Columbus Day Picnic

On Saturday, October 12, the community celebrated our annual Columbus Day picnic. It’s always a day of outdoor exploration, community games, feasting, and fun.

We began the day with our traditional flag raising of the United States and Texas flags. We sang some patriotic songs, then our prioress Sr. Mary Margaret led us in a prayer thanking God for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as citizens of this country.

After the flag raising, we went to the refectory to look over the treats our cook had put out for us. Special snacks fortify us for a day full of community adventure, games, and fun.

The nuns sample special picnic day treats.

Several nuns decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and made a trek around the back path, the part of our land that we own but is outside the cloister. It’s a great wooded area, and halfway through we came across a huge tree that had fallen over the path. Some of us were able to climb over it and continue walking, and we found a beautiful area with wildflowers such as goldenrods and baby’s breath. We never know what we’re going to find when we go exploring!

When we returned to the monastery, we decided to pick some of the persimmons that were growing behind the professed dorm.

Sr. Mary Christine holds the ladder while Sr. Mary Therese cuts down a branch full of ripe persimmons.

We were able to harvest quite a bunch that the squirrels hadn’t gotten to yet, and then took them to the novitiate courtyard to finish ripening. We were able to enjoy the fresh persimmons a few days later. Delicious!

We spent the rest of the day feasting and playing games in the community room.

Sr. Mary Jeremiah, Sr. Mary Christine, Sophia, and Sr. Miriam enjoy playing Uno.

Running a monastery can be hard work, and with our usual days filled with prayers and our own work we don’t have a lot of time to spend together as a family. Our picnic days provide welcome time for us just to relax and have fun with each other. Laughing and playing together bond us as sisters and strengthen us for our important work of praising God as a community.