Lent, Time of  Reality, Time of Humility:
"There are some people who will say that there is no such thing as 'reality'.  They prefer to say that what we encounter is all 'perception'.  Some years ago, when I hurt my hand while vaccinating lambs and spent a week-end at the hospital for a swollen infected hand, I concluded that reality hurts.  Lent is a period for reflection to face reality: our physical strength, our mental awareness and our spiritual state.  We are like the chipmunk, in the middle of the road, surrounded by creatures that can crush it in an instant.  This is humility.  During the visit of the pope in the Holy Land, some writers and some Jews tried to humiliate the Church by requesting an apology about the role of the Church during the Holocaust.  It is so easy to condemn from our quiet home when others had to make decisions while troops were invading their space.  Fr. Damasus had to flee Germany because he was involved with the Christian youth movement.  The Albrechts, who took care of St. Gertrude's guest house had to hide in the Black Forest because Maximillian Albrecht, who conducted the Berlin Radio Orchestra, refused to fire Jewish musicians.  For centuries, religious communities had a collection of means of humiliation.  I could never find any reference in the Bible for such practices.  It followed a principle: "The more you suffer, the holier you are".  I never had any devotion for that principle.  Life brings so many occasions to do good that we need all our physical and mental energies.  On the road to salvation, the Paths of Life, we may be small like the chipmunk; but we are loved and beautiful in our littleness.  We are complex, "we are wonderfully made" (Psalm) and we must be grateful for who we are.  Others  value themselves for what they have and are not happy.  This is a time to assess where we belong in the work of creation.  As the lambing season approaches, we are reminded that "the Lord is my shepherd".   Br. Pierre

Coming Events:
Lambing Season: April 15 - May 10

Holy Week: Thursday: April 20, Mass at 5:00 p.m.
                  Good Friday: April 21, Celebration of the Lord's Passion at 3:00 p.m.
                  Easter Sunday: Paschal Vigil and Mass at 4:00 a.m.

Shearing Day: Friday May 26, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

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