Puer Natus est Nobis!

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! You all were very much in my heart in each of the three Masses I offered last night and this morning. I don't think any words could do justice to the wonderful mystery of this day, or to the special place you all hold in my heart. So rather than words, I will try to send your way graces and prayers through the hands of Our Lady.

Though tired now--I had meant to write you earlier in the afternoon but put my head on the pillow for my siesta and when I awoke... discovered it was rather dark outside!--but so very happy. What an amazing, amazing gift to have the Baby Jesus come to us. And what a wonderful blessing to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass three times on this day--something I could never thank God enough for.

Last night after the Midnight Mass and then some celebration with chocolate and other treats with our  little congregation, I returned to the Church  around 3AM for a few moments to just sit there and hold the statute of the child Jesus, sitting before the tabernacle, giving thanks for the amazing gift I have been given as a priest and that all of us have been given as Catholics.

And then when I returned to my room a surprise awaited me: one of the families had snuck in and fixed up the creche seen (which was a gift o theirs to begin with), with a beautiful log, some electric candles and some Christmas lights around the window. You'll see my attempt at a photo below though it doesn't do it much justice (and the child Jesus was placed in the crib just after I took the photo).

As I said words don't seem adequate for all I'd like to say to you all so I'll turn instead to prayer.

With much love and prayers from England,

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Tony Pillari

Creche scene I discovered in my room at 3:30AM.

Creche using the flash.

Lights around the window, with some gifts to open.

Creche in the back of Church.

Same Creche.

Child Jesus on Gospel side of altar, used for veneration at altar rail.

Side Altar for low Mass (2nd Mass of day).

Main altar prepared for 3rd Mass (Midnight Mass was candle-lit but I didn't take any photos).

Preparing to Receive the King of Kings

The altar prepared for Thursday evening Adoration (spotlight is shining on the throne where the monstrance will be placed)

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm writing you this note while I wait for Bishop O'Toole to emerge from the Sisters' cloister, where he is spending the afternoon with them. I'll then get to sit down with him over a cup of tea. So when I hear the bell ring (which is how the sisters call for me here), I'll have to pause this post. But in the meantime... the Newborn King is almost here!

I can't wait for Christmas to arrive! Several nice creches are set up around the monastery and all are present except for the newborn baby. We await His coming... And while awaiting it I was given a wonderful gift over the past ten days: in the Carmelite Rite there is an Octave of the Immaculate Conception, meaning that the solemnity of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception is celebrated for eight days! This feast has had a special role in my life for many years, having been the day of my priestly ordination, and many years before that the day of a Marian Consecration made at the University of Notre Dame, a day on which Our Lady very kindly invited me to belong to Her more fully. I have always loved celebrating Her feast day, but never thought I would be able to celebrate an entire octave of Masses in Her honor. It was really wonderful.

The above photo gives you a glimpse of what the midnight Mass will look like, except of course that the main six candles will be lit, along with some minor candles on the altar to see by. I still have a very full week ahead of me before arriving at that blessed night, but once it arrives I should then be able to set aside most work in order to celebrate well the eight days of Christmas. It has been quite a past six months: First semester of law school, hardest semester of canon law school (all downhill from here), preparing and giving 10 day retreat for sisters in Italian, visa challenges which delayed getting started this summer, six weeks in Italy for studies, learning to give spiritual direction to cloistered nuns for the first time, and in two languages, learning a new rite of the Mass (the Holy Sepulchre Rite or Carmelite Rite), getting to know villagers, learning to drive on the other side of the road and navigate roundabouts, new climate and food, caring for new group of families, working with  Bishop's committee on renovation project for monastery, making contacts with local priests and Bishop... and amazingly it looks like God's grace is going to wrap up all these things (in terms of the necessary deadlines) just in time to set them aside for eight days and celebrate Christmas... God is so very good.

I am still trying to finish a large paper. But whether I finish it or not by Christmas I received permission to not work on it again until January. As for the octave I will have the blessing of spending Christmas day itself, after the three Masses of course, in quiet with Jesus the newborn King. I have always thought it would be nice to have a Christmas of quiet adoration (and a long siesta!) and I will have that blessing this year (I was invited to the home of a very nice family for Christmas afternoon meal, but asked if we could do that instead on one of the other eight days of Christmas in order to live Christmas itself as a time focused more on adoration). Then I hope to take a day hike with the young men who have been serving the Mass, a day trip to visit a shrine of local martyrs, perhaps a trip to Plymouth to see where the pilgrims set off from, etc. And I can finally do some light reading such as some books of English history.

The bishop may be emerging any moment now so I had best go downstairs to be ready for him. And depending on what time he has to go I may stop into the local village Christmas carol concert which is taking place outdoors in the center of town tonight.

I will be holding you all in my heart when I go to the altar for the Midnight Mass and all throughout the octave. May Jesus and Mary grant each of you peace and joy in ways that only they can in the midst of this crazy world. May the Child Jesus grant each of you to hope in the infinite wonders of God's grace.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

To those in Texas

Chasuble for this morning's Mass

Nativity set that some one kindly gave me to set up in my room. Everyone is there except for the Lord! You all are there too through that little box, which I'll explain below...

Dear Friends and Family,

This post is especially for all those in Texas, with whom I was blessed to spend the past 15 Christmas's. Before I enter into the home stretch of this semester and final preparations for Christmas I wanted to write you. Hopefully after Christmas I will be able to sit down and reply individually to your letters, but in the meantime I wanted to at least write you this post.

As Christmas approaches you all are in my heart and mind in so many ways. Every Sunday when I chant Terce I think of the Sunday mornings when I had the privilege of chanting it along side the altar boys, then of vesting for Mass and hearing the different choirs chant, offering the Holy Sacrifice, coming down under the tent with you all, or speaking to a group of the children, then heading to San Antonio and being received so kindly by the good sacristan who had everything so well prepared for the Mass, and then Confessions and Mass, time with families, etc.; I think also now of candle-lit midnight Masses, of Christmas meals with the community at MDM, of our attempted staff party post-Christmas, of sharing with your families painful and joyful times, of Baptisms, of First Communions, and of so many other things. So much to be thankful for!

I will miss you all in a particular way at Christmas, but offer that sacrifice to the Lord asking Him to bless you all and Our Lady to greet you on Christmas morning for me. I know there is "no distance between souls" and so in what truly matters we can exchange gifts without any need of the post office. That little box with the purple ribbon is a reminder to me of that. One of you very kindly gave me that gift a year ago on behalf of the young children--saying that though the box was physically empty it contained the prayers that the children would be saying for me. Those prayers are extremely precious to me and the box has safely traveled everywhere I have gone in the past year. At the moment it sits next to the Virgin Mary awaiting the birth of Her Son.

Those prayers are particularly dear to me here in this mission territory, because England is truly mission territory. Without any exaggeration I can say that I'm now in a pagan country desperately in need of evangelization. This particular section of England has less than 1% of the population that goes to Mass on a Sunday, and there are more Catholics going to Mass than there are Christians going to any other service on a given Sunday... it is a tiny tiny group and most people are in need of evangelization and conversion. Congregations are tiny. For example it is not unusual for me to hear that a pastor will have two Masses on a Sunday, perhaps one with 20 people and another with 50. Here, in addition to the 12 sisters, there is a steady congregation of around 30, about half of whom are children. So midnight Mass will be closer to the numbers present at that first Christmas adoration with the shepherds and Mary and Joseph: we'll likely have about 12 parishioners, along with the 12 sisters of course. The Mass will be by candlelight, and I am very much looking forward to it--only two weeks to go now! And you all will be there because...

I was able to schedule a novena of Masses running from Christmas through New Years. Those Masses will be offered for all those whom God has confided to my care as a priest--and I certainly still consider you all in that category, even if my care is now primarily carrying you in may heart at the altar--as well as for all the benefactors who are supporting me or the sisters here, whether through prayers, sacrifices or other gifts.

On my end your prayers have certainly been fruitful (if mine have not been fruitful on your end then please pray harder for my conversion.... so that I can pray better). I miss you all very much and no doubt will miss you in a particular way on Christmas day, and yet God is taking good care of me here. He has provided a very good situation for prayer, a good community of nuns to support and be supported by spiritually, some good local families and a good bishop, as well as a situation that is allowing me to be in particular contact with people involved in the struggle at the heart of the Church today. All particular blessings. Above all I can see the hand of God challenging me, nourishing me, pushing me, etc. working on my soul, which still needs so much work.

As we enter now the final preparation for Christmas please know that you all in Texas will be in my heart and prayers in a very particular way. Please give your children a hug for me (or for the teenage guys put them in a headlock or something), and thank them for their prayers for me. That is the best Christmas gift I could receive.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Tony Pillari

Treasure from the Past

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a few days this week where it got down to around freezing and there was frost in the morning! This is probably the closest thing I'll get to snow so I enjoyed it.

Clear, cool sky.

This week had a number of special blessings--including a visit to a family home where the 5, 3, and 2 year olds introduced me to their toys... lots of fun and then I had the blessing of praying with them and going over a bit of Catechism with the 5 year-old whom I'll be helping prepare for First Holy Communion this spring, God-willing. But I wanted to share with you a special blessing I'm preparing for this Christmas.

God-willing the midnight Mass will be the first Mass of what will become a daily experience for me here at the Carmel: the celebration of the Carmelite Rite (more properly Holy Sepulchre Rite). I'll share with you here below the introduction that will be going in the booklets people will have, and will add more of a personal commentary later (since I have to get into the Confessional now or I'll be late!). Many blessings to you all on this Second Sunday of Advent.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

LANHERNE HISTORY

Through all the chances and changes of history, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has been offered at Lanherne and God has been worshipped according to the traditional Roman Rite since the dawn of Christianity in Britain. During the time of the Reformation, when the manor of Lanherne became a refuge for persecuted Catholics, the first of the seminary priests of Douai who suffered martyrdom during the Reformation, St. Cuthbert Mayne, used to celebrate Holy Mass here at Lanherne for persecuted Catholics.

In 1794 the Carmelite nuns, fleeing from the terrors of the French Revolution to Cornwall, opened a new chapter of the history of Lanherne: Holy Mass continued to be celebrated and tradition claims that the light before the Blessed Sacrament at Lanherne has never been extinguished since pre-reformation days.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the traditional Roman Rite continues to be celebrated at Lanherne up to our day. Whoever participates at this Mass witnesses the Rite which the Church has been celebrating for centuries and which links them to the Mass celebrated here by St. Cuthbert Mayne and, going back, to the Apostles themselves.   

The persistence of the Carmelite life at Lanherne naturally requires the use of the proper Carmelite Rite, which is nothing else than the traditional Roman Rite with some enrichments and variations. So the gestures and words of the Mass that one is about to experience are almost exactly identical to what persecuted Catholics experienced, right here at Lanherne, when St. Cuthbert Mayne offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

THE CARMELITE RITE

The rite which Carmelites follow in the carrying out of liturgical functions is known as the “Rite of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.” This rite was adopted at the same time as the Carmelites received their Rule from St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, about 1209, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre being his metropolitan church.

The Carmelite Rite, together with the Dominican and others, belongs to the Roman Rite, having the same Roman Canon for the celebration of the Mass. In fact, when the Carmelites adopted the Holy Sepulchre Rite, the liturgy then in force in this church was classified as Roman-Gallic. It was fundamentally Roman with a few variations drawn from the Gallic usages of that age. This liturgy had been established in the church of the Holy Sepulchre by the French Canons who had been brought there by the Crusaders. In the course of time, the liturgy was embellished by additional ceremonies, for it was fitting to observe with special solemnity the mysteries of the Redemption in the places where they were originally enacted. And today, two of the processions proper to the Carmelite Rite and still prescribed in the Missal, namely those before the Conventual Mass of the feasts of the Ascension and of the Assumption, are precious relics of the ceremonies performed by the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre in the very places in which these mysteries occurred.

When the hermits of Mount Carmel adopted this liturgy, they naturally modified it to conform to their simple, eremitical way of life. And at the time that the Order was transplanted from Palestine to Europe in the thirteenth century because of the increasing dangers of Saracen persecution, they brought this liturgy with them.

 The rubrics for the celebration of Mass indicate the early origin of the Carmelite Rite. Among the more prominent are the preparation of the chalice at the beginning of a low Mass or just before the singing of the Gospel at High Mass; the shorter Confiteor and other prayers at the foot of the altar; the symbolizing of the unity of the Sacrifice by the offering of the bread and wine together at the Offertory; and the recalling of the Sacrifice of the Cross by the repeated signs of the Cross made by the celebrant and in particular, by the extending of the arms in the form of a Cross immediately after the Consecration.

Moreover, the prominent role which the Mother of Carmel was to play in the liturgical life of her brethren is particularly evident in the Carmelite Rite. Thus in the Carmelite Calendar we find seven feasts of our Lady which are not found in the Universal Calendar of the Church: Her Betrothal; Her Patronage; Mary, Help of Christians; Mediatrix of All Graces; Her Purity; The Holy House of Loreto; and Her Expectation. Other feasts of our Lady already had a place in the Carmelite Calendar long before they were extended to the rest of the Church. Among these were The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Her Maternity, and The Immaculate Conception. The votive Mass of our Lady of Mount Carmel which is said each Saturday has a centuries-long tradition and has special liturgical privileges, for it has the Gloria, Credo, one Collect, and a proper Preface. It recalls for us the origin of the Carmelite veneration of Mary on Mount Carmel and her gift of the Scapular to the Order. And finally, in every Mass, a Carmelite priest recites immediately after the Last Blessing the Salve Regina or, during Eastertide, the Regina Cœli.

This devotion to Our Lady was naturally extended to those who were associated with her in a particular way. Thus, we find the Carmelites especially devoted to St. Anne and St. Joachim; to St. Joseph, devotion to whom they did so much to spread; and to St. Gabriel the Archangel.

When the saintly Pope Pius V in 1568 imposed the restored and unified Latin liturgy upon the universal Church, he excepted those rites whose beginnings antedated two hundred years. Since the Carmelite Rite was much older than two hundred years, it successfully escaped extinction. It has been handed down to us as a treasure, an heirloom that has ever been dear to the hearts of Carmelites in centuries past. It is for us to cherish and preserve, especially here at Lanherne, which is the oldest Carmel in England.

Holy and happy Lanherne, hallowed by the footstep of the martyrs, poor and abandoned in the eyes of the world, yet rich, immeasurably rich in the things that perish not.

Mass Requests and Donations for Sisters

Dear Friends and Family,

I am currently in the process of setting up a new bank account for the nuns here. It may be a while, due to the complications involved in setting up a charity account here in England, before they can cash checks. So in the meantime if you wish to make a donation to them or to make a donation for a Mass that I am offering for your intentions please make any checks payable instead to me (Anthony Pillari), as this is the only way I can currently cash checks for the sisters, but indicate somewhere that the donation should go to the nuns and I will ensure that it does.

The most efficient way to get the funds to the sisters via check is to send the check to my mother at:

Mrs. Melissa Pillari
30028 Applewood Drive
Bay Village, OH, 44140
U.S.A.

Praying for you all as we begin December.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

The Digger

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessed first Sunday of Advent! It is such a wonderful season--as season of penance, hope, and joy in the expectation of Our Lord's coming at Christmas. Many Catholics sadly don't realize that Advent is a time of penance--one of the two great times of penance in the liturgical year, along with Lent--and so we should make a serious effort to engage in some sort of penance during Advent. I think that one reason many people to not experience the joy God wants to give at Christmas (which is imperfect here on the earth, but still a very special joy) is that they don't live Advent well as a time of sacrifice. So if you haven't already done so, make a resolution today and put it into practice these next four weeks!

Today I wanted to share the visit of "the digger"...

Due to some heavy rains a pond began to form in the monastery's orchard. Not a problem as all of our apple trees are above the level of the little pond and it was still draining off slowly as it should. However on Friday my doorbell rang and I opened the door to find the owner of the local pub standing in front of me (a nice fellow with a young family). He asked if I could come take a look at something. We walked past the pond, which sure enough was quite large and still growing because we sit towards the bottom of the valley. He then walked me across the road to where his pub sits facing the monastery. And low and behold there was a small river running out from under the road and along the outside of his pub through the outdoor seating area....

Somehow the water from the pond, seeking another outlet, had made a tunnel under the road and was exiting along the side of his pub. The water was flowing so strongly that there was a danger it might enter the pub and do serious water damage (not to mention disrupt the local customers in there). Being a resourceful fellow who had worked until recently in the local fire brigade, Jay had waded into the pond and tried to find what was obstructing the normal flow of the water. Because normally the water should have flowed under a little bridge on our property and then down into the stream below. It was flowing, but not as quickly as possible.

Not having success waiting around in the pond itself he went into the narrow tunnel (from the other side of the bridge where the water flows out), and climbed up the tunnel to see if he could dislodge anything blocking it. He encountered there a largely blocked entrance with leaves and grass, and poked at it a bit, but not too hard because if that wall suddenly burst... he wold likely be drowned in the tunnel.

So after some head scratching and trying a few other things we eventually called in what they locally call "a digger." Here is a photo:

Digger sitting at edge of pond.

Seeing the man manoeuvre it around our property made me eager to see next year's annual performance of the "dance of the diggers" when a bunch of these things perform at the local village festival in September. He dug down into the pond, removing large chunks of dirt, rocks, leaves, and eventually a small tree, until this was revealed:

Pub owner in background. Entrance to tunnel, now partially unblocked, visible below.

It turned out the entrance to tunnel had been completely buried underground! In fact that is why I'd never noticed it before. Once the tunnel was unblocked we saw rapids form on the other side of the tunnel as a massive amount of water flowed out. He would indeed have been drowned if he'd been in the tunnel when this happened! His children and some other villages had turned out to watch this whole process and we had fun taking in the excitement of it all.

So I now know what we need to do to keep this clean and the water flowing well, I got to meet Jay and his children and some other villages, and it gave me a nice analogy for today: for God's grace to flow feeling through our souls and to others who are in need of God's grace we need to cooperate by removing the junk which has built up on our souls. We often are not even aware of this build-up, as I wan't aware that then entrance to this tunnel was blocked. And it's only when we begin digging that we can discover how much sin, bad-habits, lack of efforts at prayer, etc. there is in our lives.

Take this Advent as a privileged time to do some digging in your own soul, so that the tunnel might be truly unblocked by the time we arrive at Christmas. Blessed first Sunday of Advent!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Quiet Sunday Morning

The graveyard of the Arundel family Church next to the Carmelite monastery, that was taken after the Reformation to become an Anglican Church. But Catholics from centuries past are buried there!

Part of downtown St. Magwan. The sign in the middle says "Craft Shop and Boutique: Interesting Things." That about covers any possibility: "Interesting things"...

Dear Family and Friends,

On this quiet Sunday morning I just took a stroll and took the above two photos. In a little bit I'll be heading down to hear Confessions and then to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This week I wanted to simply give thanks for a few of the many blessings of this past week involving parishioners.

First though, for those who were praying for my exam, thanks be to God that I think I made it through successfully! I likely won't know for several weeks until it is graded but as far as I could tell I did OK on the essays, which was a real relief because the essays covered six months of classes in three different courses. Thank you very much for your prayers.

Monday evening I had the particular blessing of going to a family's home for a dinner to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their four boys being confirmed in London by Cardinal Burke (who seems to come annually to London to offer Confirmation in the traditional form for children throughout England). It was a fun evening as we had Chinese in honor of the fact that they had eaten Chinese a year ago on that night, they told stories of the trip to London and Confirmation, I got to see an invention one of the young men came up with (or at least let's say that he installed creatively some wiring and lights) in order to provide reading light in his room, etc. It was a real blessing and joy to be there.

Wednesday evening I headed to a family farm for their weekly family rosary--a nice occasion that I am trying to make each week. It is wonderful to have the chance to pray with the children and adults--parents and grandparents--all together, to listen to each one present their intentions, visiting with them before and after, etc.

This afternoon I will be heading for tea to the home of a local lady who lives near the ocean (well I guess I live near the ocean too since we're just a mile or two away!), to get to know her and her family better. I'll likely be going to another villager's home this week to get to know him and his wife better.

Going to homes regularly, perhaps even several times a week, for meals and for tea is a new experience for me, as those in Texas know! But in addition to being chaplain for the Carmel I'm also essentially the pastor of a country parish and so this is an aspect of apostolic life I'll need to grow into. One I don't mind, but that is new.

And speaking of visiting homes and families and blessings, the following happened about two weeks ago but it's worth recounting here:

Each Thursday evening we have a Holy Hour and Benediction and I hear confessions during the Holy Hour. There have also been many fall leaves falling and it has been wet--extremely wet. So when a family came for Holy Hour they decided to also light on fire a stack of wood that needed to be burned up. As a result, when we came outside after Holy Hour, there was a bon-fire blazing away. One of the young men "happened" to have brought along a bag of marshmallows so we got sticks and roasted marshmallows over the fire. But, wonder of wonders, when I asked the family about s'mores they had never heard of them! So I'll have to introduce them to that bit of American culture at some point.

Well, I have to go now.

Sending you all love and prayers.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Rainbow over Lanherne

Dear Friends and Family,

On Wednesday Nov. 9th I woke up, expecting to face the heavy news of Clinton's election, and was amazed to see the results! I have been very thankful for those and can't help but wonder if there wasn't some divine intervention that brought this about. Not that Trump is going to save the world. He seems to have some huge flaws as a man, and has said and done things that I can only condemn. But the policies of Clinton would have been truly disastrous for Catholics and hence for the country in general. Whereas the Trump-Pence platform is surprisingly good in a number of respects. We'll see now if they fulfill their promises...

These articles pretty much reflect my thoughts on the matter:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-burke-trumps-victory-suggests-america-has-awoken-to-its-moral-cris

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hillary-and-trump-have-made-shockingly-different-statements-on-abortion-and

On that morning, God provided this beautiful rainbow, the first one I have seen since arriving here, over the convent:

There were some beautiful graces this week, but unfortunately not ones I can write about in a blog because they were graces impacting very personal things in people's lives. But things that I am very grateful for.

This coming week will have a particular focus on studies. Because this Friday I will have the semester exams for 3 civil law courses (torts, criminal law, and contracts). Please pray for me! I studied a good bit last week but have a lot more to go and these are looking like perhaps the most challenging exams I have ever taken. We'll see. I don't regret the fact that I have often prioritized these past few months prayer and priestly ministry, which has meant cutting down on my time to study. But I think I'm still in a good place to do OK on the exams, but we'll find out.

Wishing you all a blessed and peaceful night.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

All Saints, a Baptism, and Three Priests

Chasuble in Sacristy for All Saints Day Mass.

Baptism on All Saints' afternoon.

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a blessed past week! The feast of All Saints and commemoration of the Holy Souls in Purgatory are two particularly blessed days.

I still remember my first Nov 2 (for the Holy Souls in Purgatory) day in the monastery, twenty years ago this month. The day was dedicated to penance and prayer for the souls in purgatory. We attended extra Masses offered by the priests for them, visited a cemetery to pray for them, and thought about the souls suffering so greatly in Purgatory. It might have seemed to make for a sad day but in fact I found myself feeling a particular joy and thinking "what a wonderful day this is!" Because on Nov 2nd how many, many souls must be released from Purgatory--thanks to all the Masses, prayers, and indulgences offered for them on that day--and enter the joy and glory of Heaven? That moment is the greatest moment of joy a soul will ever have experienced--the joy of entering the full joy and splendor of Heaven. And so in a sense Nov. 2nd should be one of the most joyful days of the year. Since that time I have gotten to know better and have come to love more the Holy Souls in Purgatory. If you're not already doing so, please say some extra prayers for them this month.

The previous day, Nov. 1 the Feast of All Saints, has one of my favorite Gospels: the Beatitudes. We can never think enough about them! It does our souls so much good. And that afternoon I had the joy of Baptizing the little man you see in the photo above (Godparents pictured behind him). The traditional liturgy of Baptism, with its exorcisms and powerful prayers, is a wonderful thing to administer. This afternoon I went to the home for a meal to celebrate the Baptism. A wonderful moment to celebrate!

Two priests are making their annual silent retreat here this week: Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP and Fr. Rupert of the London Oratory. Both seem to be excellent priests and its nice to have them spending these days in silence here and offering the Holy Sacrifice. Please say a prayer for them as a priest's annual retreat is a key time for him to open his soul to the action of God's grace.

Lastly, in just a minute I need to call one of my civil law professors in the States, who will help me prepare for our midterm exam Nov. 18th. I would also appreciate prayers for that as the preparation is a bit daunting.

Sending you all much love and prayers.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Ritiro Annuale

The Sisters "choir"--the cloistered part of the chapel where they pray. I preached to them here for the past ten days (the curtain is closed here behind the grill but for the conferences it was open). The statue above is of St. Teresa of Avila. The statue on the left is St. Anne, with a young Virgin Mary as a girl.

The high altar prepared for this morning's Mass for the Feast of Christ the King.

The side altar prepared before this morning's Mass.

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessings on this feast of Christ the King! It is a wonderful feast day. After Mass I exposed the Blessed Sacrament for 15 minutes of Adoration, the litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the solemn consecration to the Sacred Heart written by Pope Leo XIII and that Pope Pius XI asked that it be prayed in every parish throughout the world every day on this feast of Christ the King. It is a beautiful prayer, and much needed today, consecrating the whole world to His Sacred Heart so that He might guide all things according to His will.

Today is also the last day of the sister's annual 10-day retreat. The last conference was this morning and in a few minutes I'll head down to hear their Confessions. Thank you very much for your prayers. I made it through! And as far as I can tell they understood almost all that I said in Italian. No doubt they had to stifle laughter at times due to my pronunciation or poor grammar but they seem to have understood.

It was a blessing for me to give the retreat. Starting several months ago I worked my way through the majority of St. John of the Cross's writings, praying about them and making some notes. The bulk of this retreat came from a book compiled back in 1925 that put together selected texts of St. John for a retreat. But about half of the conferences were either texts I selected from him or from St. Teresa of Avila, or some were made up of my own preaching (a small number of conferences). It was nonetheless more challenging than I had anticipated to speak so much in Italian. Even preparing to deliver well a 30 minute text of St. John in Italian took me more work than I thought. But I also feel that I learned a lot in the process of preparing and giving the retreat--for one thing it helped improve my Italian! But especially it helped me get to know St. John of the Cross and his teaching better.

One of my favorite teachings of Carmel--that actually is best expressed by one of St. Teresa of Avila's writings, and so I focussed a conference on this passage, is from her autobiography where she talks of the absolutely essential role of the "sacred humanity of Jesus" in the spiritual life. She says that one should never ever abandon, in our thoughts and approach to the spiritual life, the sacred humanity of Jesus and should strive to live each moment of each day focussed on Him. I believe that this is at the very heart of what Carmel is: to live at the school of the Virgin Mary, who wants to share with Carmelite nuns the same education that She herself received in the spiritual life: the education that was given to Her by having Jesus within Her womb, then as a little baby, then a boy, then the daily life with Him at Nazareth as a young man and grown man, then the public life and passion, death, and resurrection.

Again, thank you very much for your prayers. For the month leading up to this I was rather nervous about whether or not I could really accomplish effectively the preparation and giving of these talks in Italian. Even when I gave the first talk or two I wasn't quite sure if this would work. But it seems that it did.

Lastly, as some of you had inquired to make sure I was eating well enough I can assure you that I'm being well taken care of here. In fact a current challenge is that the mother superior seems to think that, since I got sick a few weeks ago, I need to eat abundantly every day. I've tried to convince her that if I keep eating the full meals the sisters pass me each day I won't after a while be able to fit into my cassock! I think I finally convinced her to cook less for this coming week. We'll see. And then the families that come here are looking after me. And as one of them runs a bakery and a farm there is no shortage of pastries nor good food from the farm. In fact last night I was out at the farm, a rare break during the retreat, for a festive meal with them and some guests.

Well, I need to prepare for the final part of the sisters' retreat: their Confessions.

Praying for you all. Thinking particularly of you all in Texas and the beautiful fall days there.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Visits of Children

Some photos taken from in front of the monastery on a beautiful fall day, 2 days ago.

Dear Friends and Family,

I pray that this email finds you well. It is now 8:30PM in England and I need to turn in for the night soon as it's been a very full day, but wanted to write you all first.

Thank you all for your prayers for the retreat that I'm giving to the sisters. I must say it's more exhausting than I pictured to be giving the talks in Italian! But God has been providing. For example a few days before the retreat a kind young mother in Florence graciously accepted to translate three talks for me from English into Italian, which made it much easier for me to write the talks. And so far I seem to be managing. I sometimes bungle the pronunciation of words and as one sister told me there are occasionally words I say where it is hard to understand the meaning, yet they seem to be understanding for the most part and I'm very grateful for that. Still 7 days of retreat to go but thankfully at this point all of my conferences will be reading texts from St. John of the Cross. Is still tiring as I need to first prepare them and then try to deliver them in an intelligible way, but I feel like the hardest work is behind me. Please say a prayer also that I find the correct words for individual spiritual direction to the sisters.

Today was quite full as the work began with preparing the chapel for Mass, then an 8:15 conference to the sisters, then 9AM Confessions, then 10AM Mass, then visiting with people, then a bite to eat and nap, then 3PM conference for sisters, then sisters' confessions, then bringing Holy Communion to a young mother. But it was a very blessed way to spend the day!

This week had a number of blessings involving children. On Tuesday I had a surprise visit from three local preschool teachers and their 15 children, who asked if they could stop in the chapel. So I tried to give the children a bit of an introduction. Though it is a secular school the teachers chimed in to teach the children about who Mary was and Jesus. Of course the teachers also asked me what religion I was, but they were surprisingly open and asked if they could come back again.

Then Wednesday evening saw the birth of a new baby boy whom I will be baptizing soon. Then a family sent me a neat documentary on down-syndrome children--one of whom they have--which was both sad (because of the abortions involved) and beautiful to see. Then today we had a visiting family with several young children, who joined those already in the congregation, and a newly married couple, whom God will hopefully bless with children. So all in all it was a week full of little blessings involving children!

Well, I need to sign off now. Praying for you all and thinking of you. Thank you for the letters letting me know how you're doing. At the moment I'm quite slow on writing back and likely will be for a while, but I love reading them!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Our Lady of the Smile

Our Lady of the Smile

Dear Friends and Family,

This beautiful statute of "Our Lady of the Smile" arrive at the convent this weekend from France. It is a replica of the miraculous statue that sat by St. Therese of Lisieux's bedside when she was very sick as a young girl. One day she saw Our Lady's face come alive and smile at her, and she was miraculously cured. The statue will now head into the nuns' cloister here, but first I had the opportunity to pray before it since I had to bless it prior to it entering the cloister.

Some of you have written me asking me if I could post more about the sisters and their life here. The sisters however would prefer to remain very hidden so I won't plan on writing much. Also, much of my contact with them is confidential since it is through Confession and spiritual direction. However, I think I can share two small things.

First, this past week was the entry of a young lady into the cloister, to begin her life as a postulant. For that I presided over the "entry ceremony" into the cloister, which was simple and yet beautiful. It took place in the evening. The doors to the cloister, which are never open (not even I can enter except in case of sacramental necessity for an ill sister), opened when the soon-to-be sister came knocking.

As the large door swung open 11 sisters were seen holding lighted candles, their faces covered by their veils. The young lady knelt on the ground just outside the threshold to the cloister. Standing behind her I then (at the mother superior's invitation) said some words on the great event that was about to take place: even more than what was about to take place physically there was a great spiritual work that was about to begin: the work of God in forming this young lady's soul to become His spouse (if indeed she discerns that and continues, etc.), of the presence of Our Lord and Our Lady, of how much our world today needs prayer and sacrifice, etc.

Then I began a series of prayers to Our Lady and a part of the litany to Her, the sisters responding. This concluded with a blessing of the young lady, sprinkling her with holy water, and then watching her rise and cross the threshold of the cloister. She then greeted one by one each of the sisters, the great door was closed, and her life in the cloister began.

This Thursday begins the annual 10 day silent retreat with the nuns. Please pray for that because the poor sisters are stuck with me preaching! I feel a bit worried for them because the preaching will be in Italian and 20 conferences is a lot to try to do well. The vast majority of those will involve me reading elected passages from St. John of the Cross or St. Teresa of Avila or St. Therese of Lisieux. But even reading long texts in Italian will be a bit challenging if I am to do them well. And then there are 3 conferences that will be primarily my words. I have the outlines done but now need to write them in English and then put them in Italian. Prayers would be welcome....

I'm due into the chapel now to hear the sisters Confessions so I'd best go. Praying for you all in this grace-filled month of October. Please don't forget to pray for me!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Sunday Sermon

Inside St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. Prayed for you all at St. Peter's tomb!

St. Peter's

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome, where St. Catherine of Sienna is buried. Prayed at her tomb this past week.

Ceiling of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers during my study and meetings this past week in Italy, which went very well. Glad though to be back out in the countryside again!

I thought I'd try in today's blog sharing with you this morning's sermon, as a way of giving you a glimpse into Sunday life here. Today after Mass I blessed a 20-year old young man, who then hopped on a plane to fly to the Island of Papa Stronsay to begin a time of discernment with the Transalpine Redemptorists. Hence the sermon. A disclaimer: though I have been writing out my sermons they act more as "sermon notes" than an actual sermon. I often adapt them in the giving.

I prayed for you all last week at St. Peter's tomb. Hope you had a blessed week!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Sermon:

Eph 6:10-17

Brethren: Be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of His power. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high. Therefore, take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breast-plate of justice, and having your feet shod with the readiness of the Gospel of peace, in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, that is, the word of God.

            On this 21^st Sunday after Pentecost there are a few announcements. First, thank you very much for your prayers for my studies this past week in Italy. It was an intense time but a lot was accomplished. I must say that even though Rome and Florence are beautiful cities, and I was with some very good people, there is no place I’d rather be than Lanherne, and sensed quite strongly on this trip that the work of God here in the monastery and also in your families is at the very heart of what is needed today in the Church. So it is very good to be back.

I did return a bit sick and so may be a bit slower than usual these next few days.

I plan to begin 2 – 3 weeks from now the cycle of Sunday sermons presenting the great truths of our Faith according to the traditional Catechism. So if you know of those who might benefit from that preaching please feel free to invite them to attend.

Lastly John Buscombe, as you know, will be leaving today to begin a time of discernment with the Transalpine Redemptorists on the island of Papa Stronsay. So at the end of Mass, just a few minutes after Mass ends, I will be offering him a particular blessing as he begins this journey.

What is it that John is about to do? What does it mean to try to discern God’s will for your life? Each soul is created by God to burn with love for Him and for the salvation of souls. Yet if every soul is called to burn with this divine charity, not every soul is called to so in the same way. Some souls are called to burn with divine charity as priestly souls, others as monks, others as nuns, others as fathers and mothers of families, others to devote themselves to the service of the Church in the world by remaining single. The goal of discernment is to discover what an individual soul is made for—how is this soul called to give itself completely to the love of God?

But how does one go about discovering that? When John arrives in Papa Stronsay tomorrow will he be handed a thick manual and told that if he studies it’s contents very carefully, and learns all the rules and principles contained therein, using them to analyze his own life, that his mind will then be able see clearly just what his vocation is? No. Rather, the priority for John will be to open his soul more and more each day, indeed each hour of each day, to the work of Divine grace in his soul. He will be called each day to grow in charity and in humility, to allow God’s grace to penetrate everything in him, including the painful work of allowing God’s grace to penetrate the areas of one’s heart and soul (and each of us has them), that need a good deal of correcting and changing. He will be called each day to cooperate in the often painful work of conversion so that he might “die to himself,” and learn with time to live more and more for God.

It is only with time and perseverance, by striving day after day to cooperate in this work of divine grace—by allowing the fire of God’s love for him to penetrate his soul and to burn up everything in it; and by trying to make, as the Lord said to St. Margaret Mary, “some small return” to His love, that those things which are not of God can be burned up in a soul, so that the true nature of the soul—that is this particular soul’s true nature in the sense of what God created it to be—will be revealed.

So in the work of discernment it is not primarily study or intellectual understanding that are key, though those can have a certain role to play. Rather it is the daily efforts to grow in humility and in charity, and above all the daily efforts to open one’s soul to the working of divine grace, that is the key. John, as of tomorrow evening, will be choosing to live, at least for a time, a way of life that the Church proposes to all young men and women as “objectively superior.” What does that mean?

In the words of Pius XII, “This doctrine of the excellence of virginity and of celibacy and of their superiority over the married state was, as We have already said, revealed by our Divine Redeemer and by the Apostle of the Gentiles; so too, it was solemnly defined as a dogma of divine faith by the holy council of Trent, (Sess. XXIV, can 10) and explained in the same way by all the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church.” (Sacra Virginitas n. 32) Does this mean that each person who is a religious or a priest is holier than each person who is married? No. Indeed I have often had the experience as a priest of being quite humbled at witnessing the great charity and sacrifices the married couples make for the sake of the Lord, and of realizing how much I need to improve in those areas.

But as St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; ³³ but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided…” “… he who marries his betrothed does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.” (1 Cor 7:38).

To begin to understand what St. Paul, and what the Church, teaches on this matter, reflect for a moment on the situation of a man who is engaged to a young woman, and who one day says to her, “Susan I love you with my whole heart, and want to always love you with my whole heart. I’ve also decided that—in addition to marrying you, I’d like to marry at the same time Sarah. But don’t worry, the fact that I’ll also be married to her won’t diminish the love, attention, and affection that you will always have from me.” How do you think Susan would respond? No doubt she would indignantly respond that this is impossible! That it is only possible to have one spouse. That a man’s capacity to love, to serve, to be attentive to his spouse, can only be given to one person in this life.

So also it is with a priest’s, (or a brother’s, or a nun’s), love for his Lord, and for the Church. Priestly celibacy frees a priest to offer the love, attention, and service that would otherwise be given to an earthly spouse, to God alone.

Celibacy touches above all on the first and greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Celibacy is a tremendous help for the priest’s own love and adoration of God. And the more that the priest turns his own attention to God, offering Him the love and adoration that are due to Him alone, the more that God responds by pouring out His graces into the soul of the priest. “Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, Who shall not receive a hundredfold, now in this time… …and in the world to come life everlasting.”

Celibacy facilitates above all God’s own action in the priest’s soul, so that he might, by God’s grace, be more deeply conformed to Jesus Christ Himself, so that there might be on the earth many who are truly “alter Christus,” who are as “another Christ.” The devil is tremendously afraid of this reality—he is tremendously afraid of young men embracing the gift of celibacy and of the hundredfold of God’s grace that will be poured out into a man’s soul who embraces it, and so he does everything he can to discourage young men from pursuing this path.

John will be, at least during this time of discernment, embracing this great means of growing in authentic charity. For charity is fundamentally, as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, a “friendship with God.” The Lord said to His apostles, “I no longer call you servants… but friends.” (Jn 15:15) Saint Thomas explains that the key to a true friendship is willing the good of one’s friend. In the friendship with God, God certainly wills our good and in so many ways works for our good. As for us, we see in the saints over and over again that they strove to respond to God’s great and mysterious desire for love. As the Lord said to St. Margarite Mary, “I thirst, but with a burning thirst to be loved in the Blessed Sacrament by men. And this thirst consumes Me, and I find no one who tries, according to My desire, to give me to drink, by making some small return to My Love.”

            To try to make “some small return” to His love, or as the Lord has expressed it to other saints, to “console His Sacred Heart,” to “please Him”—this will be the daily work of John during this time of discernment. For that reason so many other things are stripped away: material goods, the freedom to decide how he uses his time, what he eats, who he talks to, even whether he can serve at the altar or not, and so on—indeed if done well this time will strip everything away so that he is forced to confront day after day the choice, which can only be made in the obscurity of faith, of choosing to offer Jesus Christ my love, my work, everything that I have, so that His Sacred Heart might be consoled, so that He might be pleased, and might receive from me at least “some small return to His love.”

            If John, and any young man who embarks on this journey of discernment, which really every young man should embark on—in one way or another—gives himself wholeheartedly to this work of growing in authentic humility and charity then in time the work of divine grace in his soul will reveal what his soul is made for: whether that be the priesthood, life as a brother, married life, or single life. A time of discernment is judged to be successful or not, not by the fact that a young man becomes a priest or not, but by whether or not he discovers the will of God for him—the particular way that his own soul is called to burn with charity for God. As St. Paul says, “…each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.” ^[1] The goal of discernment is to find and embrace that gift.

            As we enter now into the heart of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass I would invite you to keep John in a particular way in your prayers, so that, through the motherly intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he might embrace wholeheartedly the daily work that lies ahead for him in this discernment—the daily work of humility, charity, and conversion, so that he might truly lay down his life for his Lord and Savior.

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^[1] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). (1994). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition (1 Co 7:7). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.