Low Sunday in Browerville: Children of Mary visit
The weekend of Low Sunday started off early. College and high school students alike piled into the big red bus anticipating the ten-hour drive. Girls from Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon were also travelling to the beautiful town of Browerville, Minnesota for the taking of habit and profession ceremony of the Sisters of the Society St. Pius X. For now, there lay ahead the long and arduous bus ride.
Long and arduous could hardly be the right words to describe it. It was short, almost too short, and how could a road trip with so many good companions be arduous? The hours were broken into segments by bus stops, group rosaries, nap time, and the usual uproar of girls playing bus games. There was ample opportunity to speak of beautiful books and music. There was even a small book club begun where girls shared the two available copies and read aloud to each other. It was a happy environment that only increased when the St. Mary’s girls met the Oregon and Kentucky girls. Volleyball and firelight filled the night during which the girls found common ground in classic American folksongs and good cheer. Smokey and lighthearted the girls settled down in any available space in the Long Prairie schoolhouse and prepared for the day ahead.
On the morning of Low Sunday, the girls filed into the choir loft of the Novitiate chapel. His Excellency Bishop Fellay officiated the Pontifical High Mass and the beautiful ceremony. It was so good to see not only the new novices and their joy, but the whole group of Sisters who had traveled to Browerville. The Sisters were all so visibly happy in their community and as one of the girls remarked, “I love visiting the convent because the Sisters just know what they are here for, they know what they are doing, and they do it so well. They praise God how God should be praised.” The Sisters renew the Church, and they renewed our own spirits. Seeing them together singing in the pews as the Postulants accepted their habits, one cannot but help think: this is our Church, Christ’s Church.
After the ceremony, the girls enjoyed a good lunch followed by several outdoor games with the Sisters. After Vespers and benediction, the girls all piled back into the bus for another night in the school. The next morning an early Mass and quick departure ended the trip, but that is definitely easier said than done. For some reason it was impossible to get the girls to give the Sisters a final goodbye. One girl, on recalling having to leave Browerville said it must be the same experience as being told that for years you have had a buried treasure but have only now just discovered it. We headed back home having found our “buried treasure” and remembering the journey to Browerville.
~ by Julia W
12th Grade Children of Mary Council-member from St. Mary’s Academy
