Mount Saviour Monastery

January 2019 News:
The New Year came in quietly as we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. Next in this season of celebration, the Solemnity of Epiphany was observed on the 6th. It was the best of both worlds because as it was a Sunday more people were able to join in the celebration. Early on the 7th a wood worker disassembled several refectory tables and took them away. We plan to have all the large refectory tables refinished over the course of the winter.

Brother Antonio returned from his family visit to Mexico on the 9th. For the first time this winter, the ground began to firm up from the rainy year of 2018. That gave Brother Bruno his first opportunity to get equipment into the fields to bring in haystacks that have had to sit there since the fall. Last year our area received over 57 inches of rain, the most of any year on record. The feast of the Baptism, this year on the 13th, concludes the Christmas Season. Over the course of the following days decorations were removed as we began the first week of Ordinary Time. Father Thomas Reese reminds us that it is called "ordinary" not because it is unspectacular or ordinary in the sense we "ordinarily" use the word, but because the weeks of the year are numbered, as in ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.).

A little more celebrating happened on the 17th. That is the name's day of Brother Antonio, so the brothers observed a festive evening recreation with him. The knitter's group began their yearly retreat on the 18th. They were the only non monks able to make it to Sunday Mass on the 20th due to snow, cold and high winds. Our area received a general 12 inch snowfall which was still in high gear at Mass time. The monks who were not sharing the 'bug' traveling through the monastery were treated to a Moroccan meal with the group later that day. On the 23rd a funeral Mass was held for Salvatore 'Sam' LaLomia who helped Brother Antonio make candles in the Arts and Crafts shop. Please pray for his wife Mary Ann and family. The thermometer bottomed out at -13 on the morning of the 31st. Father Don's car steering was frozen so he managed to hail a car heading up our hill in time to celebrate Mass. The weathermen say next week we might hit 60 degrees as we move into February and our roller coaster winter continues.
 

Fr. James with visiting  Sisters and now with a visiting dog Coming Events:
MARCH 3rd  -  Kathryn Tolbert will give a talk on "Japanese War Brides".  Kathryn did a documentary on war brides - her mother, Hiroko Tolbert O'Connor, is one.  Kathryn is a graduate of Elmira Free Academy and Vassar College.  She has worked as a reporter and editor for for the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post.  She got her start writing school news and proofreading for the Star-Gazzette.

MAY 5th at 10:30 a.m.will be the Damasus Lecture with Sr. Julie Upton, RSM and Benedictine Oblate, President of the American Benedictine Academy.

OCTOBER 6th we will have Sr. Mary Donald.