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February 2018








February in Florida is full of sunshine while our neighbors to the North often experience gray days and snow. While we have had some cold weather this winter here in Northeast Florida, St. Augustine still has blooming flowers and green grass in many lawns. Pansies and petunias are winter blooms that survive the cold weather in most cases.
      Here at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph we are getting ready for our congregation's Chapter of Affairs and Chapter of Elections that will be held the first week in April, right after Easter. These meetings are where we set the direction for the congregation for the next four years and elect new leaders we hope that will enable our plans to be fulfilled as far as possible.
      On February 14th Lent begins, the 40-day period of preparation for Easter in the Catholic Church. The Motherhouse community has agreed to have simple meals each Thursday of Lent : soup, salad, and bread only. No dessert. And then we donate the money saved to our chosen charity.
      We will also celebrate one sister's feast day and two sisters' birthdays in February with a meal of their choosing.
      At the end of February we will cut back the dead leaves and branches of plants that were killed by the hard freezes we had last month and new growth will be seen soon after. Nature teaches us that new life can come from death if we only take the time to reflect on nature.
      We praise you God for the beauty of creation here in St. Augustine and throughout the earth. May we see You in all of your creation and in our brothers and sisters. 

St. Augustine lighthouse in background of this scene of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine with sailboats in Feb. 2014.


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