Blessed Retreat in Norcia

The Monks gather here 8 times a day to chant the Divine Office.

View from the Monastery.

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you very much for your prayers during my annual retreat. It was truly grace-filled. Perched on a mountain overlooking the town of Norcia, each day of my retreat began by joining the Benedictine monks of Monasterio San Benedetto in Monte for the chanting Matins at 3:30 AM. Around 4:30 AM I walked in silence back to the little house the monks kindly lent me:

Front porch of house.

Bedroom.

Kitchen (never used since I ate with the monks).

Same room as the kitchen, where I sat for lectio divina or other reading.

There, following the monks' rhythm, the next hour+ was spent in lectio divina: the prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture. At 6:00 I hiked back to the chapel to join them for the chanting of lauds. 6:40 - 7:45 was another time for lectio divina or prayer, either in the house or hiking. Then 7:45 prime and then the celebration of a quiet Low Mass. Further time for hiking, reading, or prayer, then 10AM terce and the conventual (chanted) Mass, and so on....

The monks were very welcoming. Though in Italy, they are almost all Americans, with a good sense of humor. Their chanting was quite well done, and they took seriously silence and fasting. In fact, except for Sundays or major Feast Days, they never eat until 1PM, and on Fridays not until 3PM, and during Lent not until 5PM. So it was a very good place to be reminded of the need to deepen prayer and penance in my own life!

It's rather hard to describe the graces of a retreat in a blog post. Some of the fruits were peace, joy, confidence in God, willingness (at least at the time!) to suffer a bit more for Him, etc. In such an atmosphere of silence the words of the Gospels, of St. Paul, of the psalms, come to life and it is a bit easier to listen to God's voice and to savor some of the richness of His teachings therein.

And the Benedictine rule is a beautiful thing. Among other gems in their rule is a beautiful chapter on humility, which is so emphasized by St. Benedict. For the Lord said, "learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart." He could have chosen any virtues to emphasize, since He had all of them perfectly, but he chose meekness and humility as particularly important. And there is much practical wisdom in St. Benedict's rule. As he announces at the beginning: "We are about to establish a school of the Lord's service, in the institution of which we hope we are going to establish nothing harsh, nothing burdensome." The whole paragraph, which is the concluding one of the preface, reads:

We have therefore to establish a school of the Lord’s service, in the institution of which we hope we are going to establish nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. But if, prompted by the desire to attain to equity, anything be set forth somewhat strictly for the correction of vice or the preservation of charity, do not therefore in fear and terror flee back from the way of salvation of which the beginning cannot but be a narrow entrance. For it is by progressing in the life of conversion and faith that, with heart enlarged and in ineffable sweetness of love, one runs in the way of God’s commandments, so that never deserting His discipleship but persevering until death in His doctrine within the monastery, we may partake by patience in the suffering of Christ and become worthy inheritors of His kingdom. Amen.

There is much truth in those words--if we persevere in docility, in obedience to God--which at first often seems quite difficult, He gradually "enlarges our heart" in such a way that we find it possible to run in the ways of Hish commandments. Of course, at least for sinners like myself, these are lessons I'm having to learn over and over again, but there is a beautiful practical wisdom in St. Benedict's teaching.

Providentially, the last day of my retreat was the Feast of St. Benedict and the celebration of the 20th anniversary of their monastery. Since their monastery was destroyed by an earthquake 4 years ago, and they have since been in temporary quarters on the mountain, they laid on his feast day the cornerstone of their new monastery. Cardinal Brandmueller was in attendance. I thanked him for his courageous defense of the Catholic faith.

About 400 people from the town of Norcia came up for solemn vespers the eve of the feast and then a solemn High Mass on the feast itself. After each there was a time of refreshments and fellowship, highlighted by the Monks distributing generously their own beer "Nursia"--which I highly recommend after having sampled it.

Since I find it hard to put other graces into words I will end this blog post here. But thank you very much for your prayers! It has been good these past few days to reengage in daily apostolate and life here at Lanherne. And this afternoon I was treated to "Cornish wrestling" on the village green. If you wish to see a glimpse of this ancient sport, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=4fRgjwylTLo

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari