The Benedictine community processes into chapel for morning praise on the Feast of the Epiphany after walking through the monastery recalling the journey of the three Magi to find the Christ child. They stopped in the monastery common spaces to pray a blessing and mark the door frames.
As she blessed the sisters and the spaces, Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress, said of blessings, "bring a sense of the sacred and remind us that everything is a channel of holiness for us. They give us a sense of the eternal freshness of life. They give us hope that anything can become new again."
The entire community blessed of the front foyer, community and dining rooms and chapel. A smaller group blessed the health care unit where covid precautions are still in place.
In honor of the three Magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, wise ones from the East, the entryway of each room was marked with their initials and the year: 20 C+B+M 23. The marking remains throughout the year and serves as a reminder that this monastery is a blessed space and that its residents ask God's blessing on all who share it with us.
