AURORA—On May Day Sisters Nancy Ulrich, Joan Korte and Rita Mary Phalen ventured out into their neighborhood with prayer bows to connect with the neighbors.

 

All School Sisters of St. Francis, they are residents at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Aurora.

 

They planned to give balloons with a prayer attached, but found it was too expensive. 

 

“Let’s make May baskets,” Sister Joan suggested. But they didn’t have enough time.

 

They finally agreed they could make prayer bows. 

 

Many years ago Joan Kase, an associate, had given Sister Rita Mary a big box of multi-colored, multi-sized ribbon. There was still an abundance of the ribbon left. 

 

Out of this ribbon the three made over 25 prayer bows with the message “Our prayers are our gift to you. The Sisters at Our Lady of Good Counsel.”

 

Out into the neighborhood they went having fun putting the prayer bows on the doors.

 

At the first house they visited a mother and her chidren were outside. The mother accepted the bow and the  children gathered around her to look at it. They all turned around to thank Sister Nancy.

 

Sister Joan was surprised as she was about to put a ribbon on a door knob, when the door opened ever so slightly. She explained what they were doing and the woman told Joan she was going to leave the bow on the doorknob for her husband to see.

 

One lady was sitting on the porch when Sister Rita Mary approached. 

 

“I will hang it above the chair I always sit in,” the woman said. Then, as she was saying good-by the birds were really singing. She exclaimed, “Even the birds are saying thank you!”

 

The sisters went home smiling and grateful for the success of their efforts.