To Be Found (Founder's Day 2011)

    One of my lucky jobs with my sisters is being able to decorate random things for random occasions. I think my job title is technically, "Project Assistant" which makes sense that I do a lot of Presentation things. And so, this week at work, Sister and I were working on "Presenting" the founder's of her community for "Founder's Day," November, 10. And so, together, we carried down the four/five most important people in her community. Here's their story:

    From left to right in Chronological Order (for the exception of Mother Camilla in the middle)  is Teresa of Avila, St. Alphonsus, Mother Camilla Maloney, Fr. Louis (Louie) Gillet and Mother Theresa Maxis. Mother Camilla didn't necessarily help found the community, but rather the school. Her lovely face is present because of Charter Day which is November 12; it's the day our school was chartered/founded. A long, long time ago, St. Alphonsus began an order of priests named the Redemptorists. Quite a few years down the road, Fr. Louis Gillet became a Redemptorist priest and moved to the United States for mission. When he got to his mission, he realized a need for sisters in schools but there were no sisters. He said, "If I can't find any community, I will make one." And so, he enlisted the help of three women, one of whom was Mother Theresa Maxis and together they began the IHM community. St. Teresa is important because she greatly influenced the charisms of the community. Their story is one of courage and grace and Divine Providence.  

    In setting up for the great festivities, Sister and I shared many great laughs. The year before when we set up the same portraits, the rotunda (see below) was under construction and some of the stained glass was falling. We weren't allowed to work through the center of the rotunda for safety reasons, but Sister, so passionate about her community's history, insisted we "risk our lives" for them. And so, "illegally" we ducked under the shattering rotunda to put up the faces of faith! This year, while not as extreme, we ran into some hurdles. This time, the easel for St. Teresa of Avila was broken. In Sister's words, "It is not vital for her to be present with the other founder's, but since she is your favorite saint, let's find a way to get her up there." And so, together we searched and searched the school for an easel. As you can see, she made it up. 

    Spending time with one of my many sisters, and these faces of faith, is something I can't take for granted. It's a beautiful thing to learn about the history of a community and watch the sisters' passionately tell their stories. And to think, that my girl, Teresa, was a part of all it. Gotta love the saints!!!