Its Already Christmas Eve

[MarieLynn]

Its already well into Christmas Eve here in NZ. What are some of your plans for the day and for Christmas Day?

Christmas Day for me will be early Mass, and then off to work until 2pm, I will have Christmas Dinner with my patients and staff tomorrow, then later in the evening I will join the rest of my family for a BBQ tea.

Please God it will be an uneventful day, as yesterday our City was hit again by 2 large earthquakes, causing even more damage to our still fragile infastructure.

To all of you, wherever on God's earth you may be - May the blessings of Christmas be yours, and have a safe holiday.

ML

[Sister Marie]

[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Tomorrow we have vespers together and choose courts of the King... each sister receives a little prayer card with a different character from the nativity on it with which to pray and a different spiritual thought. Then we order sandwiches, reveal our polly, and take a rest before the late Mass (not midnight). When we get home we usually have a treat together in the community room before we go to bed. In the AM we go to Mass together and then we will be cooking for our guests. I live in a smaller convent so the sisters who live down the street will come to out house for Christmas... we went there for Thanksgiving. We will have Vespers and dinner together.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Praying for your city... [/size][/font][/color]
[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Sister Marie[/size][/font][/color]

[Nunsense]

Yes, prayers for NZ again - it seems to be worse than California these days! I'm in Oz so it's Christmas Eve here too. I did a little last minute shopping this morning, will go to Mass tonight and then again tomorrow morning. Will probably watch Carols by Candlelight on TV before Mass tonight. I'm very disappointed with the TV offerings for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - it would have been nice to have a few more movies like The Nativity or even any of the Christmas ones, but we seem to have a very secular media here.

Anyway, Christmas starts tonight and we can rejoice at that.... wherever we are!

God bless us everyone!

[FutureSister2009]

Tomorrow I will be watching Christmas specials all day in between getting my hair done and whatnot. Then I go to my favorite Mass of the entire year, the children's Mass! I always help out with it and they have a Nativity pagaent and then Santa comes to the Mass and my Pastor brings his dog Mickey to go with Santa. It's such a great Mass. Always look forward to it. Then I stick around to sing for the 8PM Mass with my choir. I'm singing O Little Town of Bethlehem. Sunday I will be up early opening presents with my mom and then going to the Latin Mass. Then dinner with my family. Can't wait!

[OnlySunshine]

Tomorrow (or 20 min), I will be doing some running around for fun with my mom and little sister. We are trying to find sugar-free M&M-like candies for our diabetic family friend. I found her favorite Sugar Free Reese's PB Cups, but she really wants something like M&M's, which I have seen by Russell Stover. The drugstore didn't have them, even though I've seen them there before. Too bad Harry&David or See's doesn't have something.

But, the big thing is going over to my grandmother's house for Christmas Eve. We always have Christmas early because we eat a big feast (which will be from Cracker Barrel this year because my grandma can't cook anymore) and open presents. Please pray for my grandfather. His health has been declining rapidly these past few months since before he had his nephrectomy and I don't think we will have him around much longer. It's slowly setting in that this could be the last Christmas we get to spend with him.

I'm not going to focus on the negatives, though. I am really excited about Christmas this year! I LOVE Christmas Mass!! Last year, we went to the Midnight Mass, but no one could stay awake and it was VERY hard waking up the next morning. This year, we are going to the same Sunday Mass time as usual (11am). I haven't seen the Christmas decorations in the Church yet because I was on retreat last year, so I can't wait to be surprised!!!

[das8949]

[quote name='Sister Marie' timestamp='1324693517' post='2356653']
[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Tomorrow we have vespers together and choose courts of the King... each sister receives a little prayer card with a different character from the nativity on it with which to pray and a different spiritual thought. Then we order sandwiches, reveal our polly, and take a rest before the late Mass (not midnight). When we get home we usually have a treat together in the community room before we go to bed. In the AM we go to Mass together and then we will be cooking for our guests. I live in a smaller convent so the sisters who live down the street will come to out house for Christmas... we went there for Thanksgiving. We will have Vespers and dinner together.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Praying for your city... [/size][/font][/color]
[color=#575757][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Sister Marie[/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]

Sister Marie, I keep meaning to ask you if you are in the same house as last year with the same housemates? How often does your order rotate houses?

[BarbTherese]

Yesterday visitors for lunch. Tomorrow visitors for late lunch. Monday 26th December - our family Christmas get together at my brother's and his wife's home - and every year I look forward to this with much joy and thanksgiving for my family. My son is over from interstate and it is with great joy and thanksgiving too that we catch up once again. Mass for me is 6pm tonight, Christmas Eve - I can't get up or stay awake to 12midnight (medication) - and also those who give me a lift to Mass prefer the 6pm Vigil Mass too.

Christmas is a times especially when I also celebrate in fully human ways (as well as the spiritual) in order to give praise and thanksgiving to He who became fully human for us and in every way, sin excepted - and remembering too He remained fully human in every way even to a cruel death on a cross. That is faithfulness and commitment - absolute perseverance driven by Love - and to the end no matter cost. ________________
Joy at Christmas to all and in this season - and His Peace and His Joy on into 2012 and always!

Edited December 24, 2011 by BarbaraTherese

[BarbTherese]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1324701946' post='2356788'] Edit............. Please pray for my grandfather. His health has been declining rapidly these past few months since before he had his nephrectomy and I don't think we will have him around much longer. .........edit.......[/quote]

Will keep in prayer

(Prayer for Christchurch, New Zealand too - earthquakes again (first 2 days ago - 5 on the Richter Scale)

[Strictlyinkblot]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1324701946' post='2356788']
Please pray for my grandfather. His health has been declining rapidly these past few months since before he had his nephrectomy and I don't think we will have him around much longer. It's slowly setting in that this could be the last Christmas we get to spend with him.
[/quote]

Prayers, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I was on duty last night, I'm about to catch two planes to Dublin. If there are no delays or silly holdups I should be home by 5pm but as I won't have had any sleep I doubt I'll make midnight mass.

[faithcecelia]

I will pop into town with my friend to get the last few things (and more wine!), then later we are going to go to vespers at St Cecilia's. We are going to Midnight Mass which will be nice, I didn't make midnight last year as I was really ill. We'll go to the Ordinariate Mass in the morning too, at 9:15. The day itself will, I hope, be lovely and relaxed - dinner when its ready, several drinks and playing board games - I am the Monopoly Queen!!!

[Feankie]

Prayers, Marie Lynn, for you and all of New Zealand.
Here's my Christmas schedule:
1. 3 adult children, their spouses, and 4 grandkids are due to arriive any minute
2. Go sledding----NOT! It really warmed up here and no chance of snow today
3. Lunch
4. Play time and project making
5. Dinner
6. Open gifts
7. Everyone departs, kids in their jammies, around 8:30pm
8. Off to a friends open house
9. Midnight mass in Spanish
10. Return home, clean up, collapse

On Christmas Day\
1. Go to a friends house for brunch
2. The whole group will go to a movie
3. Hunker down and watch the Packers demolish the Bears
THEN I'M REALLY GOING TO CRASH!!!! BUT WELL WORTH IT!

[Lisa]

Cooking- check!
Head to Grandma's for Christmas eve festivities-[b] lots[/b] of food and most of the family!
Midnight Mass
Christmas morning- traditional pancake breakfast with my immediate family, open gifts, maybe 10 am Mass, also.
Afternoon- visit Granddad in the hospital
Dec. 26- the other side of the family (around 20 cousins will be there!).

[InPersonaChriste]

Midnight Mass, the beauty of waiting for the King to enter my house and heart. I pray that you all have a blessed Christmas eve!

[i<3LSOP]

(Today)

• Get up really early and hit the Hannaford, Lindseys country store, and Sorrentinos deli.

• Get home and put all of the food for tomorrow away

• (I'm the only one who bakes) Bake Christmas cookies, cake, more cookies.

• Clean house for guests tomorrow

• Get ready for Mass tonight at 9:00p.m.and say Rosary while waiting for Mass to begin

• Get home, hang stockings, read the night before Christmas... and go to bed!

(Tomorrow)

• Wake up really early

• Say prayers then go down stairs

• Open presents

• Get ready for guests to come

• Guests come and have a giant Christmas dinner and play games and talk

• Guests leave watch White Christmas... and say Rosary then go to bed!

It's really hectic and exciting and fun! It's especially busy for me because I'm the one who bakes everything mainly from scratch!

I can't wait for my beloved to enter my heart! Merry Christmas Pham!

[Sister Marie]

[quote name='DarleneSteinemann' timestamp='1324703181' post='2356816']
Sister Marie, I keep meaning to ask you if you are in the same house as last year with the same housemates? How often does your order rotate houses?
[/quote]

Each year "changes" come out in the spring of sisters who are moving somewhere new and/or changing their apostolates. Each year on that day each convent receives a list of all the changes and envelopes for the sisters who are being changed from that particular convent. Each convent has a special vespers and then the [i]change​s [/i](a piece of paper that says "Sister, under holy obedience"... you will go here and work here) are handed out by the superior to the sisters being changed. There is no set amount of time for a sister to live somewhere and work somewhere (unless she is a superior and that is a set amount of time)... it could be 1 year... it could be 10 years. We go where we are needed and where the Holy Spirit guides us. Sometimes a convent stays the same for a few years, no changes... sometimes it changes dramatically. It all depends.

[TheresaThoma]

For me I will be working the evening shift at my work (and possibly covering closing for my one coworker). Then home for a quick nap and dinner with my family. We'll probably have egg nog and cookies for dessert and hang our stockings. Then a little bit of time before I go and pick up my two good friends for Midnight Mass. My one friend drove last year so I volunteered this year. Mass will probably end at 3am. I will drop my friends off at their houses and then head home to crash for a few hours.
Christmas morning I'll open presents with my parents. We'll end up calling my sister who now lives out of state, my grandmother and a couple of my aunts. After that it is time for another nap for me before I help out with dinner.

[EmilyAnn]

This morning I took my dog and my grandfather's dog out for a walk then in the afternoon me and my family went to the cinema. I went to Mass in the evening but sadly they wouldn't come with me this year. Tomorrow we'll open presents at home in the morning before going to my grandfather's to cook lunch - our oven is really too small for a turkey. We usually spend the day playing board games and we'll probably take the dogs for another walk.

[beatitude]

I went to the First Mass of Christmas with my parents tonight. It was proceeded by a short service of readings and carols, so to my delight I was able to sing almost all my favourite Christmas hymns. Two moving moments of the Mass: seeing a very small altar girl carrying the baby Jesus to the crib at the time of the blessing (he was almost as big as she was!) and being able to kneel alone in front of the crib after communion.

Then I wrapped my gifts for my family (well, my mum wrapped them for me - I'm disabled and not too good with my hands) and now they're under the tree. We will open our presents together tomorrow - me, my parents, my nana, and my brother. After that will come a trip to my aunt and uncle's to meet the rest of the family, and then dinner. The table is already set and looking beautiful.

I am going to set some time aside for silent prayer and a solitary walk. Merry Christmas everyone.

"For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne." - Wisdom 18:14-15.

[Nunsense]

I did things I didn't expect as I had two phone calls last night one before Mass from my sister and one when I got back from Mass from a friend in England.

Then today I had no expectation of anything special being on TV except a repeat of last night's Christmas Carols in Melbourne (every year), but the Papal Midnight Mass was on TV so I spent nearly two hours watching that - and it was beautiful!

I will spend time reciting the Office and praying today and I am also making a turkey dinner (frozen turkey breast). It is very peaceful and relaxing. Like having time off in the convent!

[Lil'Monster]

[color=#ff0000][size=8]MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU WEIRD PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/size][/color]