Holy Week began on the 2nd with Palm/Passion Sunday.
Our first lamb, healthy and fully developed, was born prematurely on Good Friday. The date for newborns is typically around the 15th, but there is always one that has to be first. Also on the 7th, we received news of the death of a local oblate, Thomas Wingert Sr. at age 92. Please remember him in prayer.
Easter Vigils began at 4:45 am on the 9th and ended just after 7. The temperature warmed into the 50’s under sunny skies, having started in the chilly 20’s. In the evening, Brother Joseph ended his novitiate year and professed temporary vows for one year as a monk.
On the 17th the community decided to drop most of our COVID-19 precautionary requirements for the time being. We continue asking that guests with reservations self-test for COVID-19 before they travel and not to visit the monastery if not feeling well. Face masks and hand sanitizer remain available.
Grass cutting commenced on the 28th as it usually does in late April each year. Heavy April showers extending into May, also to be expected, quickly moved in to prevent us from finishing round one.
By the end of the month, the maternity ward for newborn lambs was
becoming less hectic, also to be expected at this time of year. As the
lambing slowly comes to an end, 82 mothers have given birth to 138 lambs
so far this season.
COMING EVENTS:
Sister Kathleen Hughes, RSCG, sacramental theologian, teacher, speaker
and writer, will be the speaker for the Annual Damasus Winzen Memorial
lecture on Sunday May 7, 2023.