Sunday Photos

Dear Friends and Family,

Here are some photos from last Sunday--courtesy of a young family on vacation in the area who came to Mass for two weeks.

The gathering after Sunday Mass, with homemade cake each week :).

This picture looks far too pious, but it was taken during the prayer of the angelus (at gathering after Mass).

The High Altar where Mass is celebrated on Sundays and great feast days. The sisters (behind the grill and veil), are just off to the left.

The above gives you some images of my regular Sunday routine. As I type this I just finished lunch (it's now 2:20PM here in England). Today I'd like to simply say what a joy it is to have the privilege of offering the Holy Mass and all the other things that go with that! What an incredible blessing it is to wake up and have first of all a full hour of silent prayer in this chapel--I have the whole main chapel to myself, while the sisters are praying off to the side in their cloister. So that gives me the freedom to pray at times fully prostrate, etc. What a wonderful, wonderful gift to be able to begin each day with Jesus in this fashion!

Then, after the hour of quiet prayer, I chant some of the Divine Office. At the moment I've actually settled on the entry hall to the monastery as the best place to chant. Since the sisters are chanting in the chapel I can't chant there. The entrance hall has great acoustics and a large wooden cross to focus on. The cross has no corpus--which according to one tradition is meant to help you think, when you look upon it, that it is waiting for you to be placed upon it. In the morning I find it a helpful reminder that in the day that is dawning the Lord will be asking me to embrace sacrifices that He has planned--which of course are actually gifts from Him, ways that He will be inviting me to die to myself so that I can open my heart more fully to Him.

Then at 7AM comes breakfast. Since I've found I can't get to lunch until nearly 2PM I go ahead and try to have a pretty full breakfast. Then final homily preparations, preparing the chants for the Mass, other items that may be necessary (today was printing off copies of a handout from "St. Francis de Sales' Method of Assisting at Mass" for people to take home with them), some prayer, perhaps some reading; then setting up the altar for Mass, then at 9AM beginning to hear Confessions.

At 10AM celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--what a blessing that is each day, and in a particular way each Sunday! In all of its details. This morning for example simply appreciating the wonderful smell of the incense as I was incensing the altar and thinking of the presence of Christ and heavenly blessings that the incense reminds us of. Then the Mass is such a joy but I'd better skip over describing all of that or this post will get too long...

Then visiting with people after Mass outside, then heading up to the hall for some refreshments and more visiting. Today I mainly had the pleasure of sitting and talking with the teenage young men about their school situations--school is beginning this week--as well as learning about local surfing and snorkeling. Maybe I'll try the latter one day.

Then returning to the chaplaincy wing of the monastery for a quiet lunch; and then, in just a bit, a good nap! But first wanted to write you all this post.

Thank you all for your prayers for my studies. I met a major deadline this past Wednesday--submitting the first of three chapters for my thesis in canon law. I won't say it was miraculous but I will say that I was truly amazed I was able to meet the deadline. Work that I thought would take two months, and so that I should have begun in early July, was crammed into two weeks, but somehow seems to have come out OK. Many more deadlines to go this fall, but I cleared the first hurdle!

This coming Saturday I'll be participating in the Latin Mass Society of England's pilgrimage to Glastonbury. Should be interesting to meet the other priests and faithful who will come.

Praying for you all today, that Jesus and Mary might grant your hearts the peace and joy that only They can give.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari