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Merry Christmas from FSPA


FSPA wishes you a very merry Christmas. May the Lord grant you peace and renew your strength for the year ahead!
Winter's stillness reminds us of God's presence as we celebrate the birth of Jesus!

May the peace of Christmas enfold you in the gentleness of God's love.


Original photograph by Sister Nina Shephard
Upcoming Events
Meditation for Emotional Health
Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 | 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (via Zoom)

Guided meditation is proven to reduce stress and promote relaxation. Join us for a time of rejuvenation through videoconferencing. All are welcome. We’ll start with a guided meditation that includes relaxed breathing, a body scan and a visualization. Afterward, we will have a brief discussion. Gatherings are on the first Thursday of the month, and you are invited to attend any or all sessions as your schedule permits.
Entering the New Year Through Prayer and Yoga
Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 | 9:00 a.m. - noon (in person)
Franciscan Spirituality Center, La Crosse, WI

Through a variety of prayer modalities and yoga, we will enter the new year by setting our intentions through mind and body. Integrating prayer practices with movement and yoga poses will help us to deepen our practice. Using both active and restorative practices will help us to be both centered and open. We suggest that you arrive by 8:30 a.m. to prepare and settle in.
In the news and on the blog
FSPA affiliates Joe Kruse, an administrator for what is now Mayo Clinic Health System - Franciscan Healthcare, and Marilyn Pedretti, one of Place of Grace's first live-in house coordinators, are recognized in La Crosse Tribune's Dec. 12 article "For 25 years, Place of Grace has been a community for Viterbo."
"We're pretty isolated here in rural Wisconsin, but now we have guests in our backyard. And we want to make sure that their story is told, that people are aware of what's going on, what we need to do to help," explains Sister Laura Nettles in Global Sisters Report's Dec. 20 article "As Afghan refugees restart their lives, US sisters do their part to help."
"St. Francis loved Christmas. He loved it so much that in the little village of Greccio, Italy, on a craggy hillside in 1223, he reenacted the nativity. He was not really a big words, intellectual guy. Francis liked to jump in with his whole heart and body. So the story goes that he invited the people from all around to this little cave on a steep hillside to remember the birth of Jesus."

Read "The Wild Love of St. Francis" by Sister Sarah Hennessey.
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