PONTIFF'S LAST DAY TODAY

 

POPE  BENEDICT  XVI  STEPS  DOWN

 

Today our Supreme Pontiff,  Benedict XVI,  steps down as pope for our Roman Catholic Church!   Along with so much of the world community, we thank him for his service to our Church and world community and we pray for him in this new stage of his life.      We pray for him and we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and direct our cardinal electorate who are charged with choosing his successor:

        That Pope Benedict XVI,  who has served the Church faithfully as Supreme Pontiff, may find peace and consolation as he turns to a life of prayer for the Church,   we pray to the Lord!

        That the Holy Spirit will inspire and strengthen the Cardinal - electors as they choose a new Holy Father to lead us,  we pray to the Lord! 

 

 

NAZARETH HERMITAGE

 

(chapel at Nazareth Hermitage)

NAZARETH HERMITAGE

 

"Hermits are those who choose to live alone in silence for religious reasons.  They dwell on the fringes of the church ...this eremitic life has a long tradition in the church, beginning with the desert saints of the second and third centuries.

Nazareth Hermitage was established in 1976 with the permission of the local bishop.  Each hermit lives in his or her own hermitage, a small cement-block house dug into the side of the ridge.  Windows look out over the trees to the distant vistas of the oak-pine forest.  Once a week they gather for a common vegetarian meal, which they take turns cooking.

Each hermit rises early, at 3 a.m.  Each prays the liturgy of the hours alone.  There's a flexible structure to their day, allowing each hermit to adapt to whatever seems best suited to their needs, while incorporating various practices common to all.  One practice, for example, is agreeing to work only three hours a day in the winter and four hours in the summer."

Rich Heffern penned those words in an article he wrote for NCR about our Nazareth Hermitage here on property donated to them by the Trappist monks of Assumption Abbey in rural Ava, MO.    It captures for you some of the tone of their life together in prayer.   They do share daily Eucharist.   Along with two sisters,  Sr. Mary and Sr. Miriam,  the other founder, Fr. Leon,  is a Trappist hermit who has been there from the beginning with the sisters.    Today there are 7 hermits living as part of the hermitage.

Sharing remotely in their lives, but always in their prayers, the friars here are blessed by their presence here on the monastery property.   Pray for them,  as we do.   They are certainly praying for you and the many needs of our Church and world.

 

ASSUMPTION ABBEY

 

(Assumption Abbey - Ava, MO)

Our Prayer Fraternity is located on property belonging to the Trappist monks at Assumption Abbey in rural Ava, MO.   In September 1950, six Trappist monks arrived from New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, IA, to start a new foundation here in the 'hills and hollers' of the Ozarks.   The 3400 acres of the property were donated by Joseph and Lily Pierson. 

The name Assumption Abbey was chosen, since in the year 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of Our Lady's Assumption into heaven.    The early monks lived first in an old Swiss stone chalet house (with no central heating and no electricity and no running water) that Mr. Pierson had on the grounds used for hunting purposes.   Gradually, the monks built other buildings around the house.   In 1971, they moved into the new monastery pictured above.

The first monks supported themselves by farming and orchards (that didn't fair well in this area); secondly, they utilized the rocks, sand, and gravel in the creeks to make concrete blocks (this was more successful but very hard work); for the past 25 years, the monks have supported themselves with a very successful 'fruitcake' business. 

In 1972,  Assumption Abbey assisted in beginning a new Trappist foundation in the Phillippines.    In 1976,  Nazareth Hermitage (with 3 hermits) was begun on another section of the property about 2 miles from the Abbey.   The Franciscans arrived in 2005 to open their Interprovincial Prayer Fraternity on another section of the property, also about 2 miles distance from the Abbey.   

Today, these three communities are a great support to each other and  provide a 'spiritual oasis' here in southwestern Missouri, as part of the diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau.    Pray for us as we do for you!  

 

 

INTERPROVINCIAL FRANCISCAN PRAYER FRATERNITY

 

 

TOUR OF FRIARY BUILDINGS

Throughout this blog, there are many different pictures of our buildings here in rural Ava, Missouri as well as the grounds, etc.   If you would like to see a complete VISUAL TOUR OF THE FRIARY AND GUEST ROOMS, go to the 'Archives' section of this blog, to the year '2010', and click on 'July'.    ENJOY! 

 

TRANSFORMING PRAYER

 

Matthew 5:44   "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you...."

Really, God?   My enemies?   Can't I just pray  for my friends?

The healing begins precisely in the discomfort of trying to implement this verse.  Our obedience is a sign to God that we are finally ready to grow.   We agree that we are willing to leave our own (unsuccessful) methods behind and relinquish all our past hurts and resentments into God's capable hands.

When we pray for those who hurt us, we experience what I call a "boomerang blessing"  --  it touches our target and then returns to us, hitting the exact place where we are most broken.  It becomes easier to breathe.  Our wounds begin to heal cleanly.  We are able to see our enemies with greater compassion.  Our hard hearts soften.  Regardless of the situation or the relationship, we are changed.

And that was what God was after all along.

(This reflection was written by Kristin Armstrong and appears in the daily devotional,  LIVING FAITH,  for Saturday,  February 23, 2013.  You can find out more about the publication by going to   www.livingfaith.com)

 

 

LORD'S PRAYER REFLECTION

 

In the Lord's Prayer,  Jesus gives the disciples an example of how they are to pray:  with economy, trust and intimacy with God.  Like making love, prayer is one of the things we all have to do on our own.  Nobody can do it for us.  Speaking with God is an intensely personal event.  Lent is usually our annual attempt to improve our prayer life in some way.

There are two extremes that make prayer difficult.  The first confuses prayer with our daily routine.  Prayerful living is not identical with prayer.  If getting through the day is the extent of our prayer life, prayer loses its distinctive character.  The opposite extreme identifies prayer exclusively with surges of mysticism.  A rapid pulse and wild transports of spiritual passion are not attractive to many people   There has to be a middle ground between the two.  This is what the Lord describes.

We should have a set time for personal prayer.  In addition to our regular prayers, we should find a time when we are most at ease to simply communicate with the Lord and not be interrupted by anything else.  Some people even set aside a place of prayer in their homes.   Secondly, our prayer should be authentic.  There is no need for us to posture before God or recite prayers written by a great saint which we think God will like to hear.   Thirdly, we should await the Lord's response.  After a while, we will not be greeted by silence.  We will slowly tune in to the Holy Spirit.

An important meaning of the Lord's Prayer is that we can contact the God of the universe.  Reading a great deal about prayer is not initially helpful.  Like teaching, litigating, preaching, driving or swimming we have to start at some point and will improve slowly.  After several months of experience, books will be more helpful.

(reflection by Fr. S. Joseph  Krempa   in  Daily Homilies:  Seasonal and Sanctoral Cycle,   p.  66,  published by  Alba House.)

 

ST. AUGUSTINE AND THE LORD'S PRAYER

"IF YOU RUN THROUGH THE PETITIONS OF ALL HOLY PRAYERS,  I BELIEVE YOU WILL FIND NOTHING THAT IS NOT SUMMED UP AND CONTAINED IN THE LORD'S PRAYER."   (St. Augustine)

2013 BAKERY SEASON HAS BEGUN

 

(famously delicious Assumption Abbey fruitcakes)

The baking season for the 2013 year at Assumption Abbey has begun;   each day Monday through Friday the monks and their helpers make 125 cakes --  625 cakes per week.    The Franciscans from here at the Prayer Fraternity help with the decorating and the wrapping phase of the operations Tuesday through Saturday.  One of the friars is there each day as part of the working team.

The goal again for the year is 25,000 cakes.  That takes about 45 weeks and should be completed by early December.   If you would like to order a cake,  you can do so online by going to www.assumptionabbey.org and going to the fruitcake link.   You can also call the Abbey at 417 - 683 - 5110 and ask for the bakery line. 

Last year the cakes were sold out by early December;  be advised to order early. 

 

FIRST SNOW OF .....PAST TWO YEARS

(Feb. 16th snowfall here at friary)

 

The above picture shows the first snow that we've had of any accumulation in the past two years;  it was the surprise of early Saturday morning,  February 16th.  By noon the snow was gone.

A LENTEN PRAYER

(Ava chapel in Lenten colors)

THE PRAYER OF ST. EPHREM

LORD AND MASTER OF MY LIFE,

DO NOT GIVE ME A SPIRIT OF LAZINESS

            OR IDLE CURIOSITY,

OR AMBITION OR EMPTY TALK.

INSTEAD, GRANT TO ME,  YOUR SERVANT,

A SPIRIT OF SELF-CONTROL AND HUMILITY,

       OF PATIENCE AND LOVE.

 

YES, LORD AND KING, ENABLE ME TO SEE

       MY OWN FAILINGS,

AND NOT TO JUDGE MY BROTHER OR SISTER,

FOR YOU ARE BLESSED UNTO THE AGES OF AGES.  

 

AMEN. 

 

The Prayer of St. Ephrem is the great Lenten prayer of the Byzantine-rite churches, Orthodox and Catholic.  It is prayed at least twice daily in the weekday services of Lent and used privately as well.   Its few lines take us directly to Jesus' fundamental imperatives:   repent,  be mindful of your own sins,   do not judge others. 

 

(This comment above on the Prayer of St. Ephrem is by Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB, a monk of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville.  It appears in the February 2013   GIVE US THIS DAY monthly missalette, p. 8, published by Liturgical Press.)

 

 

PRAYING THE TRUTH

 

(few flowers to warm up the spirits)

NEW BOOK BY FR. WILLIAM A. BARRY, SJ

 

In the present issue of LIVING FAITH, a daily devotional,  a new book by Jesuit father, William Barry, is profiled.    Several excerpts from the book are given there and we share some of these thoughts from there for you:

 

I believe that God wants a personal relationship, an adult friendship, with each of us and that prayer is the best way of engaging in that friendship.  By prayer I mean what occurs when I am conscious in some way of God's presence.  So prayer can be as simple as watching a child trying to speak words, looking at sunlight glancing off snow-covered trees, playing with your dog, feeling the wind on your face, hearing birds sing, smelling bacon sizzling in a frying pan, looking at someone you love; all can be prayer if you're aware of God's presence as you take in these experiences. 

 

Here I want to mention some recent experiences that have inspired me to write about this topic:  (we share one here)

For LENT of 2010 I decided to ask God every day:  "WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR OUR FRIENDSHIP?"   Almost as soon as I began to focus on this question,  I felt God's love for me, and then experienced some tangible examples for that love both in prayer and daily life.   I took these experiences as God's response.  Then my prayer took its usual route of distractions about worries or things to do;  when I noticed this and turned back to God, I said something like this,  "There I go again."   God seemed to reply,  "Why don't you talk to me about these distractions."   When I did, I noticed how the concerns evaporated; moreover, I often knew how to approach, in a more positive and less self-absorbed way, what I was going to do or the people I was concerned about.  When I began to talk to God about my distractions, they were no longer distractions;  they became openings to dialogue and greater transparency with God.

after a few more examples, he writes:  So, (in this book), I intend to engage in a conversation with you about what it might mean for your prayer life to engage in a friendship with God, a friendship God wants very much.   To grow in that friendship, you and God will have to tell the truth to each other.   In the process, I believe, you will find yourself slowly transformed.

(This book is called;  PRAYING THE TRUTH,  and is published by Loyola Press. Chicago, IL.)