Hospitality:
Most people come to Mount Saviour for private retreat;
they enjoy the natural setting and the quiet atmosphere of the country.
At times, we accommodate groups for a few days. This month, we received
the
diaconate class of the New York diocese; they were here
when Cardinal O'Connor died. Fr. Bede from St. Paul's Abbey, New
Jersey, brought some foreign monks ( Korean, African) as part of a training
program for the St. Ottilian congregation. A group of Capuchin
candidates
shared our prayers for a few days. Pastors from various
denominations bring some of their congregation for a few days; this month,
we received Lutherans from York, PA and Methodists from Batavia
NY. More families request our hospitality; the Casas and St. Peter's
have kitchen facilities to feed the children who might be too noisy in
a retreat house. Dr. Bruno Benfey and his family from Montreal
have been coming since the 60s; now their grand children came from
Ontario and New Brunswick to see them at Mount Saviour. Many colleges
and universities arrange retreats for the students to share our common
life for a week-end.
Shearing:
The Fall Festival of the past used to bring children and onlookers
for a festive occasion. On May 26th, the shearing operation had similar
features and the farm became almost a pet zoo. Children and even
grown-ups marveled at the lively lambs, the frightened ewes, the braying
donkeys and the dogs. The skillful shearer is surrounded by many
teams that enable him to "shave" 160 animals in 8 hours: medical team to
vaccinate the lambs, the "wrestlers" who bring the ewes to the shearing
site, the wool handlers who sort the wool for cleanliness and the "paramedics"
who will brush some pine tar on the wounds.