Just saying "Merry Christmas" (and Thanks!)

Mascoutah, IL. Population: 8,600. Concert crowd: 800.

The novices are busy decorating the chapel. The choir sang its final notes of the 2019 concert tour on Friday night in Mascoutah, IL ("Everything I thought it would be," said Sr Carly dreamily as we drove past acres of corn stubble)--to our biggest crowd outside of New York, it should be noted. We got back, most of us, to our respective communities on Saturday night, so we're still kind of recuperating from three very intense but rewarding weeks. 

Thank you to those who contributed gifts through our motherhouse's Christmas wishlist: you provided everything we needed, from ergonomically designed snowshovels to new mops and buckets (and Pine-Sol!). Every day delivery trucks unloaded box after box, some of them quite large. Sister Lily is still opening packages! (A photo of the community with a sampling of the gifts will be forthcoming.)

We enjoyed some good media coverage during

Staten Island Advance/Carol Ann Benanti

our tour, too: some of it related to the concerts, but not all. Things got started a bit earlier than usual when an opportunity arose to sing a "mini-concert" in Boston's shopping district of Downtown Crossing. Because of Sister Mary Domenica's funeral and Thanksgiving, we had only had three days of disjointed practice, but we decided to make this an evangelizing opportunity. Standing on the small stage right outside of Macy's (and facing a two-story inflated Rudolph), we sang mostly lively songs with a very clear Christ-mas message (one, with a strong R&B sound, even proclaimed, "Jesus is the Reason for this Time of the Year!"). At the center was O Holy Night, which echoed from building to building. A crowd of about a hundred or so stood "in the frosty air" and danced, clapped or waved their arms in prayer according to the mood of the song. One man shouted, "This is what it means! This is Christmas!" (He was so engaged, some people thought he was our director!) Afterwards, as we prepared to leave, one of the city street sweepers came to tell us that he had heard "No kidding, heavenly music coming through the streets. I couldn't tell from where. You're not just singing about God: you're communicating God himself." The next morning's Boston Herald gave us a full page, and their Twitter feed included video from the scene (you will probably have to click through to Twitter to see the video):

The Daughters of St. Paul Choir in Jamaica Plain are kicking off their national "He Is Born" Christmas concert tour. @laurao_tv reports. pic.twitter.com/LVAU8c04Fp

— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) December 1, 2019

Staten Island Advance/Carol Ann Benanti

The Staten Island Advance gave generous coverage of the 25th annual Daughters of St Paul Christmas Concert, the "unofficial start of the Christmas season" on the Island. The staff photographer captured some phenomenal images, too. The Global Sisters Report looked at the concerts as an expression of our media mission. The writer was present at our smallest event, in the Freed Auditorium at Christ Cathedral in Orange County. Though this was our smallest event, the audience (about 300) completely filled the venue. (This was our first concert ever in Orange County, so we were thrilled with the turnout, though it does mean that we will have to shop for a different location if we are to return next year.)

And then there was the TODAY show (again, you might have to click through to Twitter to actually watch the video segment).

Meet the millennial nuns who share their faith through social media. @WatchSavannah sat down with Sister Emily Beata and Sister Chelsea Bethany to learn more about how one particular convent is using social media for good. pic.twitter.com/My7cHD1GG0

— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) December 16, 2019

The four-minute feature was exceptionally well done. Naturally, the media people understand our media ministry, and the new "Faith" segment of the show treats religious practice with refreshing respect. They also did their homework, looking up our history and historical footage. Feel free to share the segment widely through your social media channels and to thank NBC for this positive coverage!

Speaking of media, we released a concert album this year, too: "He Is Born." Many of the songs have been featured on earlier albums, so you may prefer to just download the new ones. I want to draw your attention to the fabulous Polynesian beat in our new arrangement of Deck the Halls (hence the leis in the photo above), and the Soul Sisters Medley which was something of a skit, but which we think people will have a lot of nostalgic fun with.

You can also listen to the new Christmas album (part of Sister Margaret Timothy's Ultimate Christmas Playlist) on Spotify and other streaming sites. Either way supports the mission of the Daughters of St Paul!

And now it's Christmas Eve.


So I have time to wish you a Blessed and Merry Christmas; a Christmas of holy abundance; a Christmas of hope, even if life has thrown its worst at you this year (or is saving it up for 2020). No matter what, Jesus came to save us by taking everything that is ours upon himself. That is the message I gave in all the concerts, using the words ancient pagan playright Terrence as if they were coming from God himself (which, since the Incarnation, they are): I am a man; nothing human is alien to me. The one who was born in a stable will not be repulsed by anything we throw at him; will not be reluctant to come to wherever we or our loved ones are. In fact, he is already there.

Because you asked...

At Christmas, people wonder what little item might be useful for a Sister they know--aside from the gifts that we will always tell you are the best for religious communities: PRAYER (especially for vocations) and shareables, like gift cards for coffee shops or dining establishments (e.g. Chick-fil-A, IHOP, Panera...) where a community can enjoy a meal together without a lot of time or expense on anyone's part. (Actually, this year my community has a very specific need of snow shovels: something both sturdy and lightweight, if that exists. And now our superior has posted a specific wishlist for our extremely large and complex community.)

But sometimes people want to add a little something small and personalized. Now, since an opportunity has come up for just that sort of thing I am (with a bit of reluctance) creating this small, specific list that has a few items that would be helpful to me (and maybe also to you), PLUS I am recommending a couple of items that you might consider for your own family and friends because I have found them so engaging. I am using affiliate links, which means that orders from the links generate a tiny commission.

Zebra F pen
I was visiting my family in June, which meant that I was home for Father's Day and witnessed the unique Father's Day gifts my geeky brother-in-law received. Lo and behold: he and I are aficionados of the exact same pen, the Zebra F. I have two (but I would love to have spares in case of loss!) and always need a supply of refills on hand. Robert (the brother-in-law) maintains a steady supply of the pens themselves--and Father's Day really helped out there. At any rate, I (along with Robert) highly recommend this slim, smooth-writing pen.

Post-It Flags by the Hundreds!
My reading companion. A lot of the reading I do has a twofold scope: personal and community enrichment. Especially when I'm going through the volumes of our Founder's sermons, there's no way a book will support the number of holy cards it will take for me to mark important sections. Hence, I never read those texts without making sure I have a nearby dispenser of Post-It flags (usually in red or blue, whichever color is cheaper at the time) to mark the very lines or paragraphs with significant passages to translate for future use. Some pages end up with three on the side, and one on the top (that means the section requires especially quick turnover).

Books!
Please don't laugh. I'm doing a new project for our MY SISTERS community and it involves ... reading. Sigrid Undset. And it just happens that our community library does NOT have a copy of her biography of St Catherine of Siena. So if I happened to a copy of that around Christmas time, it would eventually find its way into our card catalogue (or whatever system we choose when we update the library; it's a massive undertaking). (Of course I have a perennial wishlist!).

Now, things for you to consider.
I got this digital microscope last year and have really enjoyed using it. It connects to my Android phone (not to iPhones) and can be used with computers (including Macs) as well. I have used it to examine snowflakes and bugs and also the tiny scratches on a silver chain which turned out to be, yes, 925 (sterling silver).  (Another digital microscope says it works with iOS, but since I can't verify that for you, I am just giving you the link to check out on your own.) Great for kids with a scientific or naturalist bent. Or geeky grownups, like me.

Original Slinky: I have one of these nostalgia toys in my office and people can't keep their hands off of it. People my age reminisce about sending them down staircases; younger people marvel at the therapeutic value of shifting the weight of the spring from hand to hand. For therapy, you can't beat the price.

Barry's Tea: The real-deal Irish breakfast tea. If you have never had it before, Barry's will let you know right away what you've been missing all this time. You'll wonder just what it is you've been calling "tea."