Emmaus children's Christmas

Here's Sister Anne (prioress), Sister Rosanne (Sister Santa) and yours truly, delivering 100 Christmas gifts for 28 families that I and my "helper elves," especially Sister Mary Grace who wrapped dozens of pairs of sneakers, contributed to the annual Emmaus Ministries children's Christmas gift program. Each child could ask for one clothes item. Sneakers are by far #1, but they are followed closely by pants and "outfits" for the 5 and under crowd...which, by the way, are delightful to pick out!

Thank you Emmaus for all you do for the needy of Erie! And thanks to all the sisters at the Mount who helped and encouraged us in this annual project!

Making deliveries to the Emmaus Food Pantry. Each family gets
a large garbage bag filled with the gifts for their children---
One-thousand children in total.

The beautiful O Antiphons are here.

Advent reflections

This weekend held a reflection/retreat experience for both the oblates and community members.

On Saturday, thirty oblates of Mount St. Benedict Monastery arrived for an afternoon of reflection, followed by dinner with the community and attendance at the Vigil of the Third Sunday of Advent.

Sunday afternoon community members gathered for an early brunch right after liturgy followed by faith sharing and prayer on our Advent-Lent book for this year: Joan Chittister's In God's Holy Light. This book contains 35 "wisdom stories" from the Egyptian desert mothers and fathers of the third, fourth and fifth centuries.

Here's one that we had for this weekend: Abba Sisoes says, "Seek God and not where God lives." Of which Joan wrote: "Abba Sisoes demands an answer from each of us. Who is our God? A cornucopia of good things for spiritual children or a co-creator of life who waits for us to see the world as God sees the world and then do our part to make all of it holy? It is Emmanuel, God-with-us, that we seek."

Our beautiful Christmas PEACE sign, usually sitting in a field
of white snow, but this year standing in the grass!
 Sunday we broke a 114-year record high for the date: 66 !

Early December

Here are two of our "winter deer" enjoying some of the hundreds of apples local farmers dropped off here at the Mount over the past two months. They were way more than we could use so when we had done all we could I placed a couple dozen out at a time and was amazed at how fast (overnight) they would be gone. I caught this pair one day so I snapped a photo right through my bedroom window. Thank you local growers!

If you haven't had a chance to browse through the Fall/Winter issue of our Mount magazine, maybe now is your chance. It's a real beauty. Yours truly took the photos on page 27! The piece on the cover by Brother Thomas is just one in our collection of over 100 pieces. A few of the dark blue ones are on display throughout the monastery right now as appropriate environment for the Advent season. They are always so stunning.

Our ever-beautiful chapel windows. December 9, 6:00 pm

Wild about Advent

We are "wild" about Advent--and why not? Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, we had a superb liturgy, marvelous homily and beautiful music/singing.

Then, this is the sky that greeted us at sunset:

And every day there are scriptures like this one from the second week's Monday liturgy:

" The desert and the parched land will exult; 

the steppe will rejoice and bloom.  

They will bloom with abundant flowers, 

and rejoice with joyful song....

then will the eyes of the blind be opened, 

the ears of the deaf be cleared; 

Then will the lame leap like a stag, 

then the tongue of the mute will sing. 

Streams will burst forth in the desert, 

and rivers in the steppe."

Isaiah 35

1980-2015

On December 2, 1980 three Catholic sisters, two Maryknollers and one Ursuline from nearby Cleveland, were murdered in El Salvador where they were ministering to the oppressed poor of that country which was in the beginnings of what was to be a 12-year civil war. They were all in their 40s. A young laywoman, Jean Donovan, age 27, was working with them and was also martyred.

To mark this 35th anniversary we held a beautiful, yet very sobering and sad holy hour in their honor.

The life of Jean Donovan was recounted in the book and movie Roses in December. This rose, with numerous buds surrounding it, is blooming in one of our gardens today.

Grey Friday

Our local paper carried a story proclaiming that Black Friday retail sales were so much lower than the past, they were dubbing it Grey Friday.

Well, if you love nature, spirituality and inspirational poetry you should give Mary Oliver's new book, Felicity, consideration as a gift for those special friends. She is her usual extraordinary self. Here's an excerpt for you:


I Wake Close to Morning

Why do people keep asking to see
God's identity papers
when the darkness opening into morning
is more than enough?

Certainly any god might turn away in disgust.
Think of Sheba approaching
the kingdom of Solomon.
Do you think she had to ask,
"Is this the place?"


Here's the story of the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon. (1 Kings 10:1-13)

One of the "gifts" that our warm and snowless November has brought us: beautiful clouds in the skies.

Something for everyone

The next four days have something for everyone.

If you get high on Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing and pie, this is your day! Have a great time.

Or, if you love to cheer at the TV with football games, you're in for a treat as there are loads of both college and professional games coming up.

Or, if shopping is your "all-American thing" the deals both in stores and online will be calling to you this weekend.

Here are the identical twins that spend their days at our Child Development Center in downtown Erie. Yes, they always are dressed identically and this day--voila, I guess you'd say they came as football fields. Darling, darling!!! For Halloween they were pumpkins...rather fitting as they are just walking and still have all that baby fat!

Finally, in the midst of all this secular hoopla, doesn't the liturgical season of Advent begin its four weeks Saturday night at the vigil and Sunday as the First Sunday of the Church Year. Every one's favorite here...with new beautiful hymns and lots of old favorites. If it could only be a little longer so we'd have a chance to get all the special prayers and songs in! At least this year it's nearly four full weeks and next year---WOW, four complete weeks.