The
month began with the first frost of fall which seemed timely as it was
also the day we switched to the winter hymns for the Office. It was also
the day that Brs. John and Pierre began their ten day adventure in England,
Brussels and Germany. The occasion of the trip was a meeting of the superiors
of our Province in Minster-in-Thanet located in Kent. They then traveled
with the Abbot of Kornelimunster, district of Aachen, via Brussels where
a pick-pocket proficiently picked a pocket of Brother Pierre. And absconded
with his iPad. They visited his monastery and also Maria Laach where our
founder, Fr. Damasus, began his monastic life.
On the 10th, Fr. Darr was finally able to make the move from his apartment in St. John’s, down the road to St. James, as the contractors had completed its renovation. The yearly Oblate retreat weekend took place from the 13th to 15th, very ably organized by Penny Allen. For a summary account please check out the new Oblate Blog at https://oblates-of-mount-saviour.blog/blog/ On the 16th the community agreed to the installation of a new sound system in our chapel which “sounds” like it should be a big improvement over our current system. On the 20th, Br. Bruno had two more heart stents added to the one inserted earlier in the month, in a procedure done in Syracuse, from which he is progressing nicely.
One of our men guests was forced to hitch a ride back home to Long Island
on the 22nd after the very generous donation of his automobile to the monastery.
Fortunately he was part of a larger parish group and could easily get a
ride. Our monastery generator was successfully installed on the 25th.
It was put to the test the very next morning during vigils when we lost
power at 5am and the community was plunged into the dark until the generator,
thankfully, kicked in seconds later. After stuffing approximately 6,000
copies of the fall Chronicle into envelopes they were brought to the post
office and sent out to those on our mailing list on the 27th. Closing out
the month, on the 29th Brs. John and Gabriel headed east for a six day
fraternal visit to the monastic communities in Weston, Vt. and Petersham,
Ma., and to catch the tail end of the fall foliage color change.
COMING EVENTS:
WEDNESDAY NOV. 1 All Saints Day on which we will observe a Sunday schedule
SUNDAY NOV. 5 After Mass talk at St. Joseph’s by Fr. John DeSocio sponsored
by the Friends of Mount Saviour
Nov. 13-15 Chapel will be closed for the installation of a new sound
system. Signs will be posted to direct those who wish to attend Mass and/or
the Offices to their location
NOV. 23 Thanksgiving Day on which we will observe a Sunday schedule.