Atchison Blue News Today

Eileen Egan's efforts to promote peace and "gospel nonviolence" left a significant mark on history.

Judith Valente, a regular contributor to NPR and "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly," is a journalist, poet and essayist. She is the author of Atchison Blue: A Search for Silence, a Spiritual Home and a Living Faith, named best spirituality book in paperback for 2014 by the Catholic Press Association and one of the three best spirituality books by Religion Newswriters Association. Her book, The Art of Pausing, was runner up for the Catholic Press Association book award in 2014.

Like other religious congregations, the Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, Kansas, has had to strictly limit visitors since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The separation has particularly difficult because hospitality is a key Benedictine value. (Courtesy of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison) When I guide retreats for Benedictine Oblates — those who like me who are lay associates of a monastery — I often end by playing a song called "You Will B...