As is customary for Thanksgiving weekend, last evening we held our annual prayer service/name drawing for the coming liturgical year. (This often falls on the first Sunday of Advent, but this year, it was on the vigil of the wonderful feast of Christ the King.)

During this beautiful time of community sharing between our St. Anne’s convent and our visiting Sisters from Little Flower Convent in Rugby, we prayed, sang, and shared. We also each drew a couple of items, one being an “Advent practice” for the coming season, in which we were given a role from the nativity scene to emulate (be the donkey, ox, shepherd, or angel, etc. )

We also drew the name of the person for whom we are to pray in the coming liturgical year.

During the visiting the followed, we shared some memories of those whose names we had drawn in the past.

I could not help call to mind my first Advent “in the convent” when I had drawn the name of our Sister Elizabeth Klein, now deceased.

We do not reveal the name of our prayer person until Christmas. However, for fun, I had hinted with my postulant directress as to her identity. I had told her that I had “the little sister.” Sr. Elizabeth’s last name, Klein, is German for small or little.

(I’m not sure if that was ‘legal.’)

I remember that when I was first visiting Hankinson the pears were in season. Sr. Elizabeth would go out and pick them, bringing them in to table with her. Although she had once been a school teacher at our various missions, specializing in music, she was, by this time, retired to our provincial house.

Her life was a real gift to our community. Along with her mere presence, prayer, and teaching, she also blessed us with some of her own original music which has been used throughout the years by our Sisters. Among these is a song she wrote about our province.

As we conclude this Thanksgiving weekend, I offer a prayer of thanks for the life of this, our “little” Sister, and for having the opportunity to get to know her a little.