December to Remember

 

Merry Christmas Eve from the Postulants in California!

December is a very busy month, packed full of celebrations and preparations for sweet, little baby Jesus! Here's just a quick glimpse of how we prepare for Christmas in the convent.

 

Our chapel in the formation house. Everyone is on their journey waiting for Baby Jesus!

Advent Retreat
Every Monday we have Intercongregational Formation with several different orders in the Los Angeles area. We began Advent with a retreat with our ICF class. The day began with a presentation on the Love of God, followed by lots of quiet time for reflection. After lunch, we gathered for a Mask Activity. We paired up with another student and put plaster on our faces to make a mask. Yep.
I can't tell you that I loved the process. Rubbing Vaseline all over my face and having someone slowly cover my face, eyes, and mouth with plaster is not what I would choose to do on a Friday night to relax. Once we were blind and unable to speak, they told us to get up and walk OUTSIDE to the chapel. Are you kidding me? Thankfully, our formator warned us about this activity so that we could prepare ourselves.

Although I started out dreading this activity, it ended up being a powerful learning experience for me. I couldn't see or speak. I was completely vulnerable and dependent on the guidance and direction of our formators. I had absolutely no control and it was unnerving. When we got up to walk, I immediately reached out for the arm of my partner and we remained connected through the entire walk. It helped me to realize just how important community is - specifically during this journey of formation and discernment. Shout out to my super awesome companions who help me walk by faith every day - and to all the amazing people who have walked with me throughout my life and helped me to get to this point.

 

This is my mask. It is a little bit creepy, huh?

Religious Education Christmas Party
We had a Christmas dinner with all of the teachers in our Parish's religious education program. We ate delicious food and played a rousing game of Christmas Carol Pictionary. We ended up having to give prizes to two teams because the competition was so fierce.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 12th was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The celebration began at 5am with Mariachi's, hymns honoring Our Lady, and boisterous shouts of "Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" accompanied by lots of clapping. Then we had Mass at 6am, followed by hot chocolate and sweets. Pretty much one of the greatest mornings ever.

School Luncheon
All of the teachers, staff, and Sisters gathered for a luncheon to celebrate Christmas. We went to local restaurant called the Elephant Room and I had a Philly Cheesesteak that was amazing. Pretty eventful day.


FMA Family Dinner
Every year, the Sisters have a gathering for all of their family members in the area. Everyone comes to the Church Hall and we eat, sing some Christmas songs, and hang out for awhile. It was really neat to meet some of the Sisters' family members - even Sisters that don't live in California anymore have family that come. It was beautiful to see everyone together, really enjoying time as one big family.

Here we are singing some carols.

Simbang Gabi at the Los Angeles Cathedral
Simbang Gabi is a Pilipino tradition for the nine days leading up to Christmas. It began as a way to gather for Mass during the Christmas Novena very early in the mornings before they had to go out to work in the fields. Today in the US, it is typically a Mass in the evening followed by refreshments and fellowship. We attended the Mass for the beginning of the Novena at the Los Angeles Cathedral. It was packed - people were lined up in the outside hallways. We managed to get seating because someone took pity on the poor Sisters standing in the back corner. Then we were invited to participate in the opening procession. The two Aprils jumped at the opportunity and processed in with a group of Deacons and Religious Women.

Confirmation Christmas Show
I teach Confirmation every Tuesday night. Our Christmas celebration included each class choosing a day from the 12 Days of Christmas and explaining the religious significance behind it. Kristen's class had the 6th day which stands for the 6 days of creation. One of her students brought in this huge panda to represent the creation of animals. You didn't think pandas really had much to do with Christmas? Well. Now you know.

 

School Christmas Show
The students of the school put on a super adorable Christmas concert. They sang a selection of the traditional Christmas favorites with a narration of the Christmas story in between. Kindergarten and First Grade were my favorite groups. They sang the loudest and proudest - and, of course looked the most adorable.

Longest Night
On December 20, in preparation for the longest night of the year, the Parish held a dinner for needy families in our area. The night began with Mass and was followed by a delicious pasta dinner prepared by the Sisters. We were all there to help serve and just spend time with the people. The Hall was packed and we probably served around 300. It was neat to see how the entire Parish came together to contribute something. Students from the school helped to cook and serve, the Boy Scouts set up and tore down tables and chairs, the Spanish children's choir provided entertainment - even the Priests got up and sang a few songs.

RES Posada
Our Religious Education program celebrated with a Christmas Posada. The students normally meet in three separate sessions because there are almost 1,ooo students. However for the Posada, everyone met at the same time. Naturally, it was organized chaos. The students gathered on the basketball courts to begin. Then they traveled across our big field singing songs, praying the rosary, and trying to find a place for Mary and Joseph to stay. When they reached our Parish Hall, they finally found a place to stay. Then they broke up into groups and went to break the 22 piñatas we had hanging around campus. After that, all the children (and their parents!) came to eat. It took us almost 2 hours, but eventually everyone was fed. I wish I had a picture of the aftermath - it looked like a monsoon ran through campus. However, many hands made for light work and we had everything cleaned up in less than an hour.

Dinner at St. Mary's
Our Sisters that live in East LA invited us over for an early Christmas dinner. We had a special Advent Evening Prayer and then had a huge feast. After dinner we played a version of musical chairs with presents. Sr. Cesira, who is 94 and almost blind won the most presents. I think it was rigged.

Christmas Concert
The different music ministries in our Parish got together to put on a concert. Somehow, the Postulants got roped into playing and singing with one of our Sisters. Then group kept growing until we had an impressive ensemble of 10 people - piano, clarinet, recorder, trumpet, ukulele, two guitars, bells, an egg, and a triangle. I "played" the bells and the tambourine. For one of our songs, we passed out instruments to the audience and asked them to play along with us. The crowd went wild. Everyone was singing, clapping, or playing. People were even dancing in the aisles. It was awesome. And in all humility I will tell you that I ROCKED that tambourine. All of the Sisters joined us for our final song. We sang a traditional Italian Carol, Tu Scendi dalle Stelle (You descended from the Stars), a beautiful song about little baby Jesus.

The night ended with the Salesian priests and brothers leading the crowd in some Spanish Carols. As everyone was standing and singing, I couldn't help but think about how much Don Bosco would have loved a night like that. Young and old together, preparing for Christmas, singing in a spirit of joy. It was really cool.


Christmas Eve has been a pretty quiet day. Everyone is doing their last minute preparations for tomorrow and taking time to slow down and invite Jesus into our lives in a special way. I will carry you all in my prayers tonight at Midnight Mass.

I'll be home in West Palm on the 26th,so I hope to see you then!