It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....in October!

After our Community Meeting, Noon Prayer, and Dinner, we went outside and saw this most beautiful scene behind the convent. Christmas in October, so to speak.
I don't remember the snow staying like this so early in the Fall.

Then we saw this sight:


We affectionately called her, "Our Lady of the Snow Beret and Muffler".

It'll probably be 80 degrees on Wednesday. This is Wisconsin, ya know.

An Important Message

The protection of children is absolutely a part of our duty as citizens and parents.
There is something that you need to be aware of. I am not competent to speak of it in any detail, so I am asking you to log onto http://www.americanpapist.com/blog.html
(Video: Protecting Traditional Marriage and Preserving Childhood Innocence)
to read it for yourselves. This is important. We need to be aware of the insidious and pernicious activity of those at the highest level. May Jesus, Mary, and Joseph help and protect us!

The Memorial of Saint Bruno, October 6

Tomorrow we commemorate the founder of the Carthusian Order, Saint Bruno.
The life of the Carthusians has been documented in the film "Into Great Silence", which many have become familiar with this most unique form of religious life. I was able, along with Br. Joseph, to see this magnificent work when it was first released in a theatre in CT. The Carthusians are probably the strictest Order in the Latin Church; they practice a complete separation from the world and live their days in the "silence of solitude" gathering for the Divine Office in the middle of the night (when the rest of the world is either sleeping, awake because of illness or trials, or just sinning!) and in the evening for Vespers.
And yet, these monks are the most human in their simplicity, fidelity, and awareness of the human condition.
They remind all of us that "God Alone" is the goal to which all Christians are called.
Their understanding of their life of sacrifice and consecration is "to make Saints, not canonize them."
Very well put.
The American foundation of Carthusians has a website which can be found at the links sidebar (Carthusians in America).

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Today we have the privilege of offering the Mass of Our Lady of Rosary, as an External Solemnity in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The Lady of the Rosary is a very important historical and religious figure: throughout history, the praying of the Holy Rosary has brought about conversions, reversals of historical situations (such as Lepanto where the Muslims were attempting to invade Christendom and even today in the Philippines where a massive Rosary rally with millions in the streets reversed a violent situation).

After Holy Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, we prayed the Litany of Loreto (in Latin), prayed to our Lady of the Rosary, blessed roses that were distributed to the faithful, and ended with the "Salve Regina".

Here are excerpts from today's homily.

Today we celebrate the External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary, which is kept on October 7th. October is traditionally the "Month of the Rosary", where special devotions such as we will have today after Mass are prayed in the family, by individuals, prayer groups, and parishes. Although May is "Mary's Month", October is a particular time to renew our devotion to the Holy Rosary, even if we pray it daily throughout the year.

The prayers that compose the Rosary come from Sacred Scripture: the 'Our Father', the 'Hail Mary', and the 'Glory be' (which although not explicitly from Sacred Scripture, is implicitly derived from it). The 'Apostles' Creed' is the ancient formula of our Faith; the Fatima Prayer, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins..." is in its essence, a prayer that synthesizes the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ to save sinners and to share this mission with us in our prayers and penances.

The mysteries of the Rosary take us from the Annunciation to the Coronation of Our Lady, making the events our our Lord's life the subject of our meditation as we pray the vocal prayers; Pope John Paul II called this "the School of Mary"--by holding the beads in our hands, praying the words of the prayers with our lips, and with mind and heart 'contemplating' upon the mysteries of our salvation, we are formed interior in the image of the Son by the care of the Mother.

This particular day was instituted by Pope Saint Pius V to thank God for the victory of the Christian forces who prevented a Muslim invasion at Lepanto--a victory attributed to the people praying the Rosary. Other historic events since that time have been effected by the praying of the Rosary by the multitudes...

Padre Pio often called the Rosary "his weapon". He prayed countless Rosaries throughout the day. He was rarely seen without a rosary in his hands.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta prayed many rosaries each day, especially as she walked through the slums, or travelled throughout the world. Her sisters continue to do this, praying countless rosaries as they travel and do the work of the Lord.

The Rosary is a weapon in our spiritual battle. The prayers from our Lord, the 'Angelic Salutation'(the Hail Mary), the Church's Sacred Tradition are sacramentals and can bring grace to the one who prays in faith. The blessed rosary beads have the prayer of the Church and when used in faith and prayer can be the means of gaining a plenary indulgence. The Mysteries of our Salvation bring the soul into contact with the saving mercy of the Lord and teach the essence of our Catholic Faith.

We need the Rosary more now, than ever. Just in the last week, there was an 'International Day of Blasphemy' when people were encouraged to mock, deride, or curse God. The Holy Father has been viciously attacked in the media in Great Britain for his planned visit there. While many graces have been given and the witness of faith is tremendous, the pilgrimage throughout England of the relics of Saint Therese has been ridiculed and even condemned in the media there. And those are just three examples of the evil, unbelief, blasphemy, hatred of God, His Church, His Vicar.

Our Lady of Fatima, the Lady of the Rosary, asked the shepherd children to pray for the conversion of sinners, especially those who had no one to pray for them. This is a great act of charity and mercy: to pray the Rosary for "those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love" the Lord. We can call down God's blessing upon our homes, our families, our communities by the devout praying of the Rosary. Next to Holy Mass, the Sacraments, and the Divine Office, the Rosary is truly one of the most efficacious prayers and means of growth in holiness.

The Rosary, prayed devoutly and sincerely, leads us to a greater participation in the Holy Mass. True devotion to Our Lady, according to the teaching of Saint Louis Marie de Montfort, always leads us to Her Son. May the graces of this day fill us with a renewed love for Mary's Rosary and a greater appreciation for this most sublime Sacrifice.

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

Today in the Extraordinary Form we celebrated the feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. In the Ordinary Form, her feast was on October 1st. One of the advantages of celebrating both forms is that we are able to celebrate her feast twice!

I must give a public thanksgiving and attribution to Saint Therese for my conversion to the Catholic Faith and for my vocation as a monastic and a priest.

From a very early age I was attracted to her. This may sound strange, but when I was first introduced to Catholicism at the age of ten, I found out about Saint Therese, read everything I could find about her, and over the years was influenced and formed by her "Little Way".

She has seemed to adopt me as her own child. Even in the years of difficulty and darkness, she has been with me.

Her "Story of a Soul" has been my spiritual "food and drink"; she has acted, in a sense, as my "Novice Mistress", teaching me to love God in every moment of every day, seeing that difficulties and obstacles are the means to union with God, that "external" religious practices must always be filled with the interior desire to love Jesus, and Jesus alone.

Her "dark night" that preceded her most excruciating death by tuberculosis, when even making an act of faith was a heroic effort, is a great consolation to me, and is a sign of her relevance in this world where so much unbelief, blasphemy, hatred of God and His Church are rife.

She wanted to "eat at the table of sinners"; she was in complete solidarity with those who our society considers "lost": the prostitute, the apostate, the forgotten ones.

This, in my opinion, is the true greatness of the soul of Therese Martin, the "Little Flower", who as one author has put it, is "as strong as steel".

May Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face pray for us; may she bring us to the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the Church, where we find the peace, joy, and charity that so inflamed her heart!

SS. Angelorum Custodum, The Holy Guardian Angels

I love the feast of the Guardian Angels. What a tremendous gift they are to us. They are there every moment of every day, protecting and guarding, inspiring and guiding us.

There are many stories of how the Guardian Angels have protected, guarded, and inspired many saints and people even today.

Just recently, I was driving home from doing some errands. It was rainy and overcast. I was in a hurry to get home. All of a sudden, from the left lane (I was in the right) a wagon behind a truck hauling it came loose, and a bunch of loose wood and other things came flying at me. Thanks be to God, they missed me. But if they had hit me, they would have hit the windshield, and who knows what would have happened!!

All I said, (I am ashamed to say), is, "Oh, God!" I wasn't afraid but just shocked by the debris flying around me.

I attribute my safety to my Guardian Angel. I could have been hurt or killed by this random incident. Evidently, God still wants me around!

In the Office of Readings for today (part of the Divine Office we pray as religious and priests) Saint Bernard has some very important things to say about our Angel Guardians:
"...the angels are here; they are at your side, they are with you, present on your behalf. They are here to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, we must nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need."

Pray to your Guardian Angel. Ask for his intercession and assistance. And never let yourself feel alone. You are never alone. His angel is there to guard and protect you!

Color change

I have considered several requests to change the background color (which, by the way, is not meant to be pink but purple in honor of Saint Joseph's color, but anyway)
I hope this is easier to read.
I appreciate the input.
It means people are reading the blog!
Yipee!!
I have some planned blogs for later today and tomorrow.
I haven't died or gone AWOL.
I'm still here.
Gosh, that's a lot of "I's",,,I'm supposed to be dying to myself in this vocation...oh well!