Carmel, Children, Angels and Demons

The church of the Carmel where I stay during courses in Toulouse.

A side altar.

Another view.

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers for my studies last week. While exhausting, it was also very blessed. The course on angels and demons was excellent. For those of you in England, you will likely be hearing a series of sermons in February and March about the angels. Father Serge-Thomas Bonino, O.P. is the secretary general of the Vatican's International Theological Commission (and also celebrates the traditional Mass!), and an excellent teacher. His course focused on the sin of the angels: what choice did the good angels make to enter glory? What choice did the fallen ones make to turn away from God? But to get to that analysis much had to be looked at: what is an angel? How do they act, know, love? Can they form real bodies when acting in the world? etc. Fascinating topics.

The above photos give you a glimpse of the Carmel I stay at from Sunday night until the flight back to England Friday or Saturday. It's a very prayerful church. In the early morning hours, a few of us priests take turns celebrating the Holy Mass, after which the quiet chapel awaits us for time alone with the Lord (in such a big church it is easy to find a quiet corner!). This past week I was struck by the beautiful gift of being a child of God. How wonderful it is to be called to be like little children! In spite of how seriously we can take ourselves at times, God realizes how small and often mistaken and imperfect our actions, are but calls us to rejoice in Him at all times, to be like a little child who knows how wonderful his father is, how his father constantly wants to give him good things. Hard to put into words well, but it is truly wonderful to be a child of our Heavenly Father.

I am now safely back at Lanherne, but rather exhausted, so I will sign off and finish preparations for tomorrow morning.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

PS Here is a photo I took while sitting in the airport waiting for the flight to England. Surprisingly, sitting in a chair along the conveyer belt was one of the quietest and most peaceful places in the airport!