Today was a good day, although it began very very early for a Sunday: 5.40am, to be exact.... We had a Community conference call scheduled, and rather inconveniently, NZ's daylight saving time happened to finish last night too - so what would have been a 7am call became a 6am call. Well, at least my body still thought it was 7am! And it was a beautiful morning, and at 6am silent, still, and very peaceful. Fnding a time that works for everyone when we're taking into account the time zones of most of the world is always a bit tricky but I didn't mind, because this time I was able to call into the conference call. We were trialling some different software for online conference calls and it meant that I could talk as well as listen.
The awesome thing today was that we were admitting a new novice to the Community, which is always a special time. This time, I was one of the leaders of the admission ceremony, my first time as a member of Guardian Council, so it was particularly special. It brought back some precious memories of my transfer to the Community.
It was also the fourth Sunday of Lent - Laetare Sunday, Refreshment Sunday, Mothering Sunday - the feast of our Lady as theotokos and traditionally the "rose day", when the vestments of the Church were rose-coloured (read pink!), one of only two Sundays in the year when this colour can be used (the other is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent - the names come from the first words of the Introit from these Sundays, meaning "o be joyful" and "rejoice" respectively). It's the day when traditionally there was a break from the Lenten fast, often marked by making and eating of simnel cake - a gorgeous once-a-year cake made with powdered almonds.... However, I've often wondered about this because no Sunday in Lent counts as part of the 40 days anyway!
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