Mount Saviour Monastery

June 2000

Orchard and Garden:
The rainy spring season helped the garden grow well but it affected the orchard with catastrophic results.  Brian Caldwell and Caleb Torrice, cooperative extension agents, confirmed the presence of fire blight in the orchard.  Fire blight, a bacterial disease is considered the most damaging disease of apples and pears in north America.  90% of this year's crop has been destroyed and permanent damage has been done to the orchard.

News:
For their June meeting, the Friends of Mount Saviour invited Brian Jones who had an exhibit at the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC for a slide show on African American Religion.  The refectory has a new look with the addition of chairs.  The benches (for two) were rather "restrictive" for some bodies.  On June 24th, the Loaves and Fishes Group from Ithaca spent a week-end in the guest house and invited us for an ice cream Social.  The wet spring continues; we recorded almost 7 inches of rain in June.  Br. Alexis Foyo went to attend the funeral of his aunt Yolanda.  His paintings (shown below) are for sale: Framed 8 X 11 inches, $100.00

Major Feasts:
With the late Easter celebration,  the month of June had a record number of liturgical feasts: The Ascension marks the 40 days of Easter.  Pentecost reveals the promise of Christ who bestows on us his grace.  The Trinity is revered by monks as and ideal of community life.  On June 24th, St. John the Baptist is considered as the first monk who lived a prophetic life of simplicity in a world of turmoil.  "Corpus Christi" makes us meditate on the humanity of Christ.  The feast of St. Peter and Paul is a solemnity to remember the pillars of the primitive Church.  The feast of the Sacred Heart reveals the love of God for his creatures.

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