December 8, 2023 – The Re-dedication of our church to Our Lady

Today marks the feast of the Immaculate Conception, during which we celebrate the special way that God prepared Mary for her role as the mother of God and the “sinless Eve.”

In the past, some decades ago now, the community would mark this feast with a special Compline celebration at which the abbey church was consecrated to Mary. This practice fell into disuse, but as part of our year-long celebration of this the 175th anniversary of our founding, we decided to revive this consecration at a special Vespers service.

Fr. Anton modified the traditional prayers to fit the occasion, and the abbot, Fr. Elias, acted as hebdomadary for Vespers and read the prayers.

Prominent for the feast was the beautiful Marian banner created some years ago by our former Br. Lavrans and hung in the sanctuary, as can be seen in the accompanying photos.