Update

Hi all! Quick update here. I have been wanting to post some pictures for you all to see but have had some challenges. I hope to get them downloaded soon though. The weather has been really nice and the trees just amazing! More brilliant then I ever remember them being. The yellow just glows. I feel like I'm in Lorien. We have these three small trees and this year the leaves were mostly yellow except for the tips which were flaming red. The trees looked like they were ablaze with fire! Awesomeness!
Lets see, what else has been keeping me from the computer besides the wonderful weather? Running. I raised my weekly mileage by 10 last week so I'm going to have to spend 2 versus 1 hour on it every day. Then, lets see, I have been trying really hard to make time to read The Two Towers as my brother is beating the pants off me. He read the whole Tolkien Trilogy in a week, then the Hobbit in a number of days and is now reading one I never even heard of called The Children of Hurien! I've got to catch up with that boy! I have been doing some writing independent of my blogging and have also been studying the Holy Father's new encyclical Caritas in Veritate. So yes that is everything that has been happening and this is the end of a very poorly written ,random post.~Ardhoniel

I'm Back!

Hey! I'm back and I'm freezing. Even my dad who wears shorts in 60 degree weather says that he doesn't know how long he is going to be able to hold off turning on the heat. Right now I'm down in the basement typing with a turtleneck sweater, a heavy hoodie, gloves, running pants and a scarf on. Yea, I'm cold. I'm on my third cup of tea and am getting sick of the watery stuff. Why am I complaining so much though. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to a park after Mass. Everyone biked and I ran since I just couldn't resist(it was such a perfect day for jogging!). We came home and had some of dad's homemade chicken soup, the perfect thing to have on a chilly day. After all the exercise we where all famished! After Sunday excursions like that one everybody usually shares what their favorite part of the day was. The little girls liked the park we stopped at best. Patty said he liked being able to play with the older guys. At home they are always busy with other things like school and their forum. I really enjoyed running in a new place. It gets really monotonous jogging thru the same neighborhoods everyday. I was also excited about the swans we saw. I know I sound like a 3 year old but they were huge! I never realized how tall they get when full grown. We also saw a flock of Turkey Vultures which was pretty neat too. Last week was pretty hectic so I was very grateful to be able to enjoy such a pleasant day with my family. In some ways it makes me grateful for the busy insaneness that happens during the rest of the week because if things were always wonderful I wouldn't appreciate them like I do now. It's the craziness that makes the peace so nice, the storm that makes the calm. ~ Ardhoniel

Yummy!

I realize no themed week would be complete without a recipe so I found this one, Hot Cross Buns. Sr. Kitchen gave me the recipe with a story as well. Apparently the pope came to visit St. Clare and her sisters. After they had conversed together Clare ordered the table to be set and bread to be laid out for the Holy Father. This being done she asked him to bless it. Upon hearing her request the pope kindly declined and expressed his desire for her to bless the bread. Holy Mother St. Clare was greatly troubled and said it would be a disgrace indeed for her to bless the meal in the presence of the Vicar of Christ. Still his Holiness insisted and Clare out of obedience blessed the bread. After the blessing,on all the loaves appeared a small cross. The pope rejoiced that he had been privileged to witness such a miracle and brought some buns back to Rome with him in testimony of Clare's sanctity. To this day Franciscans all over the world bake Hot Cross Buns around Easter time in remembrance of Christ's passion and in honor of our Holy Mother.
(Thank you Sr. Kitchen for the modern translation of this recipe. The old one would be difficult for a modern reader to use.)

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients: 1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of yeast
1/2 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1/3 cup of butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
4 eggs
5 cups of flour
1 1/3 cup of raisins or currents
1 egg white
Glaze: 1 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of chopped lemon zest
1/2 teaspoons of lemon extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk

Heat milk to very warm but not hot in a small saucepan. Fit an electric mixer with a dough hook. Pour warm milk into mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Mix until dissolved and let sit for 5 min. With mixer running at low speed, add sugar, salt, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs. Gradually add flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 30-45 min. Afterward knead dough until smooth and elastic for about 3 min. Add currents or raisins; knead until well mixed. Dough should be fairly wet and sticky. Shape into a ball, place in a buttered dish, cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
The next morning let it sit at room temp for a 1/2 an hour. Line baking pan(s) with parchment paper or lightly grease. Form dough into 24 equal sized balls. Place on baking sheets a 1/2 in apart. Cover and let rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size(about 1 1/2 hrs). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When buns have risen use a knife to slash a cross in each one. Brush them with egg white and place in oven. Bake for 10 min, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for about 15 min or until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack. Whisk together glaze ingredients and spoon over buns on cross pattern. Best if served warm.(I thought I would note that the glaze is optional but it adds a delicious lemon zing. Without it the bun can be ate more as a sweet breakfast(or even a dinner)roll.)

Francis Words for the Day

"Start by doing whats necessary;then do whats possible;and suddenly you are doing the impossible".

New Version; Old Song

Here is a new version of a very old hymn. Doesn't this guy have an amazing voice!
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Francis Quote of the Day

" Where there is charity and wisdom,there is neither fear nor ignorance".

Day 2

Today I will go into more detail about the 3 divisions of the order. The first sect, the O.F.M's are thought to be the closest to the original order. They like I said before wear brown and retain the name friars minor. The second sect ,O.F.M conv., were the first to separate in favor of a more laxed rule. They changed the color of their habits to black and their name to Conventuals. Later a radical group unhappy with both sects broke off to become the Capuchins. They adopted an even stricter rule and changed their color to gray. To this day each sect claims to wear the original color of Francis although most experts will say he most likely wore gray. Some have rejected popular opinion totally and gone with what is practical such as The Little Brothers of St. Francis who (go figure) wear dungaree. ~Sr M Colette

Sister's Journal Day 1

Ah! Free time at last. From the time we rise at 5 a.m until our 1:00 free hour us sisters our on our toes. This morning at breakfast I found my self thinking "Oh its only 8 and already I want to go back to bed"! You see I have a very strange habit of rising a half hour earlier than everyone else and jogging in place in my cell. Very unusual I know for a nun but I have been doing it ever since I entered. At first many of the sisters wondered at the noises coming from my corner of the hall so early in the morning so I had to explain. I was afraid that I would be forbidden from doing it anymore but Mother Superior only laughed and asked that perhaps I make my runs a little softer of step.
This morning at study period I was reading up on the history of our order. Mother knows I am a history buff and has been very kind in allowing me to pursue my interest during study. Today I was just going over the first foundations starting with Holy Father St. Francis himself. He left his earthly father's house in 1209 to live by the providence of His Heavenly Father alone. His first follower was Bernardo di Quintavalle a prominent member of the town. By the end of that year he had 11 followers. They lived not in Assisi itself but the hillsides of Umbria. Francis's rule was approved by the pope but he himself rewrote it in 1223. The original rule was not so much that as a collection of scripture passages that they were to model their lives after.
The Poor Clares (my order!) were founded in 1212 but it wasn't until 1253 the day before our Holy Mother's death that the rule was approved by Pope Innocent IV. The Third order was instituted in 1221.
Even in their lifetimes Francis and Clare were faced with disputes over the rule. After Francis passed away Clare worked to the last to keep his original rule in tact. Despite their valiant efforts the 1st order would eventually be divided into three fractions the Order of Friars Minor(brown Franciscans),the O.F.M Conventuals(black), and the Capuchins(gray). The Poor Clares would also experience similar fractions.
Unfortunately I must go now. Free time is almost up and still have some reading I'd like to do. Perhaps I shall have a few moments to spare this evening. God be with you.~Sr. M. Colette~

Update

I've decided to change my name and the backround of my blog for the week so don't be alarmed later when you visit and Ardhoniel is gone. I'll be back next Sunday!

Franciscan Week

Hey Everyone! I haven't been around much this past week so the poor blog got neglected. I'm back now though and have a fun idea for this week!
Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Unfortunately since it is a Sunday his feast will not be celebrated liturgically but why should that stop us from partying it up at home! Since he will probably be forgotten by many this year I am having a Franciscan Week to try to make up for it. I love all the saints but I have always had a special relationship with the brown clad poverello(Saint Francis wore brown;don't let the Capuchins or Conventuals tell you other wise)(just a little inside joke;hee-hee). Everyday this week I will post something Franciscan, a prayer or quote, a little bit of history and maybe even some music.So without further ado let Franciscan Week begin!