I'm a Star of Mary!!!

As you can tell from the title, I'm now a Star of Mary! We had inductions last night. Like I had said earlier, I didn't know when inductions was going to be. Our ladies week went on for a week and one day. But anyway, my twinkle class was inducted into Stella Mariae household last night. I wasn't really expecting it, though I wasn't sure if it would happen that night either. Mama Poyo was to give a talk to us twinkles. She had the twinkles sit up front and close their eyes. That's when we were blindfolded and lead to inductions. I can't tell you what happened at inductions because it's a secret. But I can tell you that it lasted a long time, and that a lot of people were taking lots of pictures. I was so happy to finally be a star. Now I feel like I have a sister, times 60+. I'm honored to be a Star of Mary, and to be the oldest ever star (I'm older than the founders by a few years).

This morning, my door was all decorated. My big, Jenny, did a great job.

I hope and pray that I will live up to the standards of the covenant I signed last night.

Mary, our Star of the Sea, pray for us!

More Household stuff

Warrior week: As I mentioned last time, last week was warrior week. All week, we had to wear camouflage. The shirts I wore were from the common room. Part of the covenant is that we are warriors in Mary's army. So the twinkles were called PFCs, while the stars were called Sargent's. Tuesday was welcome to warrior week, and Wednesday was Mission night. I'm not going to say too much about them because I don't want to ruin the surprise to others who may not have experienced them. But it was intense. I figured that there is a reason for what happened at Mission night, and that it was to only make us stronger and to unite our twinkle class. I now realize that if I can make it through mission night, I can make it through anything. Because at the age of 35, mission night was the most intense experience of my life. I'm just glad it's over.

Ladies week: Now it's ladies week. This week (or weeks...depending on when we get inducted) we are to dress up and look pretty. We are to dress like a lady. It hasn't been too bad dressing up. The hard part is wondering when we're going to be inducted. Could it be this week, or maybe even next week? It's hard to tell at this point. It's just a matter of waiting. Inductions will come. We just don't know when. I'm sure the stars either know or will find out real soon when inductions will be. It's all about practicing heroic patience, one of Mary's 10 virtues.

Mary on the Mount: It is located in Pittsburgh. This church is connected to the founding of Stella back in 1999. As you can see from the photo, there is a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Although it's hard to see, there is also statues of Mary and John beneath the cross. This church is soo beautiful. And it turns out that the priest there used to be in AMDG. Just can't get away from AMDG, can we? Anyway, we did some praise and worship there. And the Stars prayed over the twinkles. I'll tell you, I felt such a peace while I was there. I just fell in love with this church. I just found it to be so funny that the founders of Stella found this church by accident. Perhaps it was by divine providence.

So perhaps the next time I write here, I could be a Star of Mary. Could even be tonight for all I know. We shall see. Mary, Star of the Sea, pray for me!

Update since spring break

So I figured it's been a while for an update, so here it is:

Spring Break: So I went home for spring break. It was good to see everyone at home, including my cats. And everyone was happy to see me. While I was home, I caught up on some homework. And I was able to go to daily mass while I was home.

New cell phone: Yes, I finally got a new cell phone after having my old Nokia phone since 2002 or 03, somewhere around there. I got a Samsung Alias 2, and I love it! It has a double hinge, and can flip both ways. I can call people, and it has a speaker phone. The keys automatically change from vertical to horizontal, and can change from numbers to a QWERTY keypad. I can go on the internet too, although I use it mostly to go on facebook. It also has a calculator and a calendar. It also has a camera. Overall, it is a great phone. And it works really well. It also wasn't that expensive either.

Intensity: As soon as we got back from spring break, intensity started.

The first week was Covenant week.

Here, we focused on the covenant. We also wore blue and yellow all week.

Next was Star week.

During this week, we wore our twinkle shirts all week and wore a star around our necks. We also had to say "Lord let your light shine unto others through me." whenever a star called us twinkle.

Now it's Warrior week.

This week, we have to wear camouflage and wear a shield. And people try to steal this shield. I don't understand why they have to steal it. Can't they just get their own?

Stella retreat: A couple of weekends ago, we had household retreat. We spent a weekend at one of the star's parents' house. One memorable aspect of the weekend is that the twinkles had to put on a skit for the stars. So we did a spoof off of the covenant, titled "The covenant Fr Gregory has not seen." A lot of people liked it. Overall, it was a fun retreat.

Easter: I spent Easter at Franciscan. It's the first one that I've spent away from home. But I really loved the services that they had during the Triduum. I went to the Tenebrae prayer service and the way of the cross as well. The Easte vigil lasted a long time. The line to get into the feildhouse stretched all the way back to Starvagi. During the vigil, they read all of the readings. There were 3 baptisms, and quite a few confirmations. There was a resurrection party after the vigil. It was great.

Well, I have to go. I have a twinkle date I have to go to. Talk to you later!