Annual Overnight

 The girls had a blast spending a jam packed night in the parish hall. We began with pizza dinner followed by professional story telling from our friend from the Iris society. He helped kick off the theme of service and charity. He encouraged us to remember one of his stories to share with a friend.

Next, we made Wear and Give Miraculous Medal bracelets to give away when the Holy Spirit moves us or when someone gives one a compliment and Good Deed Beads to help remind us to do acts of kindness (spiritual and corporal works of mercy) each day. We learned about the Miraculous Medal and St Catherine Laboure and how the Wear and Give Ministry is still spreading Mary's love for all her children and bringing them closer to her son, Jesus. 

We earned our Service petals at our petal meeting where we learned about Saint Jeanne Jugan, foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. She was called to care for the elderly. We are each called to service in a particular way by the people and situations God places before us. We can turn work into the virtue of service by choosing to do the work out of love for God and others. 

The girls were given Iris coloring contest sheets in the yellow packets. Instructions for entry are in the packet and are due by January 31st. There are also instructions for the Ackerman essay contest which is due May 17. You'll notice a familiar name listed as the first place winner. Check out her wonderful essay published in the packet. Congratulations to R! 

Next, we celebrated the birthday of a Little Flower with cake and ice cream and a fun party with Bingo, karaoke, and board games. The girls finally got their wish of having more time to just be together. 

We ended the night praying in the chapel and singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet before sharing the roses and thorns of the day. The girls bonded and shivered through their night in the unheated youth room with the motion sensor lights punctuating their sleep. 

The next morning we packed up and thought better of hiking to breakfast due to sub zero temperatures, and enjoyed more fellowship and good food at a local establishment. Thank you to all our volunteers that helped make this much anticipated annual event a success. 

December Petal Meeting and Holy Hour

  The Little Flowers were invited to join the Carmelite Sisters for an Advent holy hour of Adoration in their chapel. Two postulants first led our group through a lectio divina (divine word) session to help us better enter into the passage from Luke's Gospel of the Annunciation. This was a beautiful introduction to the Adoration badge we will be earning at the end of the school year. It was a such a special treat to be able to join the joy filled sisters in their prayer time. 

Virtue: Patience Saint: Bathildis  Flower: Lily of the Valley
Verse: The Lord is good to those who trust in Him, to the one that seeks Him. -Lamentations 3:25

St Bathildis lived a real life Cinderella story in 7th century England. As a young child she was taken to France and sold as a slave. Her master gave her the lowliest tasks which she joyfully and patiently completed thoroughly. She eventually became head of the household and married the king of France. 

When her husband died their young son became king so she became his regent. She established hospitals, homes for the poor, and monastaries. When her son grew up and no longer needed her help to rule, she entered a convent. Her feast day is January 30. She is a patron for widows and against illness. 

Patience is cheerful waiting, and being joyful even when things are hard or do not go our way. In this season of Advent we practice patiently waiting for Jesus to come. We practiced patience while working on crafts to give as gifts to others. Our Youth Leaders did a wonderful job of preparing and implementing the lesson. We can practice patience when waiting for our parents to finish a conversation or while helping with errands or chores, or while helping a younger child learn a new task. 

Lily of the Valley is a small, easy to miss series of white bell shaped flowers on a single sprig. It has a strong sweet scent but is poisonous. It is also named “Our Lady’s Tears.” Like the Iris, it is a rhizome and spreads. 

St. Bathildis, pray for us and help us to grow in the virtue of patience.

The girls were invited to enter the Iris Writing Contest for a cash prize. 

Categories: Age 9 and under. Age 10-12, Age 13 and up

1st place $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25

You just moved into a new home that has no irises. You decide to plan an iris garden with irises that are only two colors. They can be blends or shades of these colors. What two colors would you choose? Why would you choose to plant these colors? Choose companion plants and /or garden art to go in your bed. List a few names of the irises you would like to plant and list some of the companion plants you would use. Maybe describe what design or shape the bed(s) would be. You may take home the iris catalogs available for ideas. Length 1-1 1/2 pages or 5 paragraphs. 

Deadline is our January Petal Meeting, January 22.