The following quote comes from a Quaker house of worship and it is prominently displayed in the library under the chapel at Mt. Irenaeus. I first saw it on a Sunday in the spring of 2000 and it still is powerful for me. That Sunday I was wondering what God may be and I’m still … Read more
I came to Mass today feeling a bit under the weather but glad to get out if town for awhile. It has been two weeks since my last visit to the Mountain. I am really glad I came. At brunch I met several people who touched my life and gave me direction. I’m sitting now … Read more
Driving toward Mt. Irenaeus this morning I stopped along Hydetown Road and these buttercups invited a photograph and a moment to recall Matthew’s Gospel. Not even Solomon was arrayed as one of these. “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and … Read more
“To cultivate a garden is to walk with God” This quote hangs at the entrance of the friars garden at Mt. Irenaeus. My wife is one of the angelic gardeners in my life. Today she begins the transformation of our front yard to her own prayerful garden.
This is about a day late, because it was at Mass this morning that I learned that this is the birthday of a beloved Friar and the protector of Mt. Irenaeus, which has become my second home in the past eleven years. Sixty-eight years ago William Francis Riley was born and raised in Rochester, New … Read more
This is a beautiful story of community building. It’s one we need more of. I spotted in on the bench next to me while at Eucharist this morning at Mt. Irenaeus This is just the kind of story that needs to be celebrated because regardless of your tradition or no matter what you believe it … Read more
This is the way the chapel looked at Holy Peace following this year’s midnight mass. We began the experience in darkness and were escorted from our car by Brother Kevin. A local power failure had blanketed the area in darkness and just like the shepherds 2000 years ago we were greeted by an angel with … Read more
After midnight Mass we joined the friars for juice, coffee and freshly made Christmas cookies. I love this picture of Mary and Jesus and I often imagine her holding me or any of us. Protecting us from harm. “Come down we beseech you O Lord and protect us. Let your holy angels guard us and … Read more
This has been one heckuva’ year. In the last year I’ve been through the entire gamut of emotion. From dejection, and despair to times of great elation and satisfaction, but central to this is the sense that all of this has been from a power beyond my reckoning and even in spite of me. I’ve … Read more
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. That short sentence is the beginning of the Magnificat and it’s what I was listening to this morning as I drove along the country roads leading from my home in Franklinville, New York to the Franciscan Moutain Retreat in West Clarksville. I’ve written often of Mt. Irenaeus … Read more
