{"id":4957,"date":"2012-10-04T04:29:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-04T04:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2012\/10\/04\/spring-in-tynong\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T02:32:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T02:32:23","slug":"spring-in-tynong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2012\/10\/04\/spring-in-tynong\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring in Tynong"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
We\u2019ve got the lot here in Tynong right now:
\nBlue Skies, a Bright Golden Haze in the Meadow, Cattle Standing Like Statues \u2013
\nthe overwhelming conclusion is that It Might As Well Be Spring!!! I can\u2019t help
\nbut think that it\u2019s a particularly lovely day for St Therese\u2019s Feast \u2013 after
\nall, isn\u2019t her autobiography properly called \u201cThe Story of the Springtime of a
\nLittle White Flower\u201d? I know it\u2019s been published as \u201cThe Story of A Soul\u201d, but
\nI\u2019m pretty sure her manuscript had the other title. Anyway, there is ample
\nevidence it\u2019s springtime around here, as well as plenty of little white flowers
\n\u2013 it\u2019s like St Therese is just waiting to be asked for favours!<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
The days haven\u2019t always been like this. Back
\nin July, we here in the Novitiate strapped ourselves in for a long, wintery
\nTerm 3, and we are now reaping a delightful reward for our perseverance. These
\nholidays, thus far, have been just glorious. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Admittedly, they had a bit of a rough
\nstart. We were all subjected to a Philosophy exam on the Tuesday of the first
\nweek, reducing our conversation material to gibberish about the meaning of
\nprime matter and the continuum of time and the First Celestial Sphere that
\nAristotle was so keen on. (All Greek to you? It still is to us. Actually, it very
\nnearly was, quite literally, in Greek. Someone lost their composure, presumably
\nas the result of a brain compromised by the stress of it all, and asked Father
\nif he was going to write our questions in Latin. (I personally think that there
\nwas quite enough for us to worry about, without giving Father ideas<\/b>\u2026)
\nAnyway, Father said that if he did so, our answers would have to be in Latin.
\nThen he changed his mind and said that, seeing as Aristotle spoke Greek, he
\nshould actually write it all in Greek. We must have looked so horrified that he
\ntook pity on us and gave it to us in English in the end. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>I must also add here
\nthat I am extremely grateful to Father and Mother for mercifully changing their
\noriginal plans and making the exam on Tuesday and not prolonging the agony
\nuntil Thursday. Thank you!) Nevertheless, by Tuesday 12:30p.m. it was finished,
\nand we were officially On Holidays!!! (And subsequently forbidden by one of the
\nnon-exam sitters to refrain from talking Philosophy any more.)<\/span><\/span>
\nOur itinerary since that day has been
\nsplendidly full of holiday activities. Here\u2019s a thumbnail sketch:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stop No. 1: Wilson\u2019s Promontory<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
Wednesday was devoted to this outing. The
\ndrive was extremely scenic \u2013 we even saw a real live echidna crossing the road
\n(very slowly), and an emu scurrying through the bush! \u2013 and after about 3 hours
\nwe arrived at the inventively named Squeaky Beach, which, you guessed it,
\nsqueaks when you walk on it. Besides that, it has giant rocks gathered on one
\nside, which form a kind of natural maze. Have a look!<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span>We then took a short walk to the next
\nbeach, Picnic Beach, with more interesting rock formations. W.S. Gilbert could
\nhave been writing about us, with his \u201cClimbing over rocky mountain, skipping rivulet
\nand fountain, passing where the willows quiver\u2026\u201d (Not that I saw any willows,
\nbut I\u2019m sure you get the idea). Some brave souls even tested the water
\ntemperature\u2026<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/span>And then, all of a sudden, it was time to
\ngo home. We all bundled into the van, some sleepy, some a little bit (that\u2019s a
\neuphemism) wet, but everyone happy from the delightful day out. Incidentally,
\nwe have found that singing is very good for preventing motion sickness. We
\nreally should do a randomized controlled trial one of these days. We could call
\nit the SIMPLE Trial (Singing Intended for Motion-sickness Prevention on Lengthy
\nExpeditions). [Expressions of Interest: please contact The SIMPLE Coordinator, Rosary
\nConvent, P.O. Box 50, Tynong, VIC, 3813.]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Stop No. 2: Mother Micaela\u2019s Feast Day<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/div>\n
Now, being a mere infant in the Convent
\nworld, the 29th<\/sup> of September was a very exciting day for myself and
\nthe other postulants \u2013 our First Michaelmas! Visions of postulant garments with
\n\u201cMy First Convent Michaelmas\u201d emblazoned on them rose before my mind\u2019s eye, but
\nthey never materialized, for there was much more important work to be done. One
\ncannot let one\u2019s Mother Prioress General\u2019s Feast Day pass without proper
\ncelebration, you know. Thus, the latter part of the week was spent in preparation
\nfor the big day, which included menus, decorations, and the entertainment. The
\nend result was most satisfactory: we had an array of stir-fried dishes, the
\nflavour balances expertly titrated by a brilliant Asian postulant, a delectable
\nfruit cake, gorgeous flowers everywhere under
\nSister Johanna\u2019s artistic<\/span><\/a> direction, and a performance
\nfrom an all-star (which translates into all-Convent, with the exception of
\nMother herself) cast. There was a dramatic recitation, a new Hymn penned for
\nthe Feast, and a superbly choreographed Spanish musical number. I won\u2019t go into
\nmore detail, because I know some people are shy, but we\u2019ll tell you more about
\nit if you come for a visit <\/span><\/span>J<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Stop No. 3: A Postulant Birthday<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

Monday brought yet another reason to keep
\nthe holiday mood alive: A Birthday! (Postulants don\u2019t have religious names yet,
\nquite obviously, which is why they get to celebrate birthdays instead of Feast
\nDays.) Now, postulant birthdays are *always* very jolly, but having one in the
\nholidays was even more so! Besides having a bit more time to construct an
\ninteresting cake and prepare an interesting meal, there was time to go on a
\nSecret Outing (as it was advertised), which turned out to be a Table Tennis
\nCompetition! While some were happy to have a leisurely, genteel game of \u2018keep
\nthe ball alive\u2019, others got serious. There was a draw, complete with seedings,
\nand a tabulated method of progression through the various elimination rounds.
\nWe weren\u2019t disappointed with the grand final, either. By this stage, even the
\nleisurely, genteel Sisters had their interest piqued (probably by the
\nrambunctious ones who had been eliminated and were now following the remaining
\nmatches with avid interest), and all eyes were trained on the two finalists \u2013 Mary
\nand Sister Anthony (incidentally seeded #1 and #2, respectively). In the end,
\nSister Anthony\u2019s deft ball placement saw her take the honours in a 15-13
\nfive-deuce thriller. The delighted crowd, who rather indiscriminately cheered
\nfor one and then the other, in between Mexican waves and crowd chants, was
\nprobably more distracting for the contestants than anything else \u2013 but they
\ncertainly had a good time about it.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Stop No. 4: ————-<\/span><\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t happened yet, but The Feast of
\nthe Most Holy Rosary, our Convent\u2019s own Feast, is this Sunday! Watch this space
\nfor reports\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

So there you are \u2013 that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been
\ndoing in our holidays, and that\u2019s why I said they were glorious at the
\nbeginning. And do you know what? I have a funny feeling that they wouldn\u2019t have
\nhad quite the same sparkle if we hadn\u2019t<\/b> started off with that Philosophy
\nexam along with a few preceding weeks of hard work. It really is true that the
\nsun shines brighter after a stormy night, and it\u2019s worthwhile to remember that
\nthis is true in one\u2019s spiritual life, too \u2013 every time of trial is only
\ntemporary, and it is inevitably followed by a time of joy and consolation which
\nis better than if you had never been tried in the first place; God does look
\nafter us so very well.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve got the lot here in Tynong right now: Blue Skies, a Bright Golden Haze in the Meadow, Cattle Standing Like Statues \u2013 the overwhelming conclusion is that It Might As Well Be Spring!!! I can\u2019t help but think that it\u2019s a particularly lovely day for St Therese\u2019s Feast \u2013 after all, isn\u2019t her autobiography … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-convent-life","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5231,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4957\/revisions\/5231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}