Opwatki is another name for love

This week, my wonderfully NON-Polish sister-in-law will travel to a Polish deli near her home outside of Chicago in search of kielbasa. She has chosen this deli because her daughter’s band director told her she also would find Opwatki there.

Opwatki is another name for love.

“I know we have to have Opwatki,” she told me proudly when we spoke over the phone about the menu for the Christmas Eve party she is hosting for my family.

For most of the past 12 Christmas Eves while living in Chicago, I hosted this gathering for my family. There was always kielbasa and pierogi and sauerkraut and dumplings. And always there was Opwatki.

In the Polish tradition, the Christmas Eve meal starts with the sharing of the blessed Opwatki, a wafer similar to the communion wafer used by Catholics for the Eucharistic Liturgy.

At our gatherings, the head of each of the families present receives a wafer imprinted with some image of the nativity. A piece of the wafer is broken off and exchanged with each other family member, with a wish for good health and happiness. Once finished with their own families, they move into each other’s family circles, sharing pieces of wafer and greetings with the aunts, uncles and cousins of their lives.

You might call this a Polish version of the handshake of peace. I call it love … the kind of love that only God provides … a moment of communion when all that divides us, when all that troubles us is forgotten and exchanged for a promise of peace on Earth, good will toward all. 

What will your family exchange this Christmas?

No lumps of coal for these sisters!

Santa and Mrs. Claus join one nice and one naughty Hillier and Jan and Ron Easter to bring Christmas cheer to the sisters.

Santa and Mrs. Claus made a surprise visit to the Woods on the feast of St. Nicholas, Dec. 6. Thanks to Providence Associates Kathryn and Richard Hillier, sisters received good cheer and some presents from the jolly ol’ fellow from the North Pole.

Before the arrival of St. Nicholas, the Hilliers introduced singing duo Jan and Ron Easter of Charleston, Ill. This pair got the sisters singing, moving, clapping and toe-tapping! Lots of familiar tunes were sung, including some Christmas carols.

Santa and Mrs. Claus agree that Sister Rosalie Marie Weller has been good this year.

Sisters Joan Matthews (second from right) and Agnes Maureen Badura help Jan and Ron Easter belt out “Rocky Top.”

Sister Joanna Brown blends her voice with Ron’s.

Sister Martha Ann Rifner uplifts her voice in song.

Carolers on horseback

Some Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College seniors, staff and faculty spread Christmas cheer.

Some Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) staff, faculty and Mari Hulman George Equine Studies seniors traveled around Saint Mary-of-the-Woods singing Christmas carols on horseback this week for the Equine Holiday Ride at the Woods.

The top three photos above show SMWC President Dottie King and two students spreading Christmas cheer outside LeFer Hall on Tuesday. In the two bottom photos the children and staff at Woods Day Care/Pre-School enjoy the Christmas carols.

SMWC saddles up to carol

The temperature may have been bitterly cold, but hearts were warmed Tuesday (Dec. 7) when students in the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s Equine Studies program conducted the Second Annual Senior Holiday Ride.

While many people can’t wait to deck the halls during the holiday season, the SMWC Equine Studies seniors instead put some red or silver tinsel on their horses (and themselves), before riding about the grounds to sing carols to youngsters and adults.

Chris Marks, chairperson of Equine Studies at SMWC, said last year was the first time the Senior Holiday Ride took place. It was enjoyed so much by all it was an easy decision to do it again this year.

“We plan to make this an annual tradition,” Marks said Tuesday, just after she, the students and their horses put their best voices (and hooves) forward.

Despite the bone-chilling cold, there was no doubt the students were up to the task. The seniors first performed for a small group at Owens Hall on the Sisters of Providence side of the grounds, before heading to the Woods Day Care/Pre-School, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Providence.

Marks even added sweetness to the festivities by leaving a huge box of candy for the Owens group. Later, she went inside the Woods Day Care/Pre-School delivering candy to Sister Lucy Lechner at the front reception desk so that each youngster would be sure to receive a holiday treat.

Approximately 14 Equine Studies seniors and faculty braved Tuesday’s cold for the caroling. Meanwhile, Equine Studies freshmen, sophomores and juniors served on the all-important clean-up crew.

In addition to the students, Marks said other SMWC Equine Studies faculty — instructors Sara Schulz and Krista Steinmetz and stable manager Angie McMillin— rode along to help with the caroling.

In addition to Owens Hall and the Woods Day Care/Pre-School, the students rode on horseback to sing at Hulman Hall, LeFer Hall, the Mary and Andrew Rooney Library and Guerin Hall (between both buildings), in addition to the Conservatory of Music.

Marks said the group truly enjoyed spreading good cheer.

“It’s kind of a reward for the seniors to do this,” she said, adding it also provides for great camaraderie and a means to set a cheerful tone for the holidays.

“The horses are festive and the students are in a great mood for this,” Marks said, adding, “Besides … they look so awesome!”

Hanging of the Green at Providence Center

It's time to prepare. Christmas is only about three weeks away. Shopping to do. Cookies to make. Parties to plan. Gifts to wrap. Stress to survive! Oh, my!

It's also time to prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That preparation began Sunday, Nov. 28, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods with an Advent vesper service and it continued on Monday, Nov. 29, with the annual "Hanging of the Green" in Providence Center's lobby.

Traditionally, the Advent season is a time for expectation, reflection, preparation and great joy. And that great joy certainly was plentiful as the 12-foot Christmas tree was adorned by those who were in a festive mood. They also enjoyed refreshments along with their good spirit and decorative assistance.

Several Sisters of Providence participated as did staff members and friends. Sister Marsha Speth, the Congregation's vicar, led the prayer which was followed by singing.

Please feel welcome to stop by and see the tree and enjoy the other beautiful places on the Sisters of Providence motherhouse grounds. Be sure to stop by The Gift Shop at Providence Center for its annual "Light Up for Christmas Sale" Dec. 4-10.

Christmas memories

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas! Take a look at this photo and step back in time to 1946. These young women receiving gifts from Santa were students at Ladywood High School in Indianapolis. In the Sisters of Providence section of Wabash Valley Visions & Voices (WV3) you’ll find some other Christmas photos from Ladywood as well as a photo from Dunblane School in Washington, D.C. Click here to view these photographs.

The Sisters of Providence are one of the founding members of WV3, a digital memory project. Be sure to check out the WV3 blog.

Picture of the Week: December 25

This Christmas card was sent by the Sisters of Providence General Administration in 1940, the year that the congregation celebrated their centennial anniversary. For more images of holidays past, visit the Archives' selection of seasonal images.

Picture of the Week: December 11

The fountain at the end of The Avenue is decorated for Advent. For information about Advent and Christmas services at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, view our Holiday liturgical events listing.