L'Institut Saint Thomas D'Aquin

A field on my drive home after Mass in Plymouth this afternoon. It is good to be back in the beautiful countryside of Cornwall.

Dear Friends and Family,

This past Monday - Friday I was in Toulouse France, studying at L'Institut Thomas D'Aquin, run by the Toulouse Province of Dominicans. About 20 other students from France, Italy, and Spain joined me for a week of intense study of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. About 2/3 of the students were priests, all very devoted to their priestly life and ministry, which made for interesting discussions, and we were hosted by the convent of studies for the Toulouse Province, which meant that about 40 - 50 Dominicans hosted us.

Rather than give you a long list of all that took place, I will try to describe a few interesting points. One of the courses was "Politics according to St. Thomas Aquinas"--the course focussed on questions such as "what is the basis of law?" "What sorts of laws should a good country have?" "Should it try to legislate for everything or leave some things free?" "What is the proper relationship between Church and State?" Among the more interesting elements was a consideration of the natural law--the law that is written on the heart of every man and woman.

According to Aquinas, it is not written there in the form of numbered laws ready to be discovered. Rather, God inscribed in every heart a desire for certain goods, such as the preservation of one's life, begetting children, and coming to know who God is. By thinking about the implications of each in our lives we can come to discover other aspects of the law. For example, the preservation of my life means that, if my life is unjustly attacked, I  have a legitimate right to self-defense. Further reflection on this point lead to what is commonly known as the "just-war theory."

Another question was: "Should a good government make laws that prohibit or punish every sort of evil behavior?" Aquinas says no. Rather, a good government should limit the laws to the most important elements, but if it tried to punish everything it would wind up doing more harm than good. Rather, the "law of the Gospel" is meant to speak to hearts beyond what the civil law provides.

What do the laws of a good government aim to do? To help create a society where virtue is encouraged, so that people will be encouraged to live according to virtue and one day make it to Heaven.

I like the size of our group and the atmosphere for discussion. It is a promising beginning. This session was the first of 5 such sessions this year.

I have one last trip in this series of trips that began in May, after which I am very much looking forward to staying put for a while. This last trip begins this Wednesday and ends late Saturday night. It will be a trip to Rome to accompany three days of formation for young adults 18 - 30, and to give a talk on Saturday to young men on the topic of the priestly vocation. Please pray for me. I will give you a report next Sunday!

May Jesus and Mary watch over you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Roses from St. Therese

Dear Friends,

On the Feast of St. Therese, following the Carmelite tradition, the Mass in her honor was followed immediately by a blessing of roses. The prayer from the rituale asked God to pour our particular blessings upon the roses so that they might draw souls who would use them or look upon them ever closer to God's heart, that they might partake in some way of the spousal intimacy that St. Therese had with our Lord.

The photo above is of the roses sitting on my windowsill. The Sisters cut roses from their enclosed garden--beautiful as you can see above, and then carefully prepared them in two baskets to be blessed, one for the Sisters and one for the faithful and myself. Walking into the sacristy that morning it was amazing how beautiful, and strong, the smell of roses was! I stopped to "smell the roses" as I have done periodically throughout the week with the rose on my windowsill. Previously, for example with roses bought from the store, I've never been sure how much of the perfume was natural, from the rose itself, and how much of it was from something the florist might have sprayed onto the flowers. Well, I'm quite sure that the only perfume coming from these roses is natural and it is a really beautiful smell!

The rose on my windowsill is not only, as a sacramental, a source of graces, it is also a reminder of the special blessing that St. Therese was in my life. I first read her auto-biography while in college and it was a treasure that helped guide me throughout much of my novitiate and early formation in religious life. What a wonderful gift she is for all of us.

Each of you was present at that Mass, in my heart, even if you were on the other side of the ocean. And yesterday, as every first Friday, I offered the Holy Mass for all of you who are my benefactors, who are not only providing the invaluable help of making my priestly life, ministry, and studies possible by your financial support, but who in so many ways make my priestly life possible or fruitful (please God), by your prayers and sacrifices. May God grant you all necessary graces during this month of the rosary.

I am writing this post a day early because tomorrow, after the Sunday Masses, I will drive to Bristol and take a flight to Toulouse France, where I will have a week of studies before returning here next Saturday. It will be the first of 5 1-week sessions this year as part of the STL program (Licentiate in Theology) from the Institute of St. Thomas Aquinas, run by the Toulouse Dominicans. I will give you a report next Sunday, but it looks promising. For one thing it will be interesting to interact with the other priests and students, coming from several different countries, who have chosen to devote time to studying St. Thomas. And the courses themselves look interesting. Each session will have two courses (one each morning, the other each afternoon). This first week will be devoted to "Politics according to St. Thomas" and "Theology and Metaphysics." I'll let you know how they turn out.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Warm Reception as I Traveled

My Mom and Dad.

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a truly blessed week hiking with my Dad, and then a few days to be with both of my parents in their new home, which I had the joy of blessing. Thank you for all your prayers!

Some of you were concerned about how I would be treated as I traveled the U.S. in a cassock, given the recent horrible scandals that have come to light and the anger many people in the U.S. have expressed. I was received very well.

The first morning of the trip with my Dad set the tone. As we checked our luggage in at the Cleveland airport, the man working the counter asked, "Father, could I ask you to pray for me? My wife and I are hoping to adopt two children today. We have been working on this for some time, and today it will hopefully go through. Sorry to bother you, but I would really appreciate your prayers." Many times in our trip I was met with smiles and warm greetings such as, "Hello, Father," or "well now I know our flight will be safe!"

There was the lady in a Mexican restaurant who, as soon as I walked in said (in Spanish), "Thank you, Father, for blessing our restaurant [by coming to eat here]!" Or the lady sat next to me on the plane and wished to speak about her 5-year-old son who has autism. She has been away from Mass for some time, so we talked...

No doubt there were people who looked askance at a priest walking by but I didn't notice and no one said anything rude. On the contrary, people seemed to go out of their way--such as the two soldiers boarding the plane in New York with me. As I walked down the aisle they made a point of saying loudly, "You feel free to sit anywhere you want Father! We'll even have you sit in first class if you wish." Perhaps folks realize that most priests did not do the terrible things currently being reported about priests and bishops.

It was a real blessing to be able to travel in the cassock. I wanted to reassure anyone who might have been concerned.

I'm quite exhausted now, and looking forward to the first night's rest back at Lanherne. So I will sign off now...

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

The Beauty of God's Creation

The Grand Canyon, from the top of the trail that my father and I hiked down.

Dear Friends and Family,

The beauty of what God has created is truly astounding. This past week I have had the blessing of exploring this beauty by hiking in the midst of it with my father. Each morning we would begin with a 5:30 AM Holy Mass in whatever cabin or hotel room we had, followed by thanksgiving, and then around 6:30 AM we headed out for breakfast and hiking.

On our way to the Grand Canyon we stopped at Hoover Dam to explore the amazing engineering that went into creating this massive structure--almost a hundred years ago. For example, we took an elevator 500 ft. down into the dam and walked through some of the tunnels originally dug out to divert the river so that the dam could be built. As impressive as the Dam was, it is nothing compared to the beauty of God's creation. The above photo gives you a glimpse of the splendor of the Grand Canyon. We hiked 4.5 miles down (descending more than 1/2 mile in elevation)--and this was only half-way to the bottom!--and then stopped in the "Oasis" of trees around a little creek for a sack lunch. As we hiked back up clouds gathered overhead and we watched the rain roll in across the Canyon--a beautiful site. But then the rain became a thunderstorm and we were hiking in the midst of small waterfalls and a stream flowing down the trail! It made the hike a bit more challenging but also a lot of fun.

I don't have adequate words to describe how beautiful things were, or how many thoughts the sights inspired. For example, when looking at the huge cliff faces and immense amount of solid rock, I couldn't help but think of God and His Law: how immovable they are, and how intricately beautiful his Law is. Or again, gazing upon the desert landscape and then seeing it burst into life with waterfalls spilling forth from previously baren rock faces, I couldn't help but think of how God's grace can--in an instant--pour forth an abundance of life into our souls.

I did not take many photos, but here are a few:

Moose were  often present.

View from the Oasis, half-way down the Canyon. The trail in the foreground is what we hiked up, ending at the top of the cliff in the center of the photo.

The trail with water running down. Turned side-ways...

Canyon from another angle.

Our next stop was Zion national park in Utah. Equally gorgeous, though different. Our first hike was "The Narrows"--a gorge of unique rock formations. The trail has you essentially hike through the river upstream. We were in the water about 50% of the time (the other 50% being on small sandy banks between the cliff walls. Sometimes we waded through water up to our waist. Most of the time it came to just above the knees. But it was hard hiking upstream! The water was moving fast and was quite powerful. My father and I each took a spill at some point during the hike. The views of the canyon walls and unique rock formations were at times breathtaking, and it was simply a lot of fun to face the challenge of hiking through the water.

The following day was the 8 mile hike, 2,100 ft. elevation change, of "Observation Point Trail". Here are a few photos:

From the top.

From the top looking down to the canyon floor, where we began our hike.

From part-way up the trail, looking up at the peak where the trail ends (from which the photos above were taken).

This trail was probably my favorite. I really enjoyed praying as we hiked. It was also challenging. Towards the end the switchbacks cut across the rock face of the white cliffs you see in the distance in the photo above. The rail was perhaps 4 wide at points, with a sheer drop off the side and people passing each other or some going down while others came up. Yet people of all ages, from children to grandparents made the hike.

We then headed to Bryce, but I do not have photos of that--though it was also very beautiful. So I will instead show you two photos of my father and I at breakfast.

It was a very blessed time with him. Thank you all for your prayers.

My Dad with a "cowboy cow" at a local breakfast place.

A statue of "Yosemite Same" and I at the breakfast place.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Kolbe Center and.... a Trip with my Dad

Dear Friends and Family,

The past two days were spent in a fascinating exploration of the Church's teaching on Creation--from the point of view of theology as well as science. Mr. Hugh Owen, Director of the Kolbe Center for  the Study of Creation, and Mr. Greg Clovis, Director of Human Life International for England, graciously made the journey to our tiny corner of Cornwall in order to introduce us to the Church's teaching, as well as some of the latest discoveries in science--which was fascinating. The only one who could possibly have created man in all of his intricacies is God! And it was very interesting to discover more fully the implausibility of evolution, even from a scientific point of view.

I'd encourage anyone interested to check out some of the materials available on their website: http://kolbecenter.org . They should, in the next few months, be completing a 13-part DVD series that will present the whole topic. For anyone involved with children and education it is well worth a look.

I'm typing this at 10:30 PM on Saturday, in the midst of packing, because tomorrow afternoon I will fly to the U.S. to spend a week hiking with my Dad. Last year, for his 70th birthday, I gave him the gift of a week where the two of us could travel together, and he could pick the place. He chose the national parks out West: Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion, which should be really beautiful. I'm very blessed to have this week hiking with my Dad. Below is a postcard he sent me of one of the parks. I will look forward to telling you all about it after the trip!

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Simple Joy and Blessing... at a Gas Station

Looking towards the sea, from a hike I did Thursday.

From the same hike, the lane back to Lanherne.

Dear Friends and Family,

As I drove into Plymouth this morning my heart was especially full of joy--so many, many blessings in my life as a priest. How is it that I have the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass each day, hearing Confessions, offering Benediction, baptizing babies, etc. etc.

At our good Bishop Mark O'Toole's request, every parish in the Diocese had a Eucharistic Procession and Benediction, or Adoration and Benediction, today--in union with the National Eucharistic Congress taking place in Liverpool. I offered Adoration and Benediction this morning at Lanherne, so that the Nuns could participate and sing, and then in Plymouth led a small Procession, followed by Benediction. The weather was beautiful and it was a real joy to honor the Lord in this way. Then I headed to the home of a young couple, who had organized a barbecue for the young adults of the congregation. It was a real joy to talk with them, laugh with them, hold the babies of a few of them. For those across the Atlantic reading this, please pray for the young adult Catholics in this corner of England. Since Catholics are less than 0.7% of the population, courage is needed!

To give you a glimpse of one aspect of my daily life, I'd like to share with you... my stop at a gas station on my way back from Plymouth. I pulled off at "Cornwall Services," about 15 minutes from the monastery. After filling the tank, I approached the counter to pay. The two attendants (a lady and young man), asked, "So where are you from?"

I answered St. Mawgan, but they replied, "No, I mean where are you from before that?"

"From Cleveland Ohio, though I lived in Texas for 15 years."

"I thought so! Your accent sounded a bit different, not like a Texas accent."

Then we began chatting, asking me how I wound up in Cornwall. After I explained a bit, and spoke about being a Catholic, the young man said, "So you're a Catholic Priest?"

"Yes, the chaplain at Lanherne Convent in St. Mawgan."

"Ah. I'm a Catholic too," he said, and extended his hand.

We exchanged a few more words and then I hopped in the car to complete the journey to Lanherne. Hopefully, I will be seeing him here.

This was a very simple event, nothing flashy about it. But it gives you a glimpse into some of my daily life. In addition to the exchange of words, I was glad to be wearing the cassock, and to always be a visible sign of our Faith.

May God help many young people here embrace the Truth.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation

Lanherne's entryway--now full home to various pieces of furniture and a big chest full of tools, because the rest of the presbytery is under renovation--which is coming along nicely!

Dear Friends and Family,

I just returned from a dinner at the Buscombe Family Farm, where extended family gathered to wish 21-year-old John Buscombe well as he heads to Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, Nebraska, this week, to begin his first year of seminary formation with the FSSP. Please keep him in your prayers.

I began offering this week a 12-month course entitled "Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation." I had been praying and thinking about how to best help my local flock grow in holiness. Of course, a great many things help our growth in holiness: the Sacraments, the rosary, sacrifices, good friendships, good books, etc. etc. But after a good deal of prayer and thought I settled on a short book by St. Alphonsus Liguori that focusses on 12 key virtues. The virtues are faith, hope, love of God, love of neighbor, poverty, chastity, obedience, meekness and humility, mortification, recollection, prayer, self-denial and love of the Cross. I also gave an introductory session last June on the virtue of a cheerful spirit, much lauded by St. Philip Neri.

We will be looking at the virtues because young families (and not so young families!) often have good intentions but do not know how to, or struggle to, make those intentions more of a reality in their life. So it seemed to me that a focus on the virtues could be helpful.

Yesterday, some Plymouth parishioners kindly hosted the gathering for those who attend the Mass in Plymouth. At 4 PM we began with the rosary, all gathered in their kitchen/dining room. Then I gave the talk on faith, followed by questions. Then the family kindly served refreshments and when I left, at about 7 PM, everyone was still there talking away. I proposed to the families to try to work each day at a virtue, and to have a chart on the refrigerator where each member of the family, daily, checks off a box (or marks a zero), as to whether or not they did the particular thing they were trying to do that day, to grow in that virtue.

I proposed a few suggestions of ways that they could work on that virtue. But families were encouraged to choose whatever might fit best for their family, perhaps something different from the suggestions I made. And sometimes it might be better for different members of the family to each be doing different things. For example, for the virtue of faith, one suggestion was to choose a certain prayer that they would try to pray each day as a family: perhaps some of the prayers given to the children of Fatima; or the family might choose to read something each day. For example, before dinner, there could be 10 minutes of reading part of a life of a saint (from a good version for children), all together as a family. Or there might be 20 minutes when the whole house was supposed to be quiet (except perhaps some toddlers who might need a space to play), and each member of the family would be reading quietly from a book that would nourish their faith.

Then... the point totals from each person and the family as a whole should be tallied and brought in for the next month's gather. A concept many of you in Texas are familiar with!

This Wednesday evening I'll be presenting the same topic to families who attend Lanherne, at the Buscombe farm: 5:30 PM meal, then rosary, then talk and questions. We are a small bunch here and in Plymouth, but hopefully the Lord will bless the families.

May Jesus and Mary watch over and guide each of you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari