Two Videos

With my niece Catherine.

Dear Friends and Family,

Given how full this weekend will be, and is now since I am heading out the door to bless a home... I will post early. You might enjoy this 3 minute video of a retreat I helped at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6PX-nSvzgM

May Jesus and Mary watch over you.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Mom's Pasta for Dinner!

Dear Friends and Family,

This post will be very short on words because my Mom just finished the pasta for dinner--what you see in the picture above will soon be eaten!--and we're about to sit down for a meal. A homemade meal with just Mom and Dad is a real blessing. And my favourite homemade meal at that...

But please find below some photos also of the hermitage and surroundings where I spent time in New York last week.

Praying for you all!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Niece, Nephew, and Dad

Dear Friends and Family,

It is midnight, Saturday and has been a rather non-stop few days of offering the Sacraments, spiritual direction, Confession, and advice at a pro-life retreat, and tomorrow will begin in a few hours, but I wanted to at least send you a photo.

The above is from the day I had with my family before heading to the retreat. It was so wonderful to see this niece and nephew (there are others!) my sister and brother-in-law, and parents. Thomas, pictured above, introduced me to magnetic squares and triangles, which are lots of fun. You can build a great deal with them...

You all are in my prayers here.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Packing, Traveling, and Praying

Dear Friends and Family,

Please forgive this extremely brief post, but it is 10:30 PM and in three hours I will rise to offer the Holy Mass and begin my journey to the U.S. So I had best get some sleep.

For those in the U.S. I hope to see you soon! For those in the UK, I will be praying for you and look forward to seeing you in just a few weeks!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

Morning Prayer of a Nun

Breviary prayed by nuns and monks for centuries.

Inside of breviary.

The care and attention that was given to making these books for prayer. This book is 70 years old.

Owned and used by Sister M. Maurus, a Benedictine nun.

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Cornwall where it is a beautiful Sunday evening, and was a gorgeous day: about 70 degrees, sunny, with a nice breeze. Though the locals say it was too hot! This should give those in Texas a good laugh.

This week had many blessings, including lunch with a good local priest, but I wanted to pass on a little treasure I discovered this morning. I recently began praying matins (the early morning prayer of priests) with this old Benedictine breviary. This morning, while trying to find the correct page for a reading, I discovered this prayer slipped in between the pages:

Since I can't figure out how to rotate the photo, here is the prayer typed out:

Before My Crucifix

My dearest Lord, what will Thou send me today? Humiliations, contradictions, physical sufferings, painful intelligence [news] which I do not expect; an aching heart, a failure.

Shall I see myself misjudged, wrongly suspected, despised? All that Thou wishest, O my God, I accept it all in advance, and if I weep through weakness, Oh, regard it not; if I murmur, check me; if I am forgetful, punish me; if I am discouraged, raise me up. But through it all teach me to say “THY WILL BE DONE.” 

Amen.

It seemed providential for a sermon today on living by faith and on embracing the cross in our daily lives. I can picture this nun kneeling each morning before her crucifix to pray this simple prayer. It is beautiful, simple, challenging, but no doubt quite freeing for the heart and soul. I prayed it this morning and may incorporate it in my prayer life. I wanted to pass it on to you in case you find it helpful.

Lastly, for Texas readers of this blog, on Sunday, August 25, after the 3:30 PM High Mass that I will celebrate in Austin's St. Mary Cathedral, there will be a reception with some refreshments in the Cathedral hall. You are all warmly invited.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

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

Prayers for Little Boy in Hospital

Fellow Classmates in France looking at the entryway to one of the original houses used by St. Dominic.

Fr. Francois Daguet, director of L'Institut Saint Thomas d'Aquin in Toulouse.

Dear Friends and Family,

Above are photos, taken a few weeks ago, of one of the original convents of the Dominicans. Saint Dominic's cell in this convent has since been turned into a chapel, where we had a Mass to commemorate the end of the school year.

Please say a prayer for a member of my congregation, a 4-year-old with Down syndrome, who was just diagnosed for possible Leukemia and so is having to spend extended time in a hospital. While he seems to still be in good spirits, please keep him and the doctors in your prayers.

This week has been one punctuated by illnesses and funerals. But the two funerals were joyous occasions really. One involved a 90-year-old who had been a freemason for almost all of his life, until the very end when he renounced that, went through a conversion, and became a Catholic with the full benefit of the Sacraments as he left this world. It was a joy to celebrate his funeral Mass, asking the Lord to grant him a quick passage through purgatory. It was a particular joy, as I went about daily duties this week, to recall the moments of grace in his conversion. God seemed to be smiling down on the funeral Mass as we had beautiful weather which permitted a walking procession to the graveyard for burial.

The other funeral involved a lady I only met once--to give her the Sacraments. At a first Friday rosary a few weeks ago someone asked if I could visit his house-bound mother. I stopped by the home that Sunday to meet a lovely grandmother with a strong faith. She eagerly received the Sacraments and seemed to be on the mend. I expected her to be with us for years to come. But just a few weeks later the Lord called her from this world.

Then there was the little boy I mentioned, who was quickly taken to a hospital a few hours away. But God willing I will see soon. And then there were two house-calls this afternoon. It is a real privilege to be able to bring the Lord in His Eucharistic presence to homes, to offer His absolution, and to anoint those seriously ill.

May Jesus and Mary prepare us all for when the day comes that we ourselves will be preparing to come face to face with God.

Lastly, I will be making my annual retreat in the Benedictine Monastery of Norcia (to see photos click here: https://en.nursia.org )beginning this Wednesday evening and will not be on the computer for the next two weekends. But I'll be praying for you!

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari

St. Mawgan graveyard, just up the road from Lanherne.