Dear Friends, Family, and Fellow Carmelites,
As we begin we want to share that Oklahoma’s prayers for rain were finally heard! In November we received six inches of rain overnight and our near empty lake was filled to the brim! Additional rain faced us with a ‘feast or famine’ situation. The water level became too high and water had to be released to prevent street flooding. We also had several large earthquakes (for Oklahoma that is). One lasted for about a minute and woke several of us. It did a lot of damage near Shawnee, OK including Saint Gregory’s University. We had a very mild winter and prayed for those areas of our country and world that experienced such brutally cold weather. Now we, along with much of the rest of the country are enjoying an early spring with above normal temperatures.

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With the beauty of creation all around us we need to remind ourselves that we are still in Lent and approaching the holiest days of the year. When we question if God is truly merciful or if He really loves us the days of the Holy Triduum give us the answer . . . a resounding YES!

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On Holy Thursday Jesus showed us how to be a servant when he washed his disciples’ feet. He then gave his life up symbolically when he offered them his Body and Blood. Good Friday saw the symbol became reality as he offered his body on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin. The disciples did not understand this on that first Good Friday–all they experienced was darkness and chaos. Then came the empty tomb; the message of the angel and the familiar voice saying, “Peace, it is I!” Death was destroyed and redemption was won. Our sins were washed away in the Blood of the Lamb because of His great love and mercy.

The Readings at the Easter Vigil also take us from darkness and chaos to the light of creation and through to God’s redemptive love. It is not a story of something that happened long ago but of Christ’s continual self-offering for us until the end of time. We claim that promise when we renew our Baptismal Vows. We say yes, we believe as we hold our candles symbolizing the Light of Christ. May all of us experience the fullness of God’s love not only at Easter but throughout our lives. Amen. Alleluia!

In our previous entry we wrote that Sr. Donna had surgery. It was more involved than expected and she spent eleven days in the hospital. Her tumor was malignant but never infiltrated the organs and was caught early. She is now undergoing chemo which will last until May. She appreciates all your prayers.

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This year Dorothy (Sr. Brooke), Toto and Toto II (Sam and Suzy) paid us a visit on November 21st which is the Feast of the Presentation. This is traditionally the day when the Novitiate Sisters entertain the rest of the community. This year our refectory and serving room floors transformed to became the yellow brick road. The way led us through the Land of Oz; we passed the Scarecrows corn field, the apple tree, the haunted forest, the wicked witch’s castle and arrived at the Emerald City. Dorothy invited us to watch her entire adventure later that evening.

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The Advent season went quickly and we soon found ourselves in Christmas time. Our celebrant for Christmas Eve was Fr. Denis Hanrahan and Archbishop Beltran joined us for Christmas Day. Due to the warm weather this Christmas we had a good attendance at our celebrations. We only had one brief snow this winter which was a welcome relief from the snow and ice storms of the past few years. We attribute the lack of snow to the fact that we bought snow boots for the young sisters this year!

The community lost a good friend in December with the death of Father Paul Donovan. Although he was in declining health he was still able to visit us from time to time. He had been here several weeks before his death and we were both surprised and saddened to hear of his passing.

We welcomed Archbishop Paul Coakley for a visit on January 10th. It was good to see him again and find out how his first year here as Archbishop went. We learned we will soon lose another priest from this diocese with the appointment of Msgr. Ed Weisenburger as Bishop-elect of Salina, Kansas. Salina is the former diocese of Archbishop Coakley. We are a small diocese yet in the last two years two of our priests have been called to become Bishops. It does say something about the caliber of our priests. Msgr. Ed or Bishop-elect Edward has been a good friend of ours and we plan to get him here before he leaves for Kansas.

The end of January the faithful men from Hartshorne came to do yard maintenance. Last year they cleared part of the creek and this year they completed another portion. which now looks wonderful. Then came the fish fry! We really appreciate the men giving us a weekend every year. Another good friend, Mike Morgan built a bridge across the creek which allows for easy crossing. Handrails have been added and we recently learned the deer enjoy the bridge as well.

The last week of February the Council of Mary, Queen of Carmel Association arrived here for a short meeting. Sr. Donna decided that since she is currently taking chemotherapy it would be best to resign as Coordinator of the Association. The Association understood and supported her decision as she needs time to heal. Instead of having another General Assembly, it was agreed that the other Council members would move up, so Sr. Mary Clare of Terre Haute is now the Coordinator for our Association.

While the Council was here, our Carmelite Friars invited them to dinner on Wednesday night. Our Provincial, Fr. Louis came from San Antonio along with Fr. Bonaventure who is presently in Dallas. Fr. Ralph and Fr. Henry fixed a magnificent meal which was much appreciated by the Nuns. They were gracious hosts and gave those who had not seen the Church a quick tour. It is always good to spend time with the Friars and learn what is happening in the Province. As Fr. Bonaventure was here to meet with the Secular Order we invited him for breakfast the following Tuesday.

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Our chickens have a new home which will be easier for Sr. Teresa Chau to maintain. We have lost several hens to hawks and cannot let them roam at large now. Their new pen is much larger and will give them plenty of room to move freely. A storage shed was also converted into a brooding house. As before, an electrical fence deters predators from snatching the hens. We have also recently stocked our lake with fish. Due to last summer’s brutal heat many of the fish died and with the lake restored to its former depth and beauty we decided it was time to restock it. The Sisters enjoy fishing but right now the fish are too small to eat so it will be awhile before we can say, “Yes, the fish is fresh!”