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MAY 2014
  Thursday 1 - The Abbot
and Father Graham got back from Mistassini in the afternoon.
Friday 2
- The Abbot spoke in chapter about the courageous and cheerful spirit of the community in Mistassini and unveiled the big
box of their chocolate products that they had sent us as a gift. The water pipe in front of the greenhouse that had burst
was replaced. Two new panes were found to replace broken ones in the greenhouse. A day of victories! The temperature rose
to an impressive 16ºC and the daffodils are in bud!
Saturday 3 -
News came that Father Maurice was out of hospital and back in the Résidence Notre-Dame du Sacré Coeur. The infection
has cleared up and he is no longer on antibiotics but he has not yet recovered his former mobility. The Abbot went to say
Mass for the nuns because Father Clovis, the chaplain, has gone away for a few days.
Sunday
4 - Father Innocent went to say Mass for the nuns. The Abbot went with Brother Glicerio to see Father Maurice whom
he found on excellent form with all signs of infection gone. Father Adrien was in admiration all day of vast clouds of white
smoke emanating from the greenhouse chimney. Father Innocent is looking after the garden and greenhouse with Father Adrien
as consultant and the novices as workforce. Signs of spring, crocuses in flower!
Monday 5 - Father
Roger went to say Mass for the nuns. There was much planting in the greenhouse. The farm team started ploughing the fields.
But there was still snow on the headland and there were engine problems with the tractor. The Abbot managed to get out on
his bike as far as Brother Urbain's lake and discover a flock of Canada geese who were very surprised to see him.
Tuesday 6 - Brother Stephan was out of sight for most of the day, doing pregnancy
tests on heifers and repairing machinery. Father Graham went to take Brother Henry to a medical appointment.
Wednesday 7 - Father Roger and the Abbot went to see three geothermal heating installations in churches and
buildings around the Shediac area, on the coast of the Province, completed by the company we have been in touch with over
possibilities for ourselves. They had an informative and constructive day. Father Adrien and Father Innocent went to buy other
plants for the greenhouse as they still had spare growing-space.
Thursday 8
- The Abbot was out again. This time to his massage therapist in Miramichi driven by Brother Stephan who was able to pick
up some parts for his work on the machinery. Father Adrien and Father Innocent went to the village to get extra tubing for
irrigating the plants in the greenhouse.
Friday 9 - Bishop Harris of Saint
John came for lunch. The abbot headed out towards the woods on his bike, saw the biggest bear he had ever seen and could not
continue into the woods because there was still too much snow on the trails.
Saturday
10 - Father Graham's parents were here for the weekend. They had not been since Christmas!
Sunday 11 - Father Graham presided the Mass and preached on opening the door and finding Christ waiting within,
ready to share his resurrection with us.
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| Saint Bernadette emerging from the snow at the grotto. |
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Monday 12
- A cold and rainy start to the week, followed by a cold night during which Father Innocent had to get a huge fire going in
the greenhouse to protect his fledgling plants.
Tuesday 13 - The sun came
out and it began to feel like summer. The new rock-picker emerged from the garage. Brother Michael is working at repairing
damage from water that has been seeping in around the windows in the guest-house
Wednesday
14 - The Abbot went to Saint John to be available as confessor for the day to the clergy of the diocese who were on
retreat.
Thursday 15 - On the way back from Saint John the Abbot stayed
overnight in Moncton to see Brother Henry and Father Maurice. Father Graham went to the airport during the night to pick up
his friend Patrick Ngwenya from Zimbabwe, who was once a student with him at the Beda College in Rome. The Abbot came back
with them in the afternoon.
Friday 16 - The Abbot spoke in chapter on
part of the Rule dealing with the Divine Office. One of the brothers expressed the opinion that there were too many pauses
in our office and that they and the responsories were too long. But everybody else seemed quite happy with that aspect of
the Divine Office as we have it. The Abbot went to Rogersville on his bike to dump some stuff in the re-cycling centre and,
as the summer seemed to have come, decided to come back through the woods, where he discovered there were still some patches
of snow. There were also moose tracks and bear tracks and the four-wheelers had been having a ball. Father Innocent who last
week had to work hard to keep the temperature up in the green-house is now desperately opening doors and removing panes to
avoid the place overheating.
Saturday 17 - Brother Glicerio went out on
his bike to Brother Urbain's Lake and found Canada geese rearing their young out there. The farm team is busy spreading
manure on all the fields. This enriches the fresh air. The Abbot got out as far as Br. Henry's old hermitage and discovered
that it had survived the winter very well, and there was a tiny patch of snow just in front of it.
Sunday 18 - Father Patrick Ngwenya spoke in chapter about his work as a pastor in the diocese of Harare in
Zimbabwe. A priest can have a far-flung parish with as many as 100 outstations. For now they have good priestly recruitment,
but what is going to happen when the dearth of vocations we all know, through cultural changes, catches up with them?
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| Our neighbours' wood production operation. |
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| Our neighbours' wood production operation. |
Monday 19 - Victoria
Day. A public holiday, therefore overcast, cool and tending to rain. Father Graham took Patrick Ngwenya to visit people he
had known in Miramichi that he had known during the summer he spent there on pastoral placement when he was a deacon.
Tuesday 20 - Father Graham took Patrick to Moncton, where he will stay the rest of
the week. Father Adrien accompanied them to be fitted with some surgical footwear. They all went to visit Brother Henry and
Father Maurice and declared them to be managing very well and positively despite their handicaps.
Wednesday 21 - A technician came to fix a few things to do with our computers.
Thursday 22 - Father Graham took the pick up truck in for its obligatory test and it had to stay overnight
to have some work done on the brakes. A vet came to check out a cow that had successfully had female twins. This was Br. Glicerio's
first occasion to help with a calving since he joined the cow-barn team. He named the calves, Fatima and Lourdès. The
chickens were all ready to take their journey to the table, but the team of pickers did not turn up. This throws out the feeding
and growth programme, as we will have to keep them until Sunday.
Friday 23
- On Wednesday we had read in Chapter that part of the Rule, chapter 18, where St. Benedict is distributing the psalms. A
brother had picked on the fact that Benedict joined the tiny psalm 116 to psalm 115. So today, instead of the Rule, the Abbot
gave a commentary on psalm 116 to show how it is complete in itself.
Saturday
24 - A sudden drop in temperature with a North East wind. Father Innocent was seen furiously splitting wood for the
boiler in the greenhouse. The Abbot reluctantly put the heating back on after it had been off for ten days.
Sunday 25 - It would have been the feast of Saint Bede if it had not been Sunday, so somebody mentioned him
in the Eucharistic Prayer. Brother Henry and Father Maurice came in time for the Mass, but Brother Henry was taken a little
bit ill during the Mass. A group of Brazilian students currently following courses in Miramichi came for the Mass and were
given a talk on the monastic life and a tour of part of the monastery and farm by Father Graham.
Monday 26 - Brother
Stephan was doing some maintenance on the gears of the snow-blower. Just in case we need it in a hurry! Father Graham took
Father Adrien to his appointment with his eye specialist, to keep his glaucoma in check. The Abbot was enthralled watching
the Pope's visit to the Holy Land.
Tuesday 27 - The Abbot thought
the sun was going to shine so he went to see the Abbess, but there was no sun and a biting cold wind. He called by the parish
church and met the new pastor, quite by chance, a Redemptorist, Father Doris LaPlante.
Wednesday 28 - The Abbot went to say Mass for the nuns because the chaplain, Fr. Clovis had to go and have
some medical tests, which, obviously, worked well because he was out operating a chain saw the next day.
Thursday 29 - The Abbot riding around on his bike found Laurie Alain in a field with a stalled tractor and
was able to help him restart it.
Saturday 31 - A group of Anglicans from
Saint John came for a weekend retreat led by the Rev. Dr. John Wortley of Winnipeg, who, some years ago, gave our community
a workshop on the Desert Fathers. The walk-in freezer went wrong in the evening but was, somehow, all right the next morning.
Our Lady of Calvary Abbey
11505 Route 126, Rogersville NB, E4Y 2N9
Tel : 506 775 2331
E-mail : CalvaryAbbey@aol.com
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