Rosa Mystica Girls’s Society met for our second meeting of the 2012-13 Session on First Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. There were twenty-eight girls in attendance for Mass (as a group) and thirty-two girls for the meeting.

Once again, the girls were divided into six groups; Love of God, Industry, Truthfulness, Humility, Piety, and Obedience.

Lesson:

Our new Chaplain, Father B, visited the girls while they were eating snack. The girls stood-up to greet him. Father excused them and invited them to finish their food. In fact, he insisted that they finish eating before he began his lesson. I think it’s a French thing. 

Father B’s lesson was on the topic of hospitality and love of God. He spoke about the life of San Bruno, the Benedictine Monks, and the Cartesian monks.

Here are some highlights that I took note of from Father’s talk.

San Bruno, whose feast day we celebrate today (10.6), spent time with the Benedictine Monks. The monk’s role is hospitality, to welcome people. They will take care of everyone who comes to the door. San Bruno wanted more enclosure. He founded the Cartesian Monks with the approval of San Hugues.

The Cartesians live in a monastery that is divided into small houses. Each Cartesian monk lives in his one bedroom, in solitude. He cannot speak all his life. He eats in his room. He prays in solitude. The monk’s life consists solely of work, prayer, and study. It is the most difficult life.

It is said that there are many saints in the Cartesian monasteries that no one knows, only God. They desire to be in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They have a profound humility. In fact, a Cartesian will never name himself as author of a book. His work will only state that it was authored by a Cartesian Monk. Few monks have been canonized because of their humility to remain unknown.

~~~

Why did His heart re-start after three days (Resurrection)? HE LOVES US! Every heartbeat of the Lord is for us, every single one of us!

Is the heart of Jesus still beating today? Yes, because He loves us.

Only one man has listened to the heart of Jesus, who is he? John.

You must take the time to listen to your heart to understand how is works.

In time of trial or temptation, seek to listen to the heart of Jesus. Say, “I would like to listen to the heart of Jesus.” You will see your heart come down and the temptation will be removed.

Love God as He as loved you. Pray for the Blessed Mother’s intercession.

AN ACT OF LOVE

O my God, I love Thee with my whole heart and above all things, because Thou art the supreme Good, and most worthy of our love. For the love of Thee I will love my neighbor as myself.

Skill:

The girls were then given an overview of their sewing project, a simple apron. Each girl was able to select her desired apron combination.

The first group consisted of nineteen girls, ages 9-10. Their aprons were completely prepped for them to begin sewing. Note, the focus of this skill set is to give the girls an introduction to sewing so that they gain interest to continue to learn about the skill.

The other group consisted of nineteen girls, ages 11-13. Those girls were given pre-cut fabric and ties. They were instructed to complete the necessary steps so that they could begin their sewing at next month’s meeting.

Majority of the younger girls had the opportunity to sew at the machine with the guidance of a mom or older sister. Those that were not able to sew will be the first on the sewing machine in November.

The sewing helpers did a wonderful job instructing the girls while allowing them to be an active participant in the sewing process.

The older girls diligently completed their tasks.

1. turn ties if needed
2. iron waist and neck ties
3. pin ties to top fabric
4. pin lining to top fabric, enclosing the ties
5. help one another

A complete tutorial for this project was included in the girls’ Hospitality Binders.

Name tags were worked on when the main sewing project was completed.

Handouts:

Agenda for meeting

Prayers:

• An Act of Love

Hospitality:

• Activity Sheet – Hospitality & Love of God ~ Sewing – includes suggested activities to help the girls grow in virtue and the skill of sewing
• Jo’s Boys
• Handout on the history of an apron
• Theological Virtues Flower

Sewing:

• Tutorial: Simple Apron – complete instructions for our sewing project. Inspired by here and here.

Wrap-up:

We began to close the meeting at 11:45pm, thanks to the reminder from Mrs. G – time flies when you’re having fun!

The girls wrapped up their projects and labeled their work so that it could be easily found at the next meeting. Their group areas were tidied. The worker moms did their magic while I closed the meeting with a recap of the day’s lesson and skill.

The girls were informed of the new handouts that were placed in their binders. They were encouraged to complete the related activities to further develop a Love of God, hospitality, and sewing skills.

The question of the day was answered, “Can I take home my apron to work on it?” The answer was, “Yes! You may take home the apron to work on it as long as you follow the directions that were given in class, bring it back the following month, and I have the consent of your mom.”

The girls were also reminded about the upcoming Fall Bake Sale on October 21 – sign-up today!

The meeting closed with the Angelus.

Our Lady of the Mystical Rose, pray for us!

~~~

Thank you to all the moms and girls who gave a hand with instruction and after the meeting for clean-up. We appreciate your help! Things were a bit hectic but it turned out great. We especially appreciate all the help from the moms sharing their skills on the sewing machine. Our goal is to assist the girls in following the complete directions (without deviation) in the skill set while being as hands-off as possible. It’s a fine dance but you all managed to make it look effortless. Great Job! We hope to see you all again for the next two months while we complete the aprons. ALL FOR!