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October of 2014 was a month of celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, with the grand celebration of the opening of the shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and the festivities leading up to it. See some photos here.

I dread going to the gym to workout on the machines this time of year because it’s like a race to the finish to try to get a treadmill before they’re all checked out by others. Group fitness classes are another story. I love a room packed with people moving together and jumping to the beat of some loud music. Either way, there’s something good about the community aspect of it all.

These thoughts got me wondering if I could find any Sisters of Providence who work out. Whew! Did I ever. And it was more inspiring than I imagined.

“I call it my first horseback ride,” Sister Marceline Mattingly (82 years a Sister of Providence) said of her adventurous journey to baptism. Marceline went on to describe the scene that day — 99 years ago this very week. The only way to cross the creek to get to the church was via a plank bridge that could only hold a horse with one rider. It was decided that her grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Hall, would be the one to take her across the creek on horseback to be baptized at St. Peter’s Church in Waverly, Kentucky. The plot thickens as grandfather Benjamin balances a baby on horseback and encounters name confusion on the other side of the creek…

In recent months, we have seen – in our nation – an eruption of long simmering racial tensions. We have seen, one after another, unarmed African American people being shot…

We live in constant fear of the future because it is the one thing that we feel like we don’t have complete control over. That’s just it. We don’t have complete control over the future and we should accept that fact. This year, I’m going to try very hard to do these things that I think will help me better live through the words of Mother Theodore:

Conserve water by taking shorter showers. Turn water off while soaping, shaving, etc. to save even more water.

Lots of tips to help care for our planet gathered from the Providence community

Laura had so many gifts. She was artistic and creative; she was thoughtful and intuitive; she was intelligent and capable in so many areas; she was very giving and forgiving.

Sister Marikay Duffy said years ago that she saw a need to “assist people by providing/offering educational opportunities and to assist in their understanding the immigration processes.” And because of…

Sister Editha Ben, vocation director for the Sisters of Providence, attends Simbang Gabi novena during Christmas holiday, and shares her experience.