Pentecost Novena

Image from a traditional children's catechism.

Dear Friends and Family,

The above image is a sample of so many beautiful images created by Catholic artists throughout the ages. This image is focussed on the communion of saints, showing the angels around Our Lord, the Holy Ghost descending, Our Lady and the Saints surrounding the Holy Ghost, the Holy Mass, souls on earth, souls in purgatory, etc. An image says more than many words...

And we are about to enter one of the most blessed times of the Church year: the novena leading up to Pentecost: the 9 days between the ascension and the day of Pentecost, when the apostles gathered together with the Virgin Mary and other disciples to pray. We have the opportunity to join them in that blessed prayer, asking that our own souls be transformed by the coming of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, just as the apostles' souls were transformed.

And next Sunday, the Sunday during this novena, will be a particularly blessed Sunday here at Lanherne because there will be a first Holy Communion: Mr. Samuel Layfield. Especially for those of you in Texas, please pray for him, that he might receive the Lord with much love and devotion, and be docile to all that Jesus wishes to do in his heart.

The more I study St. Thomas Aquinas, the more I realize how central the action of the Holy Ghost is in the moral life. Indeed he says that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are so essential that they are necessary for anyone to even reach Heaven. I'm currently enjoying preparing each week and preaching on the gifts of the Holy Ghost. We just finished the third gift: the gift of knowledge. Each gift helps us by rendering the soul docile to the action of the Holy Ghost in a particular aspect of our life. Each also corresponds to a beatitude--in other words, each gift is meant to help us do certain types of actions, those described by one of the beatitudes. And each then leads to one or more of the fruits of the Holy Ghost.

I'm very much looking forward to praying the novena leading up to Pentecost and then to celebrating the Pentecost Octave. May Jesus and Mary help you to prepare your hearts for this blessed time.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Scala Santa

The "Scala Santa"--"Holy Staircase"--that Our Lord walked up to be tried by Pilate.

Looking toward the Vatican from just beyond the Circus Maximus, and the busy streets of Rome...

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week I was in Rome for a theological colloquium as part of the program for my licentiate in theology. We were required to attend a colloquium somewhere in the world but could choose. I chose the Rome Life Forum and was not disappointed!

Many of you have likely read summaries of the talks on LifeSite. They were excellent. Four Cardinals, two Dominican theologians--including the theologian to the papal household, an expert on China and a number other excellent speakers. But perhaps the best part of the colloquium were all the discussions and times of prayer with the other participants. It's hard to find a better group of people than 200 pro-life leaders from around the world.

I celebrated the opening Mass of the conference Thursday morning at the Angelicum, and the chapel was almost filled to capacity. It was beautiful to see people from all over the world kneeling in silent adoration as I offered a quiet low Mass. What were the people like? Full of life, hope, lots of laughter, joy, and of course also suffering. But I would say that hope and joy were by far the predominant notes of our encounters.

To give you a glimpse of what the encounters were like:
-Sunday evening: visited with Virginia Coda-Nunziante, who heads up Rome's March for Life.
-Wednesday I had time with Roberto de Mattei, John-Henry Weston, Maria Madise, Fr. Linus Clovis, and some great young adults.
-At Thursday morning's coffee, I right away ran into Fr. Giertych, the theologian of the Papal Household, and discussed theology, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Cardinal Eijk, whom I talked with for a while until we were called into the main hall for the conference to begin.
-Thursday lunch: a good lady from New Zeeland who is the mother of 7 and is doing heroic pro-life work.
-Thursday evening: dinner with Taylor Marshall and his 7-year-old son, two men about to enter the seminary, and a good priest living in Rome.
-Friday lunch: sat across from Cardinal Eijk and spent most of the meal discussing the situation in the  Netherlands, which is not easy! He is a physician with two other doctorates and was quite friendly and accessible, not to mention courageous!
-Friday morning: met with Cardinal Burke.
-Friday evening: discovered a fellow participant, a businessman (tech company) from Oklahoma with a young family, was a fellow Notre Dame grad. So we went out for coffee and then walked around Rome until Adoration began at 8PM.

One particular highlight was the Scala Santa. For the past 300 years the marble steps that St. Helena brought back from Jerusalem--the marble steps of the praetorium where the Lord was condemned--have been covered with wooden planks to protect them. But this spring they were uncovered. Hence, I was able to spend 40 minutes or so going up them slowly (as everyone does) on my knees and praying for my own personal conversion as well as for all of you. It was quite moving to see, and feel, the marble steps that had about 8-inch indentations in them because of the centuries of kneeling pilgrims! So many, many Catholic ancestors and saints went before me and knelt on those same steps.

Much more could be said about the week but I have to go now to meet a visiting priest for dinner.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Roma

Our Lady keeping watch over the convent as flowers spring up.

The side door to the cloistered garden....

A lane leading into the village.

The neighbor's farmhouse and some flowers.

Dear Friends and Family,

It is now 10PM in Rome, where I have just arrived in order to follow a colloquium at the Angelicum. It is a beautiful time of year in Rome, but an even more beautiful time of year in Cornwall. Nature seems to be singing a Paschal hymn of joy to the Risen King. Among other blessings this week, a family with many young children visited and attended the Holy Mass at the convent each Sunday and a rosary with some of the families Wednesday evening. One of the beautiful things about the Latin Mass is the way it brings people together very quickly, giving you a sense of the "universal family" of the Church. Any family accustomed to attending the Latin Mass quickly feels at home and can pray the Mass wherever they turn up. But that is only the beginning. So many other things naturally go (the vast majority of the time) with attending the Latin Mass: belief in the full range of Catholic doctrine, devotion to Our Lady, a sense of modest dress and the importance of silence in the Church, the importance of raising the children well in the Faith, etc. etc. This tends to help families quickly feel at home with one another. This week was a beautiful example of that. We hope our guests will come back soon!

I'm in Rome this week because a mandatory part of my theology studies in France is that we have to attend, and write a paper on, a theological colloquium somewhere in the world. This one at the Angelicum piqued my interest. It is entitled "City of Man vs. City of God" and will try to take a theological look at God's plan for society while looking at some of the more challenging concrete situations in the Church today, such as the situation of the Church in China.

Because of the hour, and an early morning start tomorrow, I had best sign off. I will be praying for each of you at the tomb of St. Peter, as well as at that of St. Catherine of Siena and hopefully at several other tombs.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Painting a Picture with Words

Dear Friends and Family,

Today was full of blessings, lots of activities, and beautiful weather--so beautiful that I forgot to take any photos! So I'll try to paint a picture with words.

I'll start with the end: at 3PM many of the families from Lanherne and Plymouth gathered at the Buscombe farm to celebrate the Paschal season with both congregations together. Many families showed up and there were little kids running around everywhere!--to see the newborn piglets, to play on the rope swing, to fly remote-controlled airplanes, to kick the soccer ball (for those in Europe, the football), to throw the frisbee, to play "monster" and chase each other around, to pet the horses, and on and on...  

And God seemed to be smiling down on the afternoon. He gave us a beautiful sunshiny day. With a blue sky and the temperature in the mid-50's, warm for Cornwall this time of year!--the freshly grown, lush, green lawn. All of nature seemed to be smiling in honor of the resurrection. And David and Sarah did an outstanding job with the barbecue: home-grown sausage, bacon, burgers, turkey, freshly baked bread, vegetables, cheese, homemade ice cream, it was quite a feast...

It was such a joy for me to see the parents and children laughing, talking, playing, and relaxing together. In the midst of a world that is increasingly hostile to the Faith, and with so few Catholics around in this part of the country, it was very, very good to see them enjoying this time together.

After the, (long and very enjoyable!), meal and time of visiting, there was a tour of the farm, which all enjoyed, especially seeing the little piglets, horses, and tractors. We had scheduled a rosary to conclude the afternoon/evening but by this point, it was rather late for those with little ones from Plymouth, so I made the decision that we would just pray a decade--outdoors, around the statue of Our Lady. We then sang the Salve Regina and crowned Our Lady with a beautiful wreath of flowers that one of the mothers had made. A beautiful afternoon and evening...

The earlier part of the day was also very blessed. The early morning hours alone with the Lord in the chapel, then setting up for the Holy Mass, hearing Confessions, preaching, offering the Holy Sacrifice, visiting with everyone in the hall over breakfast. Heading into Plymouth to hear Confessions and offer the Holy Sacrifice, then a May Crowning, then the joy of bringing a homebound Catholic, who had not received the Sacraments in months, Confession and Holy Communion. Then driving to Cornwall. It is good to be a priest...

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari