April 3, 2016

April 3, 2016

Happy Easter to one and all! We wish you every blessing in this joyous season. Holy Week ceremonies and the Paschal Vigil were rich and deep and we hope that it was the same for you. All went well, with no mishaps – as can sometimes happen! We could write a book about things going wrong during these ceremonies.

We have been blest in having Sr. Janice of Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey with us for a week. She will accompany our dear “snowbird” Denise back to Wrentham this Tuesday. Fr. Casimir will be leaving us that day, too. It has been wonderful to have them with us to share in Easter joy and celebrations and they will be missed.

Our good friend Fr. Miguel will be celebrating Mass here on Thursday, and it is always good to see him. He takes time out of his busy schedule as pastor of a parish in Tucson to come for Mass and a visit many times during the year. It’s always good to see him.

Our new altar bread sorting table is a work of art. Clay and Marcia were here this past week to deliver and install it. What a difference it makes! We can’t thank them enough. Clay is such a master with wood – and many other things, too.

Left to right: Sr. Rita, Marcia and Clay, with Sr. Miriam seated in front of them, and Sr. Esther at work on the right side.

A full view of the new tables. The large white pipes at the end direct the sorted breads into plastic bins below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve also hired two wonderful groundskeepers for this year, Carlos and Filipe. They do a fantastic job and are an answer to prayer. Our former groundskeeper, Abel, retired last Fall and we thought we would never find anyone of his caliber to replace him. But God has provided!

Our friendly ravens have not been around lately and we are wondering if they are nesting. Either that, or they have found another food source than our stale bread.

We had a fantastic visitation of 20 deer outside our chapel recently. The deer were no more than fifteen feet from our chapel window during Mass and didn’t stay long. Just enough time to amaze us with their beauty and abundance.

May these days of Paschaltime bring you peace, joy and light!

Scenes from Holy Week and Easter–

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Palm Sunday Mass begins

Reading of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Friday Solemn Afternoon Liturgy

Waiting in silence for the entrance procession to begin

Adoration of the Cross

Easter

Easter Vigil Mass with our retreatants and a few neighbors willing to brave the 2:30 a.m. hour.

The bright rays of the Easter sunrise suffuse with light the shell-shaped basin of Easter holy water at the Paschal candle.

We enjoyed a festive Easter dinner with Fr. Casimir and the Brothers of Erlac Monastery

Easter baskets, Easter bunnies, and Easter eggs added to the fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely, simple, quiet Mass on Easter Monday morning–most welcome after all the ceremonies and celebrations of the previous days