Heading to England

Canadian March for Life in the midst of 22,000 people. Bearded gentleman to the right is Michael O'Brien, the author,
whom I had the pleasure of meeting.

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessings on this feast of Pentecost! This week—which is the Octave of Pentecost in the traditional calendar—is one of my favorite times of the liturgical year. I’ll be praying for you all in a special way, asking the Lord to strengthen you with all the graces you need for your particular missions in life.

There would be much to say about this past week: the Canadian March for Life, a visit to the Apostolic Nuncio, a major exam, etc. but I wanted to post here a wonderful blessing that I will have for this coming year. This July, after a brief visit in June with my family and then a month in Italy for studies, I’ll be heading to England. After much prayer and discernment, and with the advice of my spiritual director, I believe this is what the Lord is asking of me for this coming year.

In January I had the blessing of meeting with Cardinal Burke in Rome. He graciously took a lot of time—much more time than I would have expected—to learn about my situation, spiritual life, past studies, etc. and to then advise me. I essentially asked him to advise me on how and where I could best serve the Church today. He proposed several options, one of which is the F.S.S.P. whom I have had the blessing of spending the past two months with here (and as a quick aside, it has been a wonderful past two months and I look forward to being here again next spring!). At the top of the Cardinal’s list though was a place I had never considered: England.

There is a traditional Carmel in the Diocese of Plymouth, located at Lanherne near Newquay. You can see a brief video of the nuns and monastery here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P-_25Y5Rjc  (you will notice that the habits are not Carmelite because at the time the nuns were Franciscans of the Immaculate, before re-founding the Carmel). The Cardinal knows well the mother superior and thinks highly of her. He also spoke highly of their young bishop. He felt that it might be a good situation for my apostolate and prayer life, as well as a good place to continue my studies. For that was the other thing he encouraged me to do: to continue advanced studies.

I spent three weeks in February and March visiting the Carmel and meeting with Bishop O’Toole. The visit went very well. The Bishop would be quite happy to have a priest dedicated to the traditional Mass and Sacraments—one who could not only offer Mass and Confession for the sisters but who also could offer traditional Baptism, last rites, traditional weddings, etc. to those in the diocese seeking the traditional Sacraments. I was impressed with the fact that he wanted me to prioritize whatever would be best for my own discernment, spiritual life, and studies. He spoke of several possibilities for apostolates in the diocese if I wished to do more apostolic work, but simply offered those as options.

After a good deal of prayer and discernment, and after discussing the matter with my spiritual director, I feel a great peace that the Lord is calling me to England for this coming year. Several other options emerged but this seems to be God’s will.

It should be a great place for prayer and study. The Carmel is located in a tiny village. The whole diocese is quite rural, with Catholics making up only 1.8% of the population, and with most of the rest of the population seeming to be irreligious rather than belonging to any religion. Hence there would also be much to be done in the way of evangelization. But for this coming year my primary objectives will be to: 1) pray—always the first priority, 2) offer the Sacraments to the sisters, and perhaps at some point give a few talks to them on St. Thomas or some such topic, 3) study: this will likely take up most of Monday – Friday. Thanks to the wonders of online education, and the flexibility of graduate research, I will, God-willing, be completing this coming year the J.C.L. degree and also the first year of the J.D., in view of passing the State of California’s “mini-bar exam” this June (also called the “First Year Law Student Exam” that students take after their first year of law school). I’ll write more at some point about the J.D. but so far it’s been both very challenging and educational. My first year law professor (more like a tutor who assists), has a private practice and can be found here: http://kathleenreaganlaw.com . She specializes in equine law and second amendment rights. I told her she should move to Texas! Having some ministry on the weekends to young families in the Diocese of Plymouth sounds very nice and is healthy for my own priestly life—I’ve found here that regular ministry, in the midst of intense studies, certainly helps to keep me focused on the salvation of souls and grounded in reality.

Even though when I headed to Rome in January England had not crossed my mind, I feel very much at peace that this is what God is asking of me for this coming year and am grateful for the opportunity. To not make this blog post too long I should probably end it here, but just a few quick points before I go.

I wish to say a special word of gratitude to those of you who have been supporting me financially as I begin this time of studies. Your help has been invaluable so far and will be helping in a particular way to make this next year possible. The Carmel is very poor. Though the mother superior offered to provide me with whatever I needed for this coming year they are really poor and have a number of needs that they need to find funds for. In that light I told them I would take care of all my own expenses for this coming year. I think if I did otherwise the Lord might either strike me with lightning or assign me an extra 1,000 years in Purgatory. Both of which I would really rather avoid… Given the poverty of their situation, and the priest’s quarters, I may have a few additional expenses this coming year such as office equipment or some furniture, but thanks to your generosity those things should be doable. May the Lord reward you for all that you are doing to make not only my studies possible but also this year of service to these nuns.

Lastly, this schedule will likely mean that I will not be able to return for a visit in Texas until next spring. That is a real sacrifice for me. I miss you all very much, but will have to wait to see you until probably next April or May. Until then, you will continue to be in my daily prayers!

I’d best sign off now, but will plan to continue writing you each week and telling you all about England when I arrive.

May Our Lady, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, obtain for you an abundance of graces throughout this Octave of Pentecost.

In Corde Mariae,

Fr. Anthony Pillari