Author: St. Anne's Living Center

My wife and I come to St. Anne’s two to three times a year to visit our daughter Sr. Christina Marie.  We always enjoy our visits and are happy to have met, talked with and developed relationships with many residents and staff.  We have found St. Anne’s to be much more than a facility that houses people.  We have found it to be a very nice community.

We observe many residents who have groups of friends they get to visit with daily.  We appreciate the chapel that is open to all.

One of the things I like best is that one doesn’t have to go outside in the wintertime to take advantage of all St. Anne’s offers.  Everything is a short indoor walk or elevator ride to get to.

I’ve often thought to myself that I could easily see myself one day being happy to be a resident of St. Anne’s.  The sisters run a fine place and the residents are very friendly.  The only bad thing I can say about St. Anne’s is that every time I visit I gain ten pounds.

Rick Neumann

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But where did this common idiom originate?  No one is quite sure.

However, one theory points to the stars. The constellation at the beginning of the month is Leo (the Lion). By the end of the month, it’s Aries (ram or lamb).

This proverb can be traced back to a 1732 compilation of sayings which includes the phrase “comes in like a Lion, goes out like a Lamb.”

Another interesting aspect is the fact that lamb meat was only available in the spring, which may contribute to the fact that March is said to go out like a lamb.

The simple meaning of this phrase is that the month often comes in with bad weather, but by the time April is here, it is more clement.

This year in early March, the lion certainly has been roaring with the strong winds we’ve been having!

Info. from theparisreview.org and oklahoma4h.okstate.edu

Here at St. Anne’s, we don’t let the cold weather and slippery roads keep us from getting some healthy exercise.  We’ve developed a practice we refer to as “indoor walks.”  According to calculations by our activity staff, four laps around the building adds up to a mile.

Walking with our residents provides them with a little diversion and good exercise. We even exercise our vocal chords sometimes when walking, singing favorite songs such as “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” and “Amazing Grace.”

Walking is known to offer many benefits for seniors and others.

Also, walking is free; there is no charge for walking, so it’s easy on one’s pocket book as well as on the joints.  Walking is actually encouraged for those with arthritis.

Walking also helps lower your chance of getting a blood clot, improves circulation, breathing and blood pressure, and strengthens your heart as well as your immune system.  For a woman, a half-hour walk each day can also reduce chance of stroke considerably.  Also, people with osteoporosis will find that walking can stop bone mass loss.  It also supports your joints.

As we’ve found here at St. Anne’s, walking can also help one’s mood.  It can also help fight memory loss and prevent dementia.  It can also give you energy and even releases pain-killing endorphins in your system.  Who could ask for a better medicine?

Not surprisingly, walking can also lead to weight loss and strengthen your muscles.  It can also help you sleep better.

Walking for at least a half an hour has been shown to have various health benefits, but a short walk is better than no walk at all.  A half hour walk can improve your blood sugar level, reduce breast or colon cancer risk, and also reduce risk of Type II diabetes by 60%.

Walking is also good in that it lessens the amount one spends sitting, which can be detrimental to health.

Another interesting fact about walking is that it can subdue your urge for something sweet.  With that in mind, if more of our residents participated in our walks, we might be able to cut back on the number of cookies and snacks we serve.

Resources:

• http://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/exercise/workouts/walking/wow-of-walking.php
• http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/09/11/daily-walk-benefits.aspx
• https://www.tescoliving.com/articles/8-reasons-why-walking-is-great-for-your-health
• http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-surprising-benefits-of-walking

Here at St. Anne’s, blessed with daily Mass in our chapel, our residents have ample opportunities to sing praises.  Some sing loudly, and others you can barely hear.

Do you ever wish there was better participation in liturgical music?

Below, enjoy a little reflection on the topic by one of our apartment residents, Betty Canavan.

Why do we sing hymns in church?  We all probably have a favorite.  How do we feel when we sing it?  And, how do we know God hears us?  The answers are right in your Bible.

Singing is a command, not an option.  Ephesians 5:18-19, “….addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…..singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  Colossians 3:16.  Paul, the Apostle, tells us to teach and to sing.  So, Colossians 3:16 is telling us singing is just as important as the sermon in filling us with God’s Word.

Also, when you sing, you lift other’s spirits as well.  Remember, Ephesians 5:18-19 said, “….addressing one another….”?  Along with the Colossians verse, it signifies bearing problems with each other, forgiving one another, loving and being at peace as one body of Christ, teaching His Word.

When we sing together in church, we share each other’s confessions and hear each other’s testimonies.  As a church family, you also impact those who do not know Christ.  Psalm 105:1-2, “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him, tell of all His wondrous works.”

In Colossians, Paul also challenges us to wage war against sin.  It is the attitude and habits of the believer that eliminates sin.  It’s very hard to lie, be greedy or look at something inappropriate when singing a hymn.  So,  a singing heart is one at war with the power of sin.

Now you are prepared for trials.  Although we always remember to sing when we’re happy, being able to sing when we’re facing the trials of life helps us get through them.  I refer to Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas are imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel.  What do they do?  Sing!  Throughout history, persecuted Christians are strengthened by song.

God designed this pathway to lead us to joy. I refer to Psalms 5:11, 9:2, 51:14, 59:16 and 63:7.  Don’t forget James 5:13, “Is anyone cheerful?  Let him sing praise.”

Aha!  You are saying…..sometimes singing creates joy and other times joy creates singing!  But, you can’t seem to have one without the other.

When you sing you glorify God, all these things:  obedience, understanding the Word, building up others, fighting sin, perseverance and finding joy in God, are each of our purposes in life.

God is the object of our praise.  With all of life’s distractions, singing helps us to focus all of our attention on Him.  So, sing loudly, don’t mumble.  Sing to join the angels.  Sing to our Heavenly Father.  Don’t worry if you don’t know the words – we’re all imperfect.  Don’t worry that you can’t carry a tune – God doesn’t listen for the errors, he takes pride in our wish to please him.  Sing joyfully and loudly, be proud you’re a Christian.

Finally, Revelations 7:9-10, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  The Apostle John describes eternity, with a multitude of people of different languages and nationalities singing before the Lamb.

Since we all hope to be in that multitude, the time to practice is now.  Sing the songs of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sing His praises.