Home for Dad's Birthday

Poor Clares' Adoration Chapel near where I grew up--this was an important place of prayer for me as I was discovering my vocation.

Close-up. The nuns are on the other side of the wall praying...

Dear Friends and Family,

I write you this afternoon from Bay Village Ohio, where we are celebrating my Dad's 70th birthday. So much to be thankful for! I've been very blessed to have a dad who has so many virtues: honest, hard-working, generous, loving, willing to discipline, etc. etc. (and a good sense of humor :). I have been thanking God today for this wonderful gift of a good father, which I'll probably only fully appreciate one day in Heaven.

So, I drove home Friday afternoon from Ottawa and am spending yesterday and today with my family. Yesterday we treated my dad to a Cleveland Indians' game, something he used to go to as a little boy, then that he took us to as kids while we were growing up, and still enjoys. Here's a photo of us at the game:

My brother TJ, Dad, sister Elizabeth at the game (brother Andy really wanted to come but will have to fly in later).

Yesterday included the fun activity of my niece and nephews showing me the "cave". The cave is located on the side of my parents' house it is... a little area in the bushes in front of the house, hidden in between the bushes and the wall of the house, where they put down pavers in order to make it a sort of club-house or tree-house where they could sneak away to be. Was fun to have them show me this and in general is very good to catch up with them and my siblings.

Speaking of which I will have to make this post short because I need to go back to be with them for dinner which will begin in a few moments, but I wanted to pull away to write you all.

This week I'll be essentially spending all-day every day studying for my comprehensive exams in canon law and also for the comprehensive exam (baby-bar) in civil law. So no risk of being bored! Providentially though I'll be doing that at home with home-cooked meals before heading back up to Canada.

But before that I'll have a fun evening which I had best get to now...

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,

Fr. Tony Pillari

Rome Life Forum

Inside St. Peter's Friday Morning.

St. Peter's as the sun is rising, waiting to enter to celebrate Mass at St. Peter's tomb below the main altar.

A Conference at the Rome Life Forum

Dear Friends and Family,

This morning I walked the catacombs of St. Priscilla, and prayed at the tomb of St. Philomena! Of course her relics are no longer there but it is where she lay buried for the better part of 2,000 years and it was wonderful to pray there, to have a tour of the catacombs, and then to assist at a Mass celebrated near St. Philomena's tomb. Someone here locally even invited to get me in on a future visit, "outside of normal visiting hours" when no tourists would be there and we could have the catacombs to ourselves.

I am in Rome for five days, flying back to Canada tomorrow morning, for the Rome Life Forum. Unfortunately much of what I have been doing here I can't write about because it involves people's personal lives and my work here as a priest. I can say though that I am here because of some ongoing work I have been asked to do to help the pro-life movement and the conferences have been great. They should soon, if not already, be posting all of the conferences on LifeSite's website and also on Voice of the Family's website. If you have the time to look at them I would particularly recommend:

-Matthew McCuster's talk on the (quite scary) work of the U.N. to the detriment of children and families (this is a talk for those looking for facts and information).

-Fr. Linus Clovis' talk if you are looking to hear a courageous priest speaking boldly.

-The talk given by a lady on Friday morning (I had to miss this one in order to meet with someone here in Rome), that I heard was quite good.

-Of course Cardinal Burke's and Bishop Schneider's talks were excellent.

It has been quite an intense five days, with yesterday being Italy's March for Life. I had debated about taking a week away from studies, when those are very intense now and much in need of time, but it seemed to me the Lord was asking this of me and it has been a very rewarding few days. It will make studies more challenging the next 5 weeks but then.... you only live once! And it has been a great opportunity to be here these days and something that should bear good fruit in this next year's work.

Friday morning I had a particular blessing. A friend had arranged for us to reserve the "chapel Clementina"--the small chapel in the crypt just below St. Peter's tomb--for a Mass. Already on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after getting off the plane, I had been blessed to join a "Scavi tour" underneath the Basilica. You walk the streets that were buried there in the early 300's when Constantine filled in the land with dirt in order to build his Basilica on top of it. It is rather amazing to  not only walk those ancient streets but to also see the, largely intact, buildings that were buried then as well: the buildings that contained the tombs of early Romans, some of whom were Christian. But even more amazing is to hear the story of St. Peter's martyrdom, which took place in Nero's circus (or arena, not sure of the proper name) that was located just next to the current St. Peter's. So knowing St.  Peter was martyred and buried there was quite moving.

But even more moving was to celebrate a 7AM Mass Friday morning on the altar that is attached to the tomb of St. Peter. It is a chapel that has existed, in its current state, for 400 years. And so as I offered the Mass there I couldn't help but think of all of the popes over the past 400 years who had offered Mass on that very altar, standing right where I was standing... and I paused for a long time during the canon of the Mass to pray for each of you--so many different situations and family needs, needs of religious and priests, and so many, many needs. I also placed my own priesthood there on the altar, asking St. Peter to obtain for me the grace of faithfully preserving and preaching the Catholic Faith that he received from Our Lord 2,000 years ago.

Much more could be said about these few days, but due to space I'll just mention one other example. Friday evening Cardinal Burke led a holy hour and benediction for people who had come for the March for Life. It took place in the church Sant'Andrea dalle Fratte, which is famous largely because it is where the miraculous conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne took place. Alphonse vigorously denied the Catholic Faith. However a friend dared him to wear a miraculous medal and (I think) to enter this church. Alphonse took him up on the dare and when he entered the church Our Lady appeared to him, he was converted instantly, and went on to become a Catholic priest. That altar was also the altar where St. Maximilian Kolbe celebrated one of his first Masses.

Well, I'd best sign off in order to go pray and to make a Holy Hour at St. Peter's. Then there will be a final dinner this evening with the organizers of the conference.

I have carried you all in my heart here, especially in Friday morning's Mass. May Jesus and Mary protect you and guide you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

My attempt at a selfie. I think it looks rather goofy but some of this asked for this, so here you go.

St. Pius X's altar in St. Peter's.

St. Peter's Square 

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima's statute--placed out for this weekend's Masses.

Dear Friends and Family,

First, to all those mothers out there: a very happy and blessed Mothers Day to each of you. Thank you for all the daily, hidden sacrifices you make for your families. May God grant you extra peace, strength, and joy on this day,

As I was praying in church yesterday, looking at this statue, I was reminded of something that happened 23 years ago, when I was a sophomore at Notre Dame. I had begun to go through a conversion and was just beginning to discover a number of aspects of the Faith. There was a dance in my dorm one weekend--it was called a "dance" but actually was more drinking and partying than dancing. I had decided not to attend and to not even be around the dorm that night. Instead I was in the library. It was not an easy sacrifice at the time for me to make: to be alone in the library instead of with the others in my dorm. So I was looking for something distracting to read, and then picked up... The True Story of Fatima by Fr. John de Marchi.

For the rest of that night, until after 2AM (when the "dance" finally ended and things returned to relative quiet in the dorm), I sat in the library reading this wonderful little book and discovered... the amazing story of the lives of the children of Fatima. How amazing, wonderful, and humbling it was to read about how these three little children, with the simplicity of children, responded to Our Lady's message! It was beautiful to read how they learned to pray from the angel, how they bravely accepted to make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners, how they related to each other as friends and cousins, and how in the end Francisco and Jacinta bravely gave their lives at such an early age. Inspiring and humbling.... to realize how very far, far away I was from how these children had responded.

Today I'm unfortunately still far, far away from how these children responded, but they are great intercessors to ask for help. If you haven't read this little book, which you can still find for sale (and I think for free online in some places), you might consider it. The children of Fatima still have so much to teach us I think

May Our Lady of Fatima watch over each of you and may She grant us to renew our devotion to Her Immaculate Heart.

I'll sign off for now as I promised a local family that I would join them for lunch. This was an intense week of studies. One course in particular is really hard! But I suppose that means I'm learning more by being challenged.

I'll be writing you next Sunday from Rome, where I'll be for the Rome Life Forum. Until then, oremus pro invicem!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

The Queen of Heaven and Earth

Our Lady Crowned on this First Sunday of May

Dear Friends and Family,

We have a Queen! The Queen of Heaven and earth. And what a wonderful, beautiful queen She is. This morning the pastor here, Fr. Deprey, very kindly asked me to be the main celebrant for our Solemn High Mass. The Mass began with a procession to the statue you see pictured above, except that She was uncrowned at the time.

The procession was led by about 10 young men who would then serve the Mass. They were followed by a little girl, about 7 years old, carrying the crown of flower for the Virgin Mary on a special pillow. Then came the MC, Fathers Deprey and Breton (acting as Deacon and Subdeacon for the day), and myself.

We processed to the side altar as pictured here:

Side Altar to Our Lady.

This is also where I celebrate most of my quite early morning Masses during the week. As we arrived there a small stepladder was placed in front of the altar, I climbed up (having to then stand on the altar as there was no other way to reach the top of the statue), received the crown of flowers from the little girl, and then crowned Our Lady. All the while the choir and organist led a beautiful hymn in French to Her. A beautiful moment to crown Our Heavenly Mother!

We then processed into the sanctuary and began the Solemn High Mass.

The chanting of the Gospel.

It was a beautiful Mass. I was struck by the diversity of the congregation: white and black, French and English speakers, young and old, handicapped, great numbers of little children--all came together to kneel and adore the Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And among the Congregation were.... my own parents.

My Dad and I outside the original chapel St. André helped build.

They traveled here for the weekend to see where I was living, praying, and studying. Yesterday we made a day pilgrimage to St. Joseph's Oratory and the tomb or Saint André (Brother André). It was especially nice to read some accounts of his life, while praying in the oratory, to pray at his tomb, and to see the little chapel he lived in and helped build (before the larger one was built). It was a very nice weekend with my parents.

Last week was intense for studies and this week will be the same, but for now I am simply giving thanks for the graces of this weekend.

I found this article interesting--a timely and perceptive analysis of the connection between the Fatima message and the threat of communism. It's a 2-minute read in case you are interested. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/russia.-why-was-our-lady-of-fatima-so-concerned-about-russia

May the Blessed Virgin Mary guide and bless each of your families during this month of May!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

O Canada

Dear Friends and Family,

A blessed Feast of St. Joseph! There are so many, many graces available on his feast day. He is a powerful intercessor for husbands, fathers, priests, workers, for administrative/financial challenges, for purity, for the contemplative life, for the Universal Church. So take advantage of the graces of this day by confiding your needs to St. Joseph and asking him to obtain the necessary graces, and to guide you according to God's will.

I just arrived back in Canada for an intense 9 weeks of studies and exams this side of the Atlantic. I'm staying at St. Clement's once again, the FSSP parish here in Ottawa:

High Altar at St. Clement's. I offered a quiet Mass this morning on St. Joseph's altar (not pictured--off to the left of photo).

The two priests here are very kind, the parish is beautiful, quiet, and reverent, and it's 10 minutes from the University. A blessed situation.

The flight across the Atlantic was interesting--always interesting, when traveling in a cassock, to see what conversations will develop. A medical doctor who teaches at Stanford sat next to me and was eager to talk. After a while he began asking questions about my studies, faith, etc. He himself seemed an agnostic. So I told him about the great miracles of Fatima, and about one of the miracles of Padre Pio, asserting that it was more reasonable to believe in Divine Intervention and in God Himself, when confronted with such events, than to not believe. He wasn't yet convinced and as we continued talking he brought up the "claim" that Jesus was Divine, comparing it to the tradition in Japan of considering each emperor to be in some sense "divine." I pointed out the difference between the two assertions and uniqueness of the Christian faith but he was not yet convinced. He gave me his email address though and invited me to visit him at Stanford one day.

He was very kind, but sadly kindness is not enough to make it to Heaven. Something more is needed: the humility and courage to go through a true conversion--to accept to change your way of living and to accept to live as a servant of Jesus Christ. Not easy for someone who is used to being in control. Reasons for belief are helpful, but ultimately the real struggle is between grace and sin, humility and pride. I pray that one day he'll find the Truth and accept to follow Him fully. Please say a prayer for him, and for all those who are in need of conversion.

Before heading to Canada I had a wonderful 48 hours at home with my parents. It was wonderful to see them and some of the rest of my family. Here is a photo from Saturday night:

a

A crucial moment...

...at the beginning of the game of Clue.

My brother TJ (left), brother-in-law Patrick (right), and Mom are pictured. TJ, Quinn, and their three children, along with Elizabeth, Pat, and baby Thomas (just 2 months old), all came over. Another things we had a good game of Clue. At one point Leo (my 5 year old nephew, who was on my team) and thought we knew who had done it, with which weapon, and in which room. But alas, we were not correct, which meant we were out of the game... But immediately each of the other players proceeded to guess and.... all of them were wrong! Except for the very last one, my niece Lucy, who won by being the only one still in the game. I've never seen that happen before. It was a fun evening to be with all of them, to catch up, play with baby Thomas, and eat some great homemade pasta.

At the moment I need to work with a computer technician to try to get my computer functional before heading to the university this morning, so I'd best sign-off.

As we begin this month of May, may Our Lady guide each one of you and watch over you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!

Flowers outside Lanherne.

Daisey's outside Lanherne.

Bodmin Moore. We hiked to the top, as you can see...

Highest place in Cornwall.

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! I was praying for you all in Mass this morning. Here it was a very blessed day and week. At today's Mass in Plymouth I had two particular joys: offering First Holy Communion to a boy and blessing a couple's renewal of their wedding vows.

The renewal of wedding vows took place right before the Mass. the couple has three young boys, two of whom should begin serving at the altar soon! Since the wife is from Mexico, we had the renewal in the traditional form, with the couple kneeling, but also incorporating some of the Mexican customs, such as the husband giving his wife "arras" and the placing of the lazo over them both. For those not familiar, the "arras" are symbolic gold coins that a husband gives to his wife to symbolize the care he will provide for her, etc. The lazo is actually a large rosary, but made in such a way that is has two large loops--one for each spouse. After blessing the lazo the priest places it over both of them so that they are both "caught" by the large rosary and held together by it. It is a nice symbol of the place the rosary should have in a couple's life: uniting them both to Jesus through Mary and thus uniting them to each other. In this case it was a particular joy to perform this ceremony as the couple is one that prays faithfully the rosary with their children ever day. And, as an extra blessing, the couple gave me two beautiful images of Our Lady of Guadalupe! I have certainly missed her here and am delighted to now have two good images to put in my room.

Then the Mass itself was the First Communion Mass. The 8-year-old boy had been well prepared and seemed to take quite seriously his preparation and the ceremony itself. Though quite nervous he seemed very intent indeed as he came forward for Holy Communion, knelt on the special kneeler prepared for him, and closed his eyes in order to receive His God for the first time within Him in this blessed moment. After Mass I returned to kneel in the sanctuary and invited him to kneel next to me, surrounded by the acolytes, to kneel in silence and thank the Lord for the wonderful gift of Holy Communion. Now begins his journey to become a saint... may he become one!

The last two photos above are from our Easter Friday outing, with the current altar boys of Lanherne, to reward them for all their hard work this past semester. We spent the afternoon hiking "Bodim Moore"--a sort of national park in the area. We hiked up to the highest place in Cornwall, as seen in the photo above. It was a very nice outing. Then that evening they took me to "Piero's"--an Italian pizza place. It was fun--and did indeed have real Italians working there! I was able to speak some Italian with them. I managed to eat an "inferno"--the pizza with chili's on it, to sample some Italian gelato, and to simply have a fun time with them.

Though we got back late and I felt a bit under the weather this weekend it was a nice way to celebrate with them.

And now, this Thursday, I fly back to North America for two months of studies... So next Sunday's post will come from your side of the Atlantic (at least for most of you).

Until then, may Jesus and Mary watch over you all and grant you continued Easter peace and joy.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari

Resurrexit Sicut Dixit, Alleluia!

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Easter! What a wonderful, wonderful joyful day this is. It is now 8:30PM and the day started before 5AM so I am tired, but very happy.

During the Easter Vigil yesterday I was rather overwhelmed with gratitude for what God has done in my life--for how well He has taken care of me. Thank you all for being some of those wonderful blessings in my life. Though many of you are across the ocean, I ask Jesus and Mary to embrace you for me and to grant you much Easter peace and joy.

For this evening, I thought it might be best to give you a few photos of this Easter for me here. The first set of photos is from this afternoon and evening's "Egg competition" at a family farm nearby.

After the Mass and related activities in the morning here I headed into Plymouth for Mass and celebration with the congregation there, then back here for a quick 25 minute run, shower, and then off to the family farm for a meal and "egg competition" with about 40 people involved. The basic rules were: each adult or child could submit one entry. It had to be composed of a real egg, but then could involve many other elements. I've never seen a family tradition like this before but it seemed to come off great, with much excitement in the viewing and voting on the eggs. The teenagers and children got quite into it. One young man wanted to design a canon that would shoot an egg, which didn't materialize. However another did manage to make, albeit accidentally, his egg explode during the presentation of his entry. Here are some of the entries...

Entrance to family farm

"Egg man" walking down corkscrew, made by...

The boy pictured here. Notice the nice detail in the face of his egg.

Though the appearance is unassuming, w hen you press on the "press me" button the egg shoots water at the person looking at it!

Introducing the rules for voting.

An electronic entry designed by the young man spending a year of spiritual formation here. In the midst of Holy Week preparations he found time to build this and to program it so that there was a unique light sequence that took place on the board, along with the egg flashing different colors.

The caption reads "jail break"...

The egg that exploded. The attached motor made it spin around but as it spun fast...

Egg Pod

Nicely done

Made bu children, with real little eggs under the one on the right.

Mouse and cheese

Shawn the Sheep and the "Cold South Pole"

Altar of Repose for Holy Thursday

Baptistry at Lanherne. Items prepared for blessing of Baptismal water during the Vigil.

Hopefully that gives you a glimpse of some of the blessings of Easter. There were many more, but for now I should turn in for the night. May our risen Savior grant you much peace and joy.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari