Sacred Stones, Sacred Stories

New window as it looks today

We were just given back two of our lovely stained glass windows from our Sorrowful Mother Chapel that were broken during the storm last August. It is with joy we share their splendor with you.

Shattered windows after last summer’s storm

Little by little our home is taking back its historic beauty. Help thank God for the blessings.

The weather in Missouri changes quickly.

Just this past week we went from the high 50’s to the below the teen’s in a matter of hours.  We also received some much needed precipitation.

Thank goodness the carpet rolls outside were the old carpet, not the new waiting to be installed!

Not only did we turn the calendar to a new year, but we also have new carpeting in several places where the glass from the storm in August made it unsafe to keep the old.

The new is speckled with bits of color.  With our new roofs, new siding and new windows, things are looking up.  We lift up our voices to praise God for all the blessings.

When the roofing company came to repair damage from the storm in August…

…we learned that some of the black tar roofing would be replaced with white poly coating…

This stuff lasts twice as long as tar and costs much less. None of us got white hair over this decision.

The white coating is just for flat roofs.  The rest of the buildings are getting shingles, and these guys work like a well-oiled machine.  It is amazing to watch!

Roofers are tearing off the damaged roof of Our Lady of Rickenbach healthcare facility this week.

It’s been loud around here this week as roofers arrived to repair damage from August’s hail/wind storm.

We’re grateful to the Lord for giving us such great weather for the workers. It will get a little colder later this week, but it should be dry.

One more sign that we’re seeing a little more clearly around here?

New windows are popping up all over the place! These windows on the northeast corner of the main building are being repaired after the August hail/wind storm damaged most of them.

This is what it looked like after the storm.

Oh, it’s so nice to look out these windows again! Now…just about 100 more to go….

We received this beautiful, handmade card last week from a gentleman in Japan.

Inside was a thoughtful note and a donation to assist with costs to repair storm-damaged areas of our Clyde monastery. The gentleman remarked how touched he was when Americans helped his country after the massive earthquake in March. After hearing about the damage to our monastery, he wanted to return the kindness – from half a world away.

It is this giving and compassionate spirit the Lord blesses us with that helps bind us all. We are so very touched by random kindnesses and pray they serve as a reminder to return them whenever possible.

Well, thanks to August’s storm, there are a lot of new projects around the monastery.

We’ve been busy clearing out the damaged trees, and workers arrived to begin the monumental task of repairing and/or replacing many of the 144 windows we lost.

This is what greeted the workers on the first project – damaged windows on the north side of one of our barns:

Workers used extension equipment to reach the windows where they removed the temporary boards:

And got to work preparing the frames for new windows:

Slowly, our monastery is being put back together. God’s grace has blessed us, reminded us that while things are a little banged up around us, our hearts – and faith – remain whole.

After the devastating storm last month, casualties included the soap molds Sister Cathleen Marie uses for Monastery Scents handcrafted soap. Hail blew out the shop windows and left the molds covered with shattered glass and water.

A friend connected Sister Cathleen Marie with John Monjar, a woodworker in nearby Maryville, Mo. John was a blessing! He donated his time and materials to make new molds for Sister Cathleen Marie!

Sister Cathleen Marie admires the new soap molds crafted and donated by a local woodworker after hers were damaged in the storm.

Sister Cathleen Marie only needed 20, but John made 30! So she’s busy creating new shelving for the extra molds.

We are so grateful to John for his craftsmanship and compassion. We are so very blessed! Read more about Sister Cathleen Marie’s thoughts on the storm and of John’s gift by clicking here.

As we continue to clean up from last week’s storm, life goes on. We pray. We work. We live.

BINGO!

Several of our older Sisters at Our Lady of Rickenbach enjoyed a fierce game of Bingo one morning. Spending time in community, whether praying or playing, is always a joyful time!

Sisters Bernardine (left) and Lucilla scan their cards for a winner.

Sister Bernadine shows her reward after winning a couple of games.