On the 5th, a large crowd was present to hear a very well received talk
on Thomas Merton by Fr. John DeSocio, an Elmira native. Also that day,
our friends and neighbors of many years, Andrew and Marie Colucci were
enrolled as Oblates of the monastery. Our area experienced our first daytime
snowfall this fall on the 7th with undoubtedly more on its way. Br. Mark
escaped serious injury on the 9th when, hearing strange sounds coming from
the front of the car he was driving, wisely pulled off the road and came
to a halt, only to see his front tire continue to roll down the road ahead
of him, which another driver jumped out of his car to catch for him!
On the 13th, Br. Bruno, recovered from receiving recent heart stents,
began the first of several trips to New Jersey taking the sheep to auction.
Also, the chapel was temporarily closed for three days as sound engineers
installed a new system. Some people think the new speakers are spotlights
and are waiting for them to be turned on while others are reminded of the
contraptions that used to envelop women’s heads at the beauty parlor, while
still others think they are heaters or are reminded of a lily-of-the-valley
flower. Perhaps they are designed after the Rorschach ink blot tests! The
17th brought the annual closing of the outside wooden chapel doors due
to sustained cold weather.
James McGuire, our former Br. Francis of 20 years, joined the community at recreation on the 22nd and reminisced about the early days of the monastery. On Thanksgiving Day our Br. Stephen was briefly hospitalized in Rochester with difficulty swallowing. He welcomes emails stephengalban@yahoo.com but no telephone calls or letters please. On the 25th, the annual coupling of the rams and ewes took place which begins the yearly sheep cycle again and mysteriously leads to a couple of hundred lambs being born in the spring when (we hope) new green grass is once again appearing.
Coming Events:
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception: Dec. 8th. We will observe a
Sunday schedule
Dec. 24th at 6:30 p.m. First Vespers of Christmas followed by the Blessing
of the Creche
Dec. 25th, Christmas Day: Mass at 9:00 a.m.
Fifteenth Annual Retreat for Knitters: Jan. 12-15, 2018