We celebrated Epiphany as usual on the 6th and the Baptism of the Lord on the 8th. After that the Christmas decorations were taken down over the course of the next few days and stored away. Because the decorations were so well done this year, we were sorry to see them go.
The Knitters Retreat brought together roughly a dozen knitters from the 13th – 16th. The following day the community enjoyed a festive evening recreation for Brother Antonio’s names’ day, Saint Anthony.
Sister Maureen McCabe O.C.S.O., former Abbess of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts, arrived on the 25th. Their monastery was the first monastery of Cistercian nuns to be founded in the U.S. in 1946. Father Damasus had given their community a retreat in their early years. Sister Maureen facilitated our yearly retreat from the 26th – 30th. There were a total of nine conferences in the morning and evenings.