A Month in Review

January always seems to spring upon us! It is far away and then suddenly we are half way through! This is in no small part because all our love, time, and attention goes to preparing to celebrate our dear Savior's birth, a celebration which is extended well into the new year. This year was no different. In fact, it was probably more so, given that our Sisters made vows on December 27, the feast of John the Beloved, in addition to the usual festivities.

December is apostolically one of our busiest seasons. The Sisters in the elementary school have the joy of preparing the students for the annual Advent program, while the Sisters in the high school have the slightly-less-obvious joy of preparing their students for finals! A special joy was the enrollment our Napa Sodalists in the Miraculous Medal.

Added to that are the absolutely necessary but unpredictable engagements: the funeral of a long-time parishioner and friend, the gift of 60 boxes of supurb Catholic books to augment our library, a quick jaunt to Ferndale to supervise the installation of the upstairs heat, with a few others thrown in for good measure and you have a full month!

​Meanwhile, all the everyday duties continue. Teaching, sacristy, caring for our Convent home, and work in the Chancery offices continue without interuption.

There are also the traditional annual events: attendance at the Women of the Word Advent brunch, caroling for our favorite care center, lots of extra choir practice for the Christmas liturgies, Christmas caroling for our neighbors, and the like.

"Normal" life in the Chancery - surely much work is getting done!

Thanks be to God for retreat Sunday! Having a day set aside once a month to more intentionally foster our union with the Beloved fuels us for our apostolates, and in this case, spiritually prepared us for the great feast and season of Christmas.

"And the Word was made Flesh." After all the apostolic activities of December, it was a blessed treat to spend our Octave together pondering this mystery.

Octaves are a special time for us. We do not take on outside apostolates, and chose rather to spend time in prayer and with each other, restoring the bonds of charity, first with our Lord and then with our Sisters. It is an opportunity to have little adventures together, such as our annual outing to roller skate (courtesy of the wonderful owner of CalSkate in Rohnert Park!) or re-visiting our favorite Community hikes. Other Sisters take joy in crafting or playing games together.

The Sisters' First Profession of Vows was a beautiful and heartening beginning to our Octave, but that was shared about in these blog posts already: Are You Nervous Yet? and O Little Ring.

Renewing our Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary on Founding Day

The close of the Octave was swiftly followed by our 13th Anniversary of Founding on January 4th. We were priviledged to be able to welcome our Bishop for a talk, Mass, and brunch. The professed Sisters formally renewed their vows in the context of the Mass. It was a touching moment for many of the Sisters because, while we renew our vows daily, we have never had the opportunity to do so using the formula we used at our profession of vows. 

It is only after all these wonderful things that January seems to start! No wonder it feels like such a surpising and short month. It comes as a "relief" to be back to normal schedule, about our Father's business, tending the vineyard He has entrusted to our care. And yet, that is what we have been doing all along: recreating, chanting, worshiping, or teaching we are only about doing His will and glorifying Him. May we ever be receptive of the graces He gives!