Alleluia! He is risen!

Though the absence of lay guests made our Easter this year more subdued than usual, the joy of the Resurrected Lord still shone through the monastery. We have been keeping the entire Church in our hearts in a special way during this difficult time, and on Sunday afternoon the novitiate “hatched” a plan to combine this intercessory prayer with our annual Easter egg hunt.

Right after our special feast-day lunch, Sr. Miriam Esther and aspirant Abbey raced outside with mountains of colorful Easter eggs. While the rest of the community was washing dishes, the intrepid duo was hiding eggs all around the parking lots and flower beds.

As soon as the task was complete, the rest of the community arrived with wicker baskets, eager to begin scouring the property. Once all the eggs were found, some Sisters began to muse about what tiny prizes might be contained in them. Some obviously held candy, some jingled with small saint medals, and some seemed to be empty... or were they?

As a matter of fact, each of the 39 pink eggs (three for each community member) contained a slip of paper. On each slip of paper was the name of an archdiocese, an archeparchy (Eastern Rite archdiocese), or another Catholic ecclesiastical region of the United States. Since every diocese is a part of a larger “region” under a metropolitan Archbishop, these 39 regions include every Catholic in the US! Whichever three of them a Sister received, she was asked to pray for in a special way during the Easter Season. This way, we hope to share our Easter joy with each and every one of you, and to implore Our Lord for a speedy end to this pandemic and a re-opening of our churches!

And, of course, we also have to share with you some photos from the egg hunt...