Getting ready for Easter! For their activities project today, some of the senior sisters prepared door decorations for their rooms.

Sister Annelle Libs shows her completed work.

Second graders from Ferdinand Elementary School had a "WOW" experience at our monastery today. They toured the monastery church, especially noting the Italian features, as part of their study of Italy during the school's celebration of WOW (Windows of the World) Week. The students learned about the Romanesque architecture of the church and the Italian terra cotta ornamentation both inside and on the exterior of the church. They saw and felt the new marble floor, altar, and ambo, all of which were quarried, cut, and polished in Italy and shipped by boat for the restoration of the church in 2005.

Discover God in the everyday. With us.

Our tagline encourages people to discover God in the everyday and also invites them to do that "with us." This happens on a daily basis, and I would like to show you how it happens on a typical weekend. This weekend, people came from far and near to our monastery for various reasons, but essentially, they discovered God "with us." People prayed with us at our prayer vigil for peace on Friday evening. Young women interested in religious life experienced the monastic way with us during Benedictine Life Weekend. Participants in the "Developing Energetic Awareness” program learned ways to improve health and well-being through intuition and awareness of the energy body. In a Centering Prayer workshop, participants practiced a quiet, contemplative prayer form as a way to discover God in the center of their being. A group of teenagers and their chaperones traveling from Kansas to Appalachia for a mission project stayed at Kordes Center last night and joined us for Mass this morning, refreshed and spiritually refueled as they continued on their journey. Benedictine Oblates joined us for prayer, Mass, and dinner today before their monthly meeting, during which they discussed peace, justice, and hospitality. Some of the sisters’ friends and family members provided activities and entertainment for the senior sisters this afternoon. Several of the participants in the National Association of Lay Ministers (NALM) workshop at Kordes Center arrived today so they could relax and have quiet time before beginning the workshop tomorrow. And as usual for a Sunday, many folks from the surrounding area joined us for morning Mass, and many visitors stopped by for tours through the afternoon. All these people who came to the monastery this weekend experienced our Benedictine hospitality and peace, and, we hope, discovered God with us.

"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." (From a song written by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson)

Giving witness to their commitment to world peace, people came together at the monastery this evening to join us in a candlelight vigil to pray for peace. After the prayer service, marking four years of war with Iraq, the sisters continued the vigil, spending time in private prayer in the monastery church until midnight.

A pair of Jeans played for the championship title in the ping pong tournament here at the monastery.

And the winner is... Sister Jean Marie Ballard! In friendly, and sometimes fierce competition, she defeated Sister Jeanne Ellen Niehaus, on left of photo, to win the tournament. The games added some lighthearted fun, at least for the onlookers, after a weekend of community meetings.

There's ping pong in the air. The time is nearing for the championship game of the ping pong tournament which began a month or so ago. Sixteen sisters played in the tournament. The two finalists will meet in the championship game during Community Days on March 10-11. Keep posted for the results.

Sister Kathleen Marie Cash, who organized the tournament to add some fun and excitement to the winter days, plays a round of practice with Sister Mary Aquin Verkamp. Sister Mary Aquin doesn't let her Parkinson's disease limit her athletic spirit. She loves to play and challenges anyone who is willing.