On the feat of All Saints, Br. John Thompson made his solemn profession in the presence of his mother and friends from Syracuse. This moving ceremony indicate the commitment of a soul for the glory of God and the sanctification of the individual with the help of a supporting community. We se him receiving communion from Fr. Martin on his special day.
French Cathedrals and Monasteries:
On
November 7, Br. Pierre reported on the trip to France that our oblate,
Mary
Skinner had arranged at the end of June. In his introduction,
he tried to answer why so many large churches were built in the 13th century.
In the 10th century, the monks of Cluny promoted the Liturgy as an anticipation
of the heavenly kingdom. The next century seems to bring a
reaction to the centralization of monasteries and a heremitical movement
develops. Then, new ideas about life and ways of doing things contribute
to the emergence of different architecture. The zeal for God is made
manifest in the Crusades, the multiplication of monasteries and convent,
the new schools that borrow from the Greek and Roman knowledge. The French
Church was most prominent in the 13th century. Some of the participants
commented on their favorite places while Br. Pierre showed those segments
on videotape.
May They Rest in Peace:
November is the month when we remember the faithful departed.
Our priests can accept mass intentions ($10.00 in our diocese).
Our oblate, Etta Jerome, died at 93 on November 23; she was a long
time supporter of the monastery and was the Italian teacher of our late
Br. Ansgar. One of our summer program students, Valsin Dumontier,
died of cancer on November 25.
New
Novice:
On November 27, after the first Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent,
the community received as a novice, George Laliberté
from
Manchester NH. He took the name of Br. Guerric in memory of
a French monk. At Mount Saviour, the superior washes the feet of
the novice who receives the tunic and the scapular.