The Silence of Carmel

Taken at 5:15AM this morning as I entered the chapel for an hour of silent prayer. In front of the Blessed Sacrament altar you see the vestments already laid out by the sisters for the High Mass.

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this email finds you all enjoying this last Sunday of August. Please note that I posted a few days ago my mailing address and how to send Mass requests, in case any of you need that information.

I thought I would write a bit about the particular grace of Carmel that I am beginning to enter into here. The grace of the Carmelite nuns of course involves cloistered silence, which is not what God is asking of me as chaplain. In addition to ministry to local families God seems to be asking of me here: to represent the Church to this little village, the vast majority of whom are not Catholic but for whom the convent sits right in the heart of the village and is a historic landmark; to represent the sisters to most people in the world, including to the architects who are embarking on a massive restoration project of the cloister (the building has "grade 1 status" as a historical site in England and so it seems there will be a good deal of public funding for this restoration work, at least we hope so); to interact with the clergy in the diocese and try to be available to them for spiritual direction and Confession; somewhere along the way to keep pace in canon and civil law; and to take care of the chaplaincy wing of the Carmel, where I reside.

Thankfully the little congregation has discovered how inept I am at most of what has to be done for the latter duty and are having mercy on me. This past week saw the plumbing getting fixed for the bathroom, power being restored to the kitchen, various items arriving such as a good can opener and some plates and bowls, etc. Still much more to do, but I finally gave in and allowed a grandmother to begin doing my laundry (she insistently asked... ), and have hope that the locals will have pity on me in various other respects. All of that as an intro to the silence and grace of Carmel which has been a real blessing so far.

While I had read much of St. Therese of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux during my novitiate 20 years ago in France, I had never read much of St. John of the Cross. This summer I have been working my way through his writings, having now finished the Ascent of Mount Carmel and the Dark Night, as well as some minor collections of counsels. It has been quite interesting. He's a challenging author, and some parts of his writings could I think be misunderstood if taken out of the context of all of his writings and also of those of the two Theresa's, but there are certainly great treasures present. I suppose I would characterize the heart of his thought as that of one who loves Jesus Christ so passionately that nothing less than the person of Jesus will satisfy his heart. And so he is quite demanding in the advice he gives for prayer and life in general, wanting the soul to live as fully as possible of love for Jesus and hope in Him, knowing that to stop and "rest easy" on whatever we have already known of Him or perceived of His graces would mean drawing back from what He wants to do in our soul in the present moment.

I expect that this entire year will be one of discovery for me regarding the riches of the teachings of Carmel, but it is a discovery that I am looking forward to. If I had to choose a second key teaching of St. John of the Cross I would choose his teaching that we should view whatever happens to us in daily life with a special eye to the great gift of the Cross--that is to say to realize that sufferings, etc. are actually a great blessing which help us find what our souls are truly looking for: the infinite treasure of Jesus Christ, to which nothing in this world can compare.

Those two points give you at least a tiny glimpse of the spirituality of Carmel that God seems to be asking me to learn from right now. It should be an interesting journey. Concretely I am now reading a few things, particularly St. John of the Cross, to prepare the sisters' annual 10 day silent retreat in October. Please pray that I find the words they need to hear!

Lastly, because the neighboring pastor is also named "Fr. Anthony" I talked with Bishop O'Toole and told him I would go ahead and begin going by "Fr. Tony," as some of you already know me as. So I'll begin signing these posts that way.

With prayers for you all and your families,

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Mailing Address and Mass Requests

Dear Friends and Family,

Now that I am in one stable place please feel free to write me directly at:

Lanherne Convent
St. Magwan - Newquay
Cornwall
TR8 4ER
Great Britain

Also, for those of you requesting Masses and who wish to make a donation, please send any donations to the above address and make the check payable to "Carmelites, Lanherne Convent". Given the poverty of the sisters I would like for this coming year all donations for Masses I celebrate to go to the sisters rather than to me. Please be advised that the recommended donation for a Mass, per the instructions of the English Bishops, is 10 British pounds (around $15 depending on the exchange rate). As always, if you are unable to give a donation I will be happy to still celebrate the Mass. However if you are in a position to give a bit more than the recommended donation the sisters would I know be grateful.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

The Family Rosary

At the gathering after Mass, this little man sees my camera and is interested...

Takes a closer look...

I back up trying to get a photo but he's still coming closer...

I at last get a full photo and them let him flip through the photos of himself, which he loves! Wonderful little boy with down syndrome who comes to Mass every Sunday at the Carmel.

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessed Sunday to all of you! Has been a good, and full! day here. There was of course the Sunday Mass and Confessions before and after. Today there were a number of visitors from out of town at Mass--since it is still high vacation time in England, and was neat to get to know their families and children. In fact this week there was a fairly regular stream of visitors stopping in to visit the historic chapel--some with no faith at all, others lapsed Catholics but who remembered the place, and others who had come back to the Catholic Faith because of a previous visit. Among others was a young hispanic family from Houston! So I got a chance to speak a bit of Spanish again.

This past Wednesday evening I headed out to a farm to get my hair cut and then join the family for their family rosary. Was very nice. They have the custom of praying the rosary each week together--the grandparents and then as many of the children and grandchildren as can make it. There is something deep and wonderful about the family rosary. In this case the family, as well some friends and their children visiting, gathered in a cosy room but in which all of us managed to fit. They then began with each person being able to present a petition, while the others listened and prayed. Then as the rosary began each decade would be lead by a different part of the family. Afterwards I asked them if they had any special stories of how God had acted in their life through the rosary and they did indeed! I won't repeat them here since I didn't ask their permission, but really beautiful stories of how God's grace had acted through their heavenly Mother.

Then as the sun was setting I gave a blessing to the visiting family, who would have to return home the next day, hopped in the car, and drove back to the Carmel, with a special peace and joy in my heart. There is something uniquely good about the family rosary. There's a peacefulness (of course sometimes children are crawling up the walls but even then there's a deeper peacefulness!), and simplicity, and sense of coming together over what is truly important in life. I can see why the rosary has been such a crucial element of family prayer for so many years. May it thrive again today!

As we prayed the rosary the little man in the photos above crawled around, at one point offering me his stuffed animal, which I took for a bit and then gave back to him. I couldn't help but think of how we are all called to become like little children. May Our Lady help us to become again true children at heart, that we might have the hope, peace, and joy that only the Lord can give in the midst of our crazy world today!

May Jesus and Mary watch over you all and grant you whatever graces you need this week.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari

The Rhythm of the Bell

Bell tower next to monastery. In foreground monastery garden with statue of Our Lady.

Looking out from main entrance to monastery. Some kind local families take care of the garden and grounds.

Another shot of same entrance garden. Bell tower is just out of the picture to the left.

Sisters' tombs just outside of entrance to monastery chapel. A nice reminder to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, and of where we're all headed one day... that is six feet under.

Dear Friends and Family,

Blessed Sunday and blessed Feast of the Assumption tomorrow! The above photos give you some glimpse of the beautiful historic grounds I'm surrounded by here. Indeed throughout the week tourists come by periodically to visit the Church, and are hopefully touched by some graces and by the silent witness of the sisters.

It was a very full week that included lunch with Bishop Mark O'Toole in Plymouth, a trip to a mechanic to get my car inspected, a pleasant evening at a local family farm to pray the rosary and get reacquainted with the family (and to line up a hair cut for next week: a nice combination to be able to go to a farm, get your hair cut by the grandmother of the family, and then pray the rosary together). Bishop Mark was very kind and I'm excited to be able to assist him in the Diocese. Among other things he mentioned that for years now he has been increasingly aware of how those seeking the Traditional Latin Mass and Sacraments have often been treated badly. He says you would often have the impression that they were doing something morally wrong by desiring to attend the traditional Mass and Sacraments! So he is eager to provide all of the Sacraments in the traditional form to those seeking them in his diocese, and to make the Mass readily available. Given the overwhelming amount of work that he has on his plate, it was very edifying to see him working to improve that situation.

To begin to give you a flavor of daily life here I wanted to give you a sense of the rhythm of the sisters' day. The bell tower at the top of the post rings every 15 minutes (and is quite close to my bedroom so I have no trouble when I awake figuring out what time it is! But I can now sleep through it quite peacefully as well). To the toll of the bell the sisters:

5:15AM - 6:15 silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

6:15 - 7:15 chant various parts of the Divine Office (from Prime to None)

7:30 - 8:30 Holy Mass and Thanksgiving

8:30 Breakfast

9:00 - 11:00 Work

11:00 Lunch

2:00 Vespers then spiritual reading

3:00 - 5:00 Work

5:00 - 6:00 Silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

6:00 Dinner (I think)

7:45 Compline

9:00 Matins and Lauds

At the moment I join them for the early morning hour of silent prayer and the Mass, and then the other times depend upon my own schedule. Of course they are cloistered behind a screen so my presence is a silent one except for the Mass. Right now it is almost 5PM and I am due to call my parents so I am going to sign off and due so. Please keep in your prayers this week a special intention here, that is important, if you would. I'll keep you in mine as always, including tomorrow at 7:30AM when I'll be offering the Mass of the Assumption. In fact I'll actually be blessing fruits and vegetables at 7:30AM using a traditional blessing for the Feast, and then will go into to celebration of the Mass.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Anthony Pillari

First Week

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a blessed first week here at Lanherne in Cornwall. Since my computer is not cooperating with the photos I'll have to save those for next week. But it has been a very pretty weekend here: sun shining and high's in the upper 60's--quite different from August in Texas!

I am due into the chapel in about 10 minutes and then am off to a family's home for dinner, but will due my best to update you on this past week. It was certainly a full one! Many logistical things to learn: figuring out how the washer and dryer work, how to drive in a busy tourist town (Trulo) and shop for household items, how the sacristy functions here, ironing my own shirts, and even dealing with faulty fire alarms. We had the fire alarm system, which is loud enough to wake the dead, go off a few times during the night--which causes quite a commotion in a cloistered Carmel!  Finally, with the permission of the Bishop's secretary, the sisters disabled the whole system by unscrewing and removing all the detector's from the ceiling in each part of the monastery.

For a first week in a new assignment it had a surprising amount of peace, silence, and even time for study. Each morning I am blessed to have 5:15AM - 6:15AM silent prayer before the tabernacle with the sisters (who of course are in their own cloistered section behind the grill), then I pray parts of the Divine Office and offer the Holy Sacrifice at 7:30AM. Then thanksgiving, breakfast at 8:30, and then work and study begins for the day.

It felt great to get out and run the local hills a few days this week--almost nothing but hills here so that should help me get in shape. I also began to meet some of the locals. For example a local farmer came by to bring me a very nice gift of fresh meats from animals on his farm (which I passed on to the sisters who thankfully are cooking for me), and expressed his hope that he could share again in part of the monastery's bountiful crop of apples that it expected this fall. I guess I'll need to get used to negotiating these types of exchanges...

Various other items included looking into the cemetery attached to the monastery and it's upkeep--there are thankfully some incredibly generous faithful here who take care of the vast grounds outside the cloister, which look beautiful--receiving a call from a lady looking for a traditional baptism for her 4 month old grandson, calling the local pastor to get together for tea, and so on.

For the first time in 7 months, I am also getting settled in knowing I am not going to have to pack a few weeks later and head somewhere else. A very nice blessing.

I think of you all, my dear friends and family, in the different parts of the world where you are. This morning as I chanted the Mass again, using some of the settings we used to use at the Mission in Texas, it brought to mind so clearly so many of you. And whenever I chant morning Terce (by myself normally), I always picture and can almost hear the young men of the Servers of the Immaculate, chanting beside me. I pray that you all had a blessed Sunday. Please don't stop praying for me here!

With fatherly love and prayers,

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Anthony Pillari