— 1 —St. Paul, MN
First, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity would like to alert everyone to our coming road trip to St. Paul, MN. We are looking forward to being present at the Steubenville North Conference at St. Thomas University July 25-27, 2014. On the way to and from St. Paul, we can’t think of anything better that we would like to do than making some road-side stops to talk with you about our Franciscan Consecrated Life! We are also very open to meeting you during the conference days in St. Paul as well. Just let us know when and where. Contact us here.
— 2 —St. Luke, Houston, TX
We take our emails seriously. After St. Luke Parish parochial vicar Father Desmond Daniels took the time to personally respond that our Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity July 5-9, 2014 visit to Houston would be published in their weekly church bulletin, Sister Carmen Marie Diaz responded that Sister Mary Ann Spanjers, Sister Julie Ann Sheahan and she would happily stop by for the Saturday Evening Mass on July 5. And we did… after we first stopped for a rental car at the airport. Since we were in TX, ‘Alamo’ seemed quite appropriate.
— 3 —St. Luke Statue
How did we know we got to the right church? St. Luke was as big as life on the church grounds. A large formidable statue marks this sacred space.
— 4 —Gospel of John
As we walked closer to the church we came across some lovely plaques in a colorful garden. Leave it to Franciscans to notice the “Stations of the Light” highlighting the Gospel of John. Being St. Francis found great meaning in the San Damiano Crucifix, an icon of the Gospel of John, we paused to look at each one. Here’s a sample for you to enjoy.
— 5 —New-ness
We were not the only ones new to the parish that night? A precious child was baptized. Father Douglas Guthrie was also welcomed as pastor. The people in the pews were quick to applaud and express their delight in all these arrivals. St. Luke pray for all of us!
— 6 —cake and punch
It is not everyday that you go somewhere for the first time and you find yourself among the group having cake and punch. But we did! We also were able to have some great conversations with some truly welcoming people! Lots of good news here!
— 7 —To be continued
Of course this stop at St. Luke’s was just the first of many pauses on our Texas sojourn that we hope to share with you in other posts on our Franciscanized World blog. Please do continue to follow us as we relive our Southern memories in the days ahead. If you desire to see us face to face at our Motherhouse in Manitowoc, WI, please contact us here. We are always ready to offer our own Franciscan hospitality!
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!