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Summer 2009 The Little Portion Online 
Greetings!

Greetings from Panhandle! God has blessed us so much since our last e-newsletter that we just have to share it with you.  Our Lady of the Angels chapel renovation is almost complete; we've had vocation travels, young women visiting, our annual Sisters' retreat (which was awesome), and many more things.
 
One thing to look forward to is our new and revised website!  Hopefully it will be complete soon, also.
 
God bless you all...and may our Lord bless with all that you need at this time.
 
Our Lady of the Angels
Chapel Renovation!

Our New Chapel

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks to many benefactors, the School Sisters now have a beautiful new chapel! This is where we will bring all of your intentions to His Sacred Presence for generations to come. 
 
 
Beautiful memorials are still available. If your name (or the name of a deceased loved one) is in our chapel, our Sisters will be reminded daily to pray for your special intention. Please consider sponsoring the Italian St. Joseph Statue or the hand-crafted Infant of Prague niche or even one of the murals!  Click here for more information on donating to the chapel. May God reward you for your generosity!
 
The Deeper Secret
Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe Any C.S. Lewis fans out there? One of our favorite stories from him is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. If you know this story, Edmund (who represents mankind) is condemned to die because of his betrayal. Aslan (figure of Jesus) exhibits the "deeper magic" by dying for Edmund so that he can live. The deeper, deeper magic is that the witch (symbol of evil) thinks Aslan is dead and that she is the victor. She is very surprised to find out that Aslan is alive again and more powerful than ever!
 
The truth is that all of us are Edmund, and Jesus really did die and rise so that we can live. We humans are truly not worthy of Heaven, but God saves us by paying the price Himself.  Heaven is our eternal Home, and God gives it all to bring us there.  We have only to choose.  Love - or an existence without Love...
 
This article is actually about something else, but is still related.  I call it the "Deeper Secret". Just when things in life seem beyond our control and things get scary, we must remember the DEEPER SECRET!  The "secret" or truth is that God is in control of this world and our lives. Nothing will happen to us without first going through God's Hands. He will take care of us.  (Matthew 6:26 says, "Behold the birds of heaven. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and your Heavenly Father feeds them. A you not of much more value than they?" ) If He permits evil (since He is never the author of it), it is only for a greater good to result. There is a lot of peace in knowing that.
 
The deeper, deeper secret is even better -- it's connected to the power of self-mastery and self-control. We're tempted so many times to think that happiness is getting whatever we want. The truth is that true happiness (i.e. peace, love, and joy) requires self-sacrifice. It's the awesome paradox of the Gospel.
God bless you all! You will all be in our prayers.
 
 
The School Sisters of St. Francis
In This Issue
Chapel Renovation almost complete!
The Deeper Secret
Save the Date!
Come and See!
The Logo (3 T's)
The Year of the Priest
Save the Date!
 
Saturday, December 12, 2009 will be our next FUN Raiser!
 
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Come and See friends visiting the Cross in Groom
Come and See!
If you or someone you know is thinking about Religious Life, check it out in person. Visitors come periodically to live with us, pray with us, work with us, ask questions, and learn more about the Religious Life.  Contact information is at the bottom of this e-newsletter and on 
 our website.
 
Follow-up Links

logo

 
The Logo
   The three T's come from the earliest days of our Congregational history. The following is a quote from the archival account entitled And the Seed Began to Sprout: "The mother called herself Theresia Triebenbacher, Tertiary. Later on, all three branches of Sisters marked linens for common use with her initials TTT in her memory. The same marking was used on the linens in the Sisters' chapels. This threefold sign could also be taken as a cross, a fitting symbol for all the sufferings the community had to undergo, in future years, to prove itself." Theresia Triebenbacher was the mother of our foundress - Maria Hyacintha Zechner. Each considered the other the superior of the fledgling community. To this day, the triple  sign represents our connection to the initial charism.
   The book under the T's represents the books that form us and sustain us - the Holy Scriptures, the documents of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours, The Theology of the Body, the textbooks used in our apostolate, the lives of the saints, and many more!
   Two of the three T's are in the shape of a tau cross, which represents our Franciscan heritage. St. Francis was always obedient to the Church and to the Magisterium; he had a great devotion to the Eucharistic Christ and to the Blessed Mother. He spent much time contemplating the passion of Christ and God's awesome love for us. 
 
End of the Year of St. Paul -- Beginning of the Year of the Priest
Today (June 29) is the last day of the wonderful Year of St. Paul!
 
Pope Benedict XVI is now inviting us to celebrate the Year of the Priest. Read more...
 
God bless all of our priests and seminarians!!!