Assignment to Rome

Dear Friends and Family,

Please find below the text of today's sermon and announcement of my upcoming assignment. For those of you reading this in Texas, you know the challenges of when a priest receives a new assignment. Please pray for all those here in England who will be affected, including me. God's will be done!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Srm December 1^st Announcement 2019

Sermon Notes

Lesson from the letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans

Rom 13:11-14
Brethren: Understand, for it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe. The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ

Continuation ✠ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 21:25-33
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the son of Man coming upon a cloud with great power and majesty. but when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And He spoke to them a parable. Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now put forth their buds, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all things have been accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

“But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.”This is how we should react as Catholics to whatever suffering or trials God sends our way. Because it is through the Cross that Jesus Christ triumphs over sin and death and that the greatest graces are obtained. So whatever suffering you may have in your life right now, as Advent begins, or whatever suffering and trials you fear might be about to happen, “look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.” Face those trials courageously, with faith and hope in God, and trusting in the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints.

On this First Sunday of Advent, I need to ask for your help with an important matter. I need to confide to your care something very dear to me. At sacred ordination, every priest promises reverence and obedience to the bishop and to his successors, knowing that God will guide him through that obedience. Bishop O’Toole, as of January 9^th, is assigning me to a post that will require me being away from St. Edward’s and also from Lanherne, at least for several years. A good priest will be coming to take my place, but as he transitions into his new role, I very much wish to ask to your help in caring for a treasure dear to my heart: the work of God in each of your souls, in your families, and in you as a congregation—which is meant to be a bit like an extended family that supports each other on the journey to Heaven. 

A priest of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, Fr. Xavier Champagne, will be arriving in January to serve both Lanherne and St. Edward’s. Then, in the summer of 2020, Bishop O’Toole will be making longer-term assignments for Lanherne and St. Edward’s, to begin in September. By that time, the Bishop will have at his disposal several options: Fr. Champagne is one. Father Champagne’s institute is exclusively dedicated to the traditional Mass and Sacraments in the same way that the Fraternity of St. Peter is, but as a more recent foundation they are not yet as well known. The Institute of Christ the King will also be arriving in the Diocese at that time, with multiple priests. Then there are other options involving priests who would be dedicated full-time to the traditional Mass and Sacraments. Such assignments will not be made until next summer, but I am hopeful that separate chaplains will be assigned for both Lanherne and St. Edward’s, to better provide for you than I have been able to do.

As for my own assignment, you are all aware of the terrible crisis that the Church is going through right now, above all a crisis of faith but also of morals, with sad lapses among the clergy and much that needs to be straightened out and better governed in that area. The Bishop has therefore decided to assign me, for several years, to Rome, to try to become expert in this domain and in other domains, by obtaining doctorates in canon law and theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Though it is not the custom, and is normally not prudent, to describe the details of how such a decision was made, I think it only fair to share the main points with you.

This decision came as quite a surprise to me, at a time when I had in fact proposed to cut down on studies in order to sink down roots long-term in my assignments. Some months ago, I wrote to the Bishop, presenting the option of dropping permanently half of my studies so that I could gain those hours for ministry. Before I wrote to him, my spiritual director had asked me something which he has never before asked. He told me to be extremely attentive to any indications from the Bishop, and that if he indicated his preference by so much as a smile at one possibility or another, I should be very responsive and receive that as the will of God. (This is not at all the sort of thing my spiritual director is accustomed to say, and he said it quite earnestly). Furthermore, he indicated that if the Bishop asked me to accept to complete a doctorate in canon law, I should accept. I had actually been hoping to not study canon law further. In fact, in spite of what my spiritual director had said, when I wrote the Bishop, I didn’t say anything about further canonical studies. Instead, I only asked about continuing one of my current programs of studies, in either theology or civil law, and dropping the other. 

The Bishop wrote back, thanking me for the options but instead asking me to pursue a doctorate in… canon law (just as my spiritual director had predicted). When you are asked to accept an assignment by the bishop to whom you owe obedience in virtue of the solemn vow at your ordination, and when your spiritual director asked you to give a prompt yes if this specific assignment were asked of you, the will of God is clear: you say yes and trust that God will provide for the flock you have to leave. 

As of January 9^th, I will head to Italy for six months of Italian study, followed by several years of canon law and theology studies in Rome. To speak frankly, Rome is not a place I would have chosen to live right now. I would very much ask for your prayers, that I might carry out faithfully whatever work God will be asking of me there, not only in terms of studies but also in terms of apostolate—whether that apostolate be with seminarians, fellow priests, or others. 

But I would above all ask for your help in protecting and promoting the great treasure of the traditional Mass and Sacraments here in the heart of Plymouth/Cornwall. It has been a real privilege and blessing to serve you and to see God’s grace work in your lives, in your families. I can assure you that God will not stop offering His graces and guidance to you. One privilege of being a priest is that you have a front-row-seat to the poverty of your limited human gifts, along with many shortcomings and failings, and at the same time a front row seat to God’s action, to how generous God is in pouring out His graces through the hands of a priest, because of the grace of sacred ordination. God will continue to offer those graces through the next chaplain. But your cooperation, or lack thereof, with grace will make a great difference in what God is able to do here in Plymouth/Cornwall.

So many, many souls are in need of this Mass, which in this coming year each of you will have an even more important role of fostering. Every year on Dec. 27^th the traditional breviary gives a reading describing the end of the life of St. John the Evangelist. In this manner, the church has ever priest throughout the world—at least those who use the traditional breviary—look to the great apostle and bishop as a model for how we should guide our own flock. 

At the end of his life, St. John would tell his congregation each Sunday, “Little children, love one another.” After some time of this, his disciples asked him why he kept repeating the same message. He replied, “Because it is the commandment of the Lord. And if it alone were done, it would suffice.” When our Lord promulgated this new commandment that we love one another as He has loved us (no longer simply as we love ourselves), He asserted that it was the great sign by which “all men will know that you are my disciples.” “A house divided cannot stand” (Mt. 12:25). The more that genuine charity flourishes among you, God will use that not only to pour out many graces upon you and the congregation, but also to draw other souls to the great treasure of the Mass.

And God can do this even when everything around you is not perfect. For example, when I visited the monastery in France, as a 21-year-old discerning entry, I was with three brothers talking after lunch during the dishes. Two of them were talking in a rather rude or uncharitable fashion, but I was so impressed by the charity and patience of the other brother that I said, “If this sort of charity exists in this monastery, it is a good sign that I should enter.” May each of you strive to be that sign of charity for each other and for all who will come here seeking God.

And may God reward you for the wonderful blessing you have been in my life these past 3 ½ years. Thank you for allowing me to serve you and your families. You have been the source of so many blessings in my life and will always be in my prayers.

As we enter now into the heart of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, let us confide to Our Lady the infinite treasure of the celebration of this Holy Mass here at St. Edward’s/Lanherne, and let us confide to her that precious treasures that are each of your souls. May God’s will be done and may we be docile to His guidance.