and wished to concelebrate.  That sounded nice to me, so I showed him where he could hang his coat and offered him the use of our vestments (although he assured me that he had his own). 
 
I was relieved from the desk to make final preparations (lighting candles, etc.) for Mass, and rehearsed some of the music with the congregation.  Perplexingly, Father still was not there. 
 
As the clock chimed 9 o’clock, and the moments passed, it became evident that he probably was NOT coming after all. 
 
The other priest, who was planning to concelebrate, offered to have the Mass for us.  With no opportunity for much instruction as to where things were, or how things were done here, Father gave no sign that he’d never offered Mass for us before. 
 
Things went seamlessly.   
 
It struck me as beautiful that a priest can walk into a church anywhere and easily make his way through the liturgy there, with no prior experience of the surroundings or local customs. 
 
Much like the experience of being able to join in at a Mass while traveling on vacation, this experience reinforced the knowledge that we are all united in the Body of Christ. 

I went about my daily routine this morning, aware of the fact that it was, indeed, a somewhat significant date.  The Shakespearean admonition, “Beware of the ides of March,” didn’t have much significance at first, but, as the day went on, it was all too relevant.
 
After Mass, as I had just extinguished the candles and was putting things away, one of the candles near the altar flew off its holder and onto the floor, spilling hot wax everywhere in its wake (on the floor, wooden stand, and altar cloth)!
 
I spent the little time allowed to me before 10 a.m. Bible study trying to get the wax off the various surfaces. 
 
There’s good reason I’m not terribly fond of candles!
 
The day continued fairly smoothly for me until one of our Sisters didn’t come and didn’t come for lunch and for a commitment we had. 
 
I walked down to her office to check on what the holdup might be.  She was on the phone with someone who was supposed to be helping her with a problem on her computer. 
 
It turned out that it was all a scam, and I spent most of the afternoon trying to secure her computer. 
 
I felt like I was going in circles!
 
As I write this, the computer is still (after a couple of hours) reverting to “factory settings.”  In the meantime, I had to change email passwords and take other precautions in case the hackers had tried to access important information. 
 
I’m not superstitious, and I mean this in complete jest, but the phrase “beware of the ides of March” will have much greater meaning for me in the future.

As I made preparations in chapel yesterday after Mass, removing poinsettias, changing altar cloths and other adornments from green to violet, and ironing a Lenten banner I’d found buried in the bottom drawer in the sacristy, I really didn’t think I was getting ready for Easter.  However, on closer analysis, I find that, in a way, I was. 
 
This year, I was reminded anew that Lent isn’t just about “giving up something,” having somber music, and participating in other mortifications; it’s all for a greater purpose.  These days of penitence have a beautiful goal in mind: They are meant to help prepare us to enter into the celebration of the paschal mystery with heart and mind renewed. 
 
The annual commemoration of Jesus’ death and resurrection isn’t just another set of holidays on our calendar.  We are meant to experience it anew each year.  We are meant to delve into the depths of this mystery.  We can strive to live it as if we were there!
 
The Church, in her motherly wisdom, does not want us to rush heedlessly into these holy days, unprepared.  We are given this time of Lent (traditionally forty days, not counting Sundays) to get ready. 
 
This year, I have been struggling with how best to do this.  I don’t know exactly what I should be doing differently as a penance to prepare my heart for the upcoming holy days.  With the difficulties, stress and hardships of the past months, I can’t help but feel like I’ve been living in Lent already. 
 
Perhaps, though, along with efforts at better self-denial and the penances already incumbent with daily life, I am being called to another aspect of Lent this year. 
 
One image we are given in these early Lenten days is of Our Lord going out into the desert.  Perhaps, He is inviting us to come close to Him this season, drawing near to him in the desert of our own lives.