Jubilee Year Signs of Hope
Signs of hope to be shown be shown to the earth: May the earth be free to flourish • to offer beauty • for all creatures. • to generate new species
Signs of hope to be shown to immigrants and refugees: May immigrants receive a warm welcome • respect and dignity • nourishing food • adequate health care • an education • freedom to move from place to place • to practice their faith
Signs of hope to be shown to prisoners: May prisoners have access to fresh air, water, and nutritious food • a sanitary cell • freedom from violence • respect from guards • a just and speedy trial • possibility of pardon and amnesty • programs for integration into society
Signs of hope to be shown to youth: May youth be free from bullying • fear of a planet in crisis • social-media induced anxiety • the constant barrage of bad news • an overload of information and misinformation • and have opportunities for further education • and support for young couples
Signs of hope to be shown to the elderly and the sick: May the elderly have gentle, compassionate caregivers • access to healthy food • to health care • to emotional support • and be treated with reverence and dignity • and be be comforted by companionship in hospitals and nursing homes
Monastic Life Is...
We will gather as pilgrims of hope to offer a prayer of lament and hope on Friday, October 3, in a special service, Lament: An Opening to Hope. The service will take place at 7:00 p.m. in our monastery chapel and is open to the public, please share the invitation.
View pictures and read about what made Goat Fest 2025 such a hit!
Sister Jacqueline Sanchez-Small is interviewed at Monday's Silent Peace Walk, sponsored by Benedictines for Peace to call attention to the injustice of immigrant detention.
Three young women moved into Mount Saint Benedict Monastery nearly three months ago to begin a year-long live-in experience of prayer, community, formation, and good work through the Benedictine Peacemakers program. Melissa Pfeifer has been ministering at Emmaus Ministries and the Erie Spiritual Coalition. Erin Falk has been very busy on the staff of Groundwork Erie. And Emily Brandt is working with children at the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House. Each of them have unique stories to tell--and here's one of them. Emily, from Kansas, is piloting a Substack she is calling Emily in PA. (Wonder if she's seen Emily in Paris?!) Here's where you can read her initial reaction to life in a monastery in Erie. She's pictured here with Sister Carolyn Gorny-Kopkowski.
Each year from September 1 to October 4, the Christian family unites for this worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. It is a special season where we celebrate God as Creator and acknowledge Creation as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care for the gift of all that is created. As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common call to care for Creation. We are cocreators and part of all that God has made. Our well-being is interwoven with the well-being of the Earth. We rejoice in this opportunity to safeguard our common home and all beings who share it.
For more than two years Sister Dorothy Stoner and Oblates Marlene Trambley and Kathe Pae have shared their insights on Care for Our Common Home through the lens of their own experience and that of Pope Francis's teaching in Laudato Sí. Their posts are available here. Today's post will be their final sharing on this topice. We are grateful for the time they have given us, for their reflection and their vision.
Last month Erie native and Benedictine friend Dr. Robert Nicastro, Executive Director of the Center for Christogenesis, presented "Rewiring God: Teilhard, AI, and the Future of Faith" at the monastery to about fifty sisters and guests.
State Rep. Bob Merski visited the monastery to celebrate our 2025 jubilarians. After joining the sisters for lunch, Bob presented each of the jubilarians with a citation thanking them for their lives of love and service. Pictured with Bob are Sisters Mary Ellen Plumb and Stephanie Schmidt, 50-year jubilarians, and seated Sisters Michelle Wilwhol and Veronica Mirage, 70-year jubilarians, and Sister Charles Marie Holze, 50-year jubilarian.
