Baptisms, Babies, and Angels

Dear Friends and Family,

A blessed second Sunday of Lent! Since technology is not cooperating to allow me to share a photo with you, I'll share words:

The past two weekends have had the joy of Baptisms: 3 boys last weekend, one girl this weekend. In addition, one young mother asked for a blessing after Holy Mass this morning because she is due in less than three weeks, and two other young mothers each gave birth this weekend--to two beautiful baby girls. So there are more Baptisms just around the corner!

For those not hearing my sermons here in England (For those of you reading this in England, you can envy those across the sea who no longer have to hear me each Sunday), I thought you might find interesting last Sunday's sermon on the fall of the angels. It briefly looks at the particular sin that caused the angels to fall, and is largely taken from (at times verbatim) Fr. Bonino, O.P.'s book Angels and Demons. For those interested, please find the sermon below.

May Jesus and Mary be especially close to you as we enter into the heart of Lent.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Srm Catechism 053 The Fall of the Angels

Sermon Notes[1]

Matt. 4:1-11
At that time, Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. But He answered and said, It is written, ‘Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He has given His angels charge concerning You; and upon their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, It is written further, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And he said to Him, All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan, for it is written, ‘The Lord your God shall you worship and Him only shall you serve.’ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

            Before the world began, God created Satan, and all of the other angels, out of pure love. He gave each angel a perfect nature, with tremendous capacities, an awareness of God’s goodness, and an invitation to receive an even greater happiness and fullness of life. Each angel was invited to receive this incredible gift. But some, the fallen angels with Satan at their head, chose otherwise and fell. What happened after their fall? Saint Peter tell us, “…God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment…”^[2]And in the letter of St. Jude, “And the angels did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling and have been kept by [God] in eternal chains in the deepest darkness until the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1: 6). 

            What was the first sin of the fallen angels? How could they, created perfect and at a time where absolutely no evil or suffering was present in all of creation, have chosen to turn away from God? Recall that when God created the angels, He gave them each a tremendous natural happiness and invited them to embrace a far greater supernatural happiness. Because each angel was created with a certain fullness of knowledge, he knew, from the first moment of his existence, something of the immense goodness of God who had created Him, and was aware of his great capacities as an angel, of the incredible life that God had given him. Satan was created as the highest of the angels, the one with the greatest natural capacities, with the greatest intellect. But, like all the other angels, he was not yet aware of the fullness of who God was. He could not yet see God face to face and have the intimate knowledge and friendship with Him that only comes about when we cooperate with God’s grace.

So, what did Satan do? In the very first instantof his creation, he, just like all the other angels, looked toward God, not yet in a supernatural way, but in a natural way, marveling at His goodness as his creator. In the second instant, each angel made the choice to either look toward God in faith, hope, and above all in charity, in true love, or made a choice to do something else. For those who chose in that instant to love God, to surrender themselves to His loving plan for their lives, they were granted straight away the full knowledge of and participation in God’s life such as the saints have in Heaven—the joy of seeing God face-to-face and participating in His divine life.

If in that second instant, Satan turned toward something other than God, what did he turn toward? What was his sinful choice? Nothing evil existed, so he could not have turned toward anything evil. Nor could he have had a sinful desire for excessive food, drink, or other material pleasures, since he had no body and no need or desire for such things. The first sin of Satan was a sin of pride, of disordered love of his own excellence, of love of self to the point of contempt of God; of an unwillingness to be dependent on God out of an unbridled love for his own excellence and his own will.

Satan wanted to be like God. He was too smart to think that He could actually be identical to God in his nature. He knew he was an angel and would have to remain an angel. But he wanted to be treated like God, to be treated as the first, the most excellent, the most important, as the one to whom everything else was ordered. He knew that God was offering him a happiness, a beatitude beyond anything he had yet experienced. But he also knew that to accept this gift he would have to accept God’s two conditions:

1)   This happiness could not be attained by any angel’s natural gifts, abilities, and work. It would have to be received as a grace by abandoning himself to God in the obscurity of faith, trusting in God.

2)   This gift was being proposed to everyone, even those far inferior to Satan in their natural abilities. The acceptance of this gift would relativize the differences in their natural abilities, greatly diminishing the importance of Satan’s natural superiority to every other creature.

Satan rejects these conditions and chooses to cling to the possession of his natural perfection because it 1) distinguishes him from others and 2) belongs to him by a natural right (as though he were the master thereof). He prefers to remain first in an inferior order—the order of nature—rather than become one among others in a superior order: the order of grace. He decides to determine for himself the goal of his life, and chooses as a goal one that he can attain by his own natural resources: a full living out of his angelic powers and abilities, but without the help of grace, thereby showing contempt for the divine offer of a supernatural happiness. He prefers to cling to what he controls rather than to be open to the divine call to “put out into the deep”—in other words to let go of his destiny so as to receive from his destiny from another, and to be dependent on another for its fulfillment.

And ever since, he has tried to lead men to make the same choice. He hates men and is envious of the fact that they might rise to a higher order than him. Envy consists in seeing another’s good as a threat to my good. Satan considers his own good to be his superiority over others. Anything that threatens that superiority—and a man rising to the order of supernatural grace and glory, a higher order than Satan’s natural abilities and life, certainly threatens his superiority. So, he strives to get men to embrace his selfish choice. 

Does his sin sound familiar? To prefer to stay at the purely natural order, to try to decide what will make us happy and to try to achieve that goal by our own strength and resources, to refuse to allow your life to be dependent on God, to refuse to abandon yourself to Him, to refuse to accept and follow His plans for your life, to refuse to surrender to your heavenly Father. Our society cries out, “you can be whoever youwant to be. Nothing is off limits to you. If we work together, everything is possible for us. Don’t turn to God. Look to man and to this earth for the fulfillment of all that your heart desires.”

And even if we do not give in to the voice of the world, there is a more subtle temptation that Satan proposes to Christians: the temptation to stop at a particular stage in their spiritual journey, in their growth in holiness. To say, “That’s enough. I now have a handle on how to live as a Catholic, or know how to do certain acts of charity or piety. I’m content with this. I can control it. I can guide my life now—a life directed toward serving God, but with me being the one running my life.” When we fall prey to this temptation, we refuse to let the Holy Ghost guide us further, to follow the calls of grace, to follow the obscure path of purification and growth in holiness. The devil presents this temptation frequently and subtly, for he hates holiness; he fears holiness because he fears God and those who are united to Him.

When Satan chose to remain first in an inferior order—the order of nature—rather than become one among others in a superior order: the order of grace; when he decided to determine for himself the goal of his life and showed contempt for the divine offer of supernatural happiness, Satan fell and suffered, and suffers still. He falls far below all the good angels because he loses all knowledge that comes from grace. The good angels see clearly God and His designs and have the wisdom that comes from a deep friendship with God. The fallen angels, on the other hand (because many other angels, seeing Satan’s example, decided to imitate him); the fallen angels, while far more intelligent than we are, do not see very well into God’s designs.

The fallen angels suffer because of their perverse will. Though they regret suffering they do not regret not loving God. They vehemently desire to be themselves the source of their own happiness, to have all things be ordered to them, to not depend on God for anything. And they are therefore in great pain seeing that creation is not at all as they want: that God continues to lead men to the supernatural happiness of Heaven, to a very sharing in His own life; that so many angels and saints have already attained this; that God makes everything in the world—even their own demonic action in tempting or harassing men—work, in the end, for the accomplishment of God’s loving designs; that God continues to be supremely happy in the blessed life of the Holy Trinity. You could say that the fallen angels’ perverse will is allergic to reality. Just as a man who was allergic to oxygen would constantly suffer, so the fallen angels constantly suffer because reality is not as they wish it were. They are torn by the discrepancy between a world that would suit them and the real world.

Such is the sad state of the fallen angels. Such is the sad state of so many men and women alive today. But unlike the fallen angels, whose choice will never change because they chose in full knowledge of what they were choosing, we can, as long as we are on the earth, still change. There is always hope for the conversion of sinners. May the Blessed Virgin Mary help you to pray this Holy Mass well, to intercede for sinners through your adoration of Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ Himself, as the holy sacrifice of Calvary is rendered present.

---

[1]Note: these sermons are based largely, and sometimes are taken verbatim from, the book by Fr. Serge-Thomas Boninio, OP: Angels and Demons

^[2](2 Pe 2:4). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.

Standing Outside the Big Green Door

Entrance Door to Lanherne Convent

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night, I returned from a jog at 6:30 PM, and stepped inside the main door--the green door pictured above--into the entryway to the presbytery and convent. It had been a joy to spend 45 minutes running through the woods, up and down hills, at times looking out over the fields, giving thanks for the pretty English countryside. I had finished Sunday's sermon before the run. All that remained was to tie up a few loose ends, print the sermon and prepare various other little things for Sunday, eat dinner, pray Compline, and then turn in for the night. 

Since the run had been muddy, I slipped off my running shoes and stepped outside a moment to brush shake the mud off of my shoes and.... the door closed behind me and... locked. And I was without a key.... 

Now, this posed a problem because there is currently no other way for me to enter the presbytery. Nor is there currently any other way for me to contact the Nuns from outside. They don't usually pick up their phone, so even if I walked down to the local pub and called them that would probably not work. So, I had to come up with another solution.

I thought for a few moments about finding some way to jiggle the lock open. No luck... Then I managed to push open the little door with bars (made so you can peer out to see who is there). Could I reach the handle from there to open the door?... No. So I started banging on the door, hoping the Sisters would hear my knocking. No luck... Then tried calling out as loudly as I could. Still no response... 

After perhaps 10 minutes of this, I decided to try the bell with the chain outside the door. I had tried it earlier but it had refused to budge, perhaps stuck in place due to the new paint. This time I reached up and pulled higher on the chain, hard, and it gave way. Wonderful! So I started pulling on the chain every 15 seconds or so, for a while, hoping to get their attention. Then the chain broke.... (as can be seen in the photo above), but there was still a little bit at the top that I could pull on. So I continued to pull this, alternating with calling out for the Sisters and banging on the door. 

During all of this, it was beginning to rain. I was contemplating what I would do if locked out for the night. My climbing over their wall and throwing rocks at their windows might give them such a fright that it was likely not worth the risk trying. Could I go down to the Falcon (local pub across the street from the Convent) and phone someone to stay at their house for the night? Sure. But there would still be the problem of how to get into the presbytery early enough the next morning to get things ready for the Mass, because the Nuns wouldn't know I wasn't there until it was time for Mass to begin.

In the midst of such thoughts... the inner door to the convent opened and Mother Superior came out to let me in. Providentially, they had come walking by that part of the monastery and heard the bell, banging, and shouting. A happy ending. Though one that made me sit down straight away to write our foreman an email asking about a good, secure place to have a secure "key box" outside the building!

It's amazing how many little things we can take for granted until they don't work. Such as opening a door or being able to sleep in our own bed at night. As Lent begins, may we give thanks to God for so many, many blessings, perhaps especially some of those little daily ones that often go unnoticed. 

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Pillari

Jogging Along the Clifftops

Chapel prepared for Lent.

Dear Friends and Family,

After 12 months of renovations in the presbytery, I once again have the great blessing and privilege of  reserving the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel of St. Thomas More, where I am able to spend time adoring Him and chanting the Divine Office. The good sisters kindly cleaned the chapel and removed the flowers in preparation for Lent. May St. Thomas More and Cardinal Newman intercede for me and all priests to make a good Lent!

There were many blessings of this past week. As in any week, much of what took place I cannot write in a blog because it involves people's personal lives. I will simply ask you to pray for some non-Catholics or Catholics away from the practice of their faith, that they might fully surrender themselves to Christ, to living according to the "obedience of faith." 

This past Wednesday and Saturday I gave talks to families--gathered in a home on each occasion--on the next virtue from St. Alphonsus Liguori's Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation. The virtue for this month is mortification... not an easy virtue but one that is extremely helpful and particularly fitting for Lent. Saint Alphonsus teaches about both interior and exterior mortification, emphasizing that both are necessary. It is always good to be able to pray with the families, crowded into a dining room or other space in a home, to present dicusss a virtue, and then to have some fellowship. There is a particular blessing that God grants when a congregation makes the effort, outside of Mass, to gather together for prayer. 

Another blessing from this week was a clifftop run. We have had some unusually warm (high in the 50's) and sunny days recently. So on Friday afternoon I drove to Bedruthan steps and jogged along the clifftops, overlooking the ocean, for 40 minutes. It was quite beautiful. The open see, with the sun reflecting off the waves. Since I didn't bring my camera to capture the beautiful ocean, I settled for this photo of my running shoes. That stretch of coast has some nice rock formations and little coves and beaches, and is quite pretty. And the sea air is fresh and invigorating. It was a wonderful place to run.

This week will of course have the particular blessing of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, but it will also have 24 hours of adoration here at Lanherne from Mass Friday morning through Mass Saturday morning, with a team of men covering the nighttime slots. I look forward to joining them and adoring the Lord in the quiet of the night. My neighbor, Fr. Anthony O'Gorman, and I, decided to increase adoration hours together during this first week of Lent, attempting to gain over 40, to pray for God's blessing upon our flocks, in paricular for vocations. May God's face shine upon us.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Pillari

The Beauty of God's Handiwork

Sunrise at Lanherne this week.

Dear Friends and Family,

When I walked into the sacristy in Plymouth this morning my Brazilian MC said, "Father, we're experiencing the miracle of the sun in Plymouth." There was some truth in what he said... He didn't mean that the sun was dancing as it did in Fatima, nor that some extraordinary miracle was taking place. But it is extremely rare to have bright, sunny, and (by British standards) warm days in February. But that's precisely what God gave us a few days this week!

The above photo shows you a sunrise in what turned out to be a beautiful, clear, sunny day. Some of the nights were also quite clear, such that the stars were especially beautiful. In a region where clouds and rain are the norm for most of the winter (well, actually for much of the year), it was a beautiful gift to have these sunny days. And because of all the rain God sends us, everything is always green and lush. So when the sun does come out, Cornwall is beautiful to behold.

Such beautiful sights are particularly helpful in these difficult times in the Church when so much that is ugly is coming to light. Thanks be to God that it is coming to light. That's a necessary step in any purification and conversion. But it is rather awful to see. Much has been written about the current crisis. I was particularly struck by an article that appeared about 3 days ago, by Gabriel Kuby, a German laywoman and sociologist. If you have a few minutes to read her 30-page article, it gives a penetrating analysis and summary of some of the root issues/corruption in the Church. I don't usually like to repost articles or links in this space, but this one seems to me well worth passing on to you: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/sociologist-praised-by-pope-benedict-blaming-abuse-crisis-on-clericalism.

It is now 10 PM. I should now pray compline and then turn in for the night. May Jesus and Mary watch over each of you, protect you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Driving in England

A painting of Our Lady done by someone locally (image is copyrighted), but who very kindly gifted me with a copy.

Dear Friends and Family,

This Wednesday morning I was quite nervous. After 20 hours of driving lessons (see partial list on the photo below), additional hours of studying necessary written questions, after having passed the theory test, the moment had now come... to take my British drivers' license test!

List of most of the driving lessons I had over the past few months.

For those Americans reading this, the test is much more difficult than the U.S. one. In addition, I had not driven a stick shift from when I was a teenager, and now I had to learn to do so left-handed. During each lesson the instructor drilled me, step by step, on the precise way you needed to be able to maintain your position on steep hills with only the clutch while preparing to enter a busy, narrow road at an intersection; how to navigate roundabouts of various shapes and sizes, emergency stops, the customs of giving way and maneuvering in narrow streets with oncoming traffic, various reversing and parking procedures, highway policies, etc. etc.

Many people fail the test on their first try, and some multiple times. Very much hoping to not have to spend any more time in driving lessons, nor to have to wait another six weeks to retake it, I was picked up at 9:30 AM to prepare for 11:30 AM test. We drove the streets of Bodmin for most of the next two hours, preparing for intricacies and traps to be found around the Bodmin test center. Then, as the clock struck 11:30 a man named Andy stepped into the test center waiting room and told me he would be administering the 40-minute test. After a few preliminaries we got in the car and, following his instructions, I drove off. While giving me instructions he would periodically ask me questions such as "Why did you become a priest?"--seemingly at moments where a lapse in concentration could lead to missing a key turn or required maneuver.

I was aware of a few mistakes and, when we pulled back into the test center, was unsure of the result. Thankfully, he turned and said, "First of all I can tell you that you passed..." and then proceeded to point out my mistakes. But he only marked me down for three minor faults out of a possible 15 before failure would have occurred. It was wonderful news! Now I can get back to driving normally, without some particulars that I think people only do for the test, and above all can devote my time to better pursuits than the finer points of driving!

In all of this, I couldn't help but think: do most couples take marriage preparation as seriously as the preparation for their drivers' license? Often marriage prep consists of a few meetings with the priest, or perhaps on a Friday evening to Sunday retreat. But in how many cases do couples' spend a solid 30 hours in class of some sort, or marriage preparation sessions? And is there any sort of test administered at the end? If there were, couples might work harder to retain much more of what the Church teaches about marriage, and marriages might be significantly better off.

Now, after a full day of ministry, finishing with a game of "Risk Europe" with some of the altar boys, and a nice meal with them, I need to finish some preparations for meetings tomorrow morning with the board overseeing renovations at Lanherne.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

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!

Snow on the Hedges

Snow falling thickly Thursday afternoon.

Friday Morning. Looking from my window.

Dear Friends and Family,

There is snow on the hedges! Such joyful words were whispered among the Catholics of the village and surrounding areas many centuries ago, when St. Cuthbert Mayne was in town. For in the late 1500's it was illegal to celebrate the Holy Mass--a crime punishable by death. So Fr. Cuthbert had to pretend to be the Arundell's steward, to make the rounds of their properties. When he was in town, the ladies would hang their washing out to dry on the hedges--so that all who saw it would know that the priest was in town and that an early morning candle-lit Mass, and the chance for Confession, would be available. "Snow on the hedges!" was the joyful cry.

Well, this Thursday afternoon, all of a sudden, several inches of snow fell from heaven to blanket the hedges and the rest of the monastery and village in white. It was a beautiful site to see. I had planned to write you more about the snow but my keyboard is freezing up and it is becoming increasingly difficult to type, so I had best sign off!

Tomorrow afternoon I will fly to France for another 5 days of studies--this time focussing on angels and demons. I will let you know next week how it was.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari