Advent 2014 Reflection - Week 2

Sr. Karol Ann and the Hoefer family's favorite Christmas album is Todd Agnew's "Do You See What I See".  Sister Karol Ann references one of the songs in her second Advent reflection.  I copied the lyrics to "This is All I Have to Give" after the reflection.  Happy Advent!!

Todd Agnew talks about the meaning of the lyrics: http://youtu.be/mGuU9u-E2Fc

"This is all I have to give (Joseph)" Lyrics

by Todd Agnew | from the album Do You See What I See?

I'd always dreamed I'd build a cradle we'd lay you in when we brought you home, when we brought you home,
But there you lay, fast asleep in a feed trough; it was all that I could find.

I'd always hoped you'd have my eyes, maybe a little bit of the skill of my hands,
But, as I look into your eyes, I see your hands created mine.

This is all I have to give,
You can share my home and bear my name, but this is not how you should live,
The son of God has become the son of man - this is all I have to give.

I'd always thought about I'd teach you how to build your first chair, and how to treat your mum, your lovely mum,
And how to explain the reckless love of God to your simple mind,
What can I offer you, my son, when you're the living, breathing proof of everything I hoped could possibly be true?

This is all I have to give,
You can share my home and bear my name, but this is not how you should live,
And the son of God has become the son of man, and this is all I have to give.

Why couldn't God have chosen another man?
How can I lead this family...lead when I don't understand?
How can I take the place of your Dad, when I cannot explain even how you came to be?
My sweet Jesus, my baby boy.

This is all I have to give,
You can share my home and bear my name, but this is not how you should live,
The son of God has become the son of man, the glory of God taking the form of man,
May the grace of God shine upon this man, 'cause this is all I have to give.

Advent 2014 Reflection - Week 1

Sr. Karol Ann (Anna) has again written Advent reflections and below is a scanned copy of the first reflection. She makes wonderful homemade cards.

Sister Karol Ann refers to the Marian consecration in the reflection.  Several of the Sisters recently prepared for and completed the consecration. They used the following resource:
33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration.

Introducing Sr. Karol Ann

The 2-month close season (intense period of prayer and spiritual reading ending with a silent retreat) is over! Anna and the other postulants all discerned to go through Investiture today, August 10, 2014. 

Anna received the Franciscan habit, white veil, and the name Sr. M. Karol Ann.  Karol is from Karol Wojtyla, the given name of Pope St. John Paul II.  Anna actually saw Pope St. John Paul II while attending World Youth Day in Canada.  Ann is from St. Ann, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ann is also Anna’s mother’s (Gachia) middle name.  “M.” is for Mary and is included if Mary, Maria, etc. is not part of the name.  The "M." is only included when “formally” written. 

We spoke to Anna, er Sr. Karol Ann, this evening, and she is in good spirits.  She really enjoyed the week of silent retreat prior to Investiture.  Does she like her name?  It was the name she felt called to submit as her first choice, but she indicated it will take a while to get used to being called Karol Ann. 

Although Sr. Karol Ann is not able to reply to letters and cards, she does enjoy receiving updates and offers prayers for those who do write. 

Sr. Karol Ann Hoefer, St. Francis Convent, 1515 Dragoon Trail, PO Box 766, Mishawaka, IN 46546

Below is the last picture we have prior to Investiture – note her hair was cut even shorter at the Convent! 

Below are pictures we received after the Investiture. That new Sr. has a beautiful smile!!

In case you are wondering why religious sisters change their name, a new name signifies a new way of life. In the Catholic tradition as well as in other religious traditions, the taking of a new name is symbolic of entering into a new place in one’s life. In Scripture, there are many times when a person takes a new name. For example, Abram was given the name Abraham and Sarai the name Sarah when God called them to a new place in their relationship with God. Jesus called Simon to follow him and then gave him a new name of Cephas or Peter. Taking on a name is also common in Catholic sacramental tradition when a person is baptized or confirmed, symbolizing the new life they have entered into.

We will have the opportunity to visit Sr. Karol Ann in Mishawaka, likely in October.  We'll provide another update at that time.

Ray Hoefer

Update and Timeline

Hello!  It's Anna again with a quick update - I had a wonderful home visit over the last week.  I spent most of the week just hanging out with my family.  We went canoeing, baked cookies, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, and chatted about faith and life.  I am about 8 ½ months into the postulancy and things are going really well.  God just continues to overwhelm me with His grace and the beauty and fullness of His plan.  I wanted to provide a timeline of what the next few years look like as I continue in the religious formation.

June - August 2014 – Close Season: In the 2 months leading up to investiture, the postulants enter into a more intense period of preparation to receive the habit.  More distractions will be eliminated as we will not leave the motherhouse over the summer and will take more time for prayer and spiritual reading.  Close Season ends with our annual silent retreat.

August 10, 2014 – Investiture: After a lot of prayer, I submitted three name choices to our provincial counsel who voted on my name.  I will learn my new name and my “name day” (feast day) when I receive the Franciscan habit and white veil on August 10^th.  I will then be called a novice.  While I was home I got my haircut so that I can try on the veil and get it fitted to my head.  Here's some pictures that Caitlin took of the before and after.

 

Stay tuned to the blog in August for a picture of me in the habit and my new religious name!

August 2014-August 2015 – Canonical Year: Cannon Law (Catholic Church law) requires one year of more intense preparation for religious in formation.  During this year, I will not leave the motherhouse overnight and will have more time for prayer to continue to build that foundation of religious life which is the intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. 

August 2015 – Home Visit: I will have a two week home visit in August 2015 at the culmination of the canonical year.

Spring 2016 – Mission Experience: In our community, the second year novices are assigned to responsibilities within the apostolates of healthcare or education at a smaller mission convent for a short period of time.  This allows the young sister to experience the work that the sisters do and allows them to begin balancing the life of prayer with the life of apostolic service. 

May 2016-August 2016 – Close Season: The second year novices that are preparing to make first vows spend 3 months of more intense cloistered preparation.

August 10, 2016 – First Vows: I will take temporary vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity for 3 years.  I will then receive a black veil and an apostolic assignment to serve the community in healthcare or education or to go back to school to work towards another degree.  The ceremony is open to the public and in our community the parents walk the sister down the aisle at the start of the ceremony which I think is just beautiful.  I'm sure I will not shed any tears ;)


I keep all my blog readers in my daily prayers.  Thank you for all your support for me and for my family.  God Bless!