Mount Saviour Monastery
September 2017
News:
On the first of the month, word was received that Beaumont Monastery
in Texas, populated by our former brothers Michael Gallagher and Peter
Funk, had been inundated by flood waters from hurricane Harvey. Those who
would like to donate to help them get back on their feet again can use
the following link: www.holycrossmonks.org/news.htm In anticipation of
inclement weather and power outages here at Mount Saviour, we agreed on
the 4th to the purchase of propane generators for the monastery and St.
Joseph’s men’s guesthouse. Our women’s guest house, St. Gertrude’s, also
has its own generator. On the 5th, several of the brothers noticed that
the rain which was falling at the time was sudsing up! The mystery was
solved when we found out through the weather service that ash from multiple
fires in Montana, 2,000 miles away, had been brought by wind currents into
our part of the state and was mixing in with the rain creating the suds.
On the 6th, Msgr. Ciampaglio, diocese of Paterson, NJ, who graciously accepted
our invitation, arrived to fill in for Fr. Don as he took his usual after
Labor Day vacation. The next day the community took a sort of vacation
of sorts too, driving an hour to the north after mass to spend the day
at Waneta Lake, which is nestled among the larger Finger Lakes. On the
way home we took an unexpected scenic detour (we got lost) managing to
return to the monastery in the nick of time for Compline. On the 9th Br.
Justin began a trip to Michigan, his home state, where he reconnected with
many of his relatives. Br. Pierre followed suit the following day as he
reconnected with classmates in Canada for a few days. On the 17th a vocational
candidate arrived from Hawaii for one week and expects to return again
in the spring. Also that day, a talk by Steve Jacobsen focused on conflict
and the Rule of St. Benedict. He stressed using elements from the Rule,
listening and humility, in dealing with conflict situations. On the 19th,
Br. Luke had a planned surgery on his foot as a result of an unplanned
accident last year. His recovery could take up to eight weeks. Our 2017
edition of the Chronicle made its way to the printer on the 21st. The time
required for the layout and final corrections means it will be awhile before
arriving in anyone’s mailbox but it’s in the works. Br. Michael has been
busy this month racing around harvesting produce from the garden and now
the apple crop. We hope to have apple cider available again at meals after
the harvest is finished. He enjoyed a welcome break when we celebrated
a recreation in his honor on his feast day, St. Michael and the archangels
on the 29th.
Br. Justin (John Young) was honored by his family
with a special cake
COMING EVENTS:
Friday Oct. 13th to Sunday 15th: Oblate retreat weekend
Sunday Nov. 5: Friends of the Monastery program with Fr. John DeSocio
after Mass