On the Feast of the Epiphany the sisters process through the monastery recalling the journey of the three Magi to find the Christ child. We stop in all our common spaces to pray and sing a blessing, beginning with the health care wing and proceeding to the front foyer, the community and dining rooms, and ending in the chapel. At the entrance to each space, we mark the doors with the current year and the inscription CBM: 20+C+B+M+24. The initials stand for the names of the magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. The letters also represent the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat which means “May Christ bless this home.” 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.
Also on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2026, the Jubilee Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome will close marking the conclusion of the Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope. The doors will be walled up with mortar and cement from the inside, only to be reopened for the next Jubilee. Until then designated jubilee doors in dioceses around the world were closing, including in Erie when the doors at St. Peter’s Cathedral closed on December 28.
The Holy Year, Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope, will officially end with a Closure Rite and Mass, presided over by Pope Leo. “What is not closing is divine grace, but a special time of the church, and what remains open forever is the heart of the merciful God.” — Cardinal Makrickas at St. Mary Major
Our challenge is to continue living the message of Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope.
Will we offer Christ’s mercy and compassion?
Will we embrace the stranger?
Will we forgive?
Will we be just?
Will we be peace?
How will we continue to embody the message of Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope?
