Monday 31 January – At supper time, the abbots and abbesses, including Dom André, retired abbot of Rougemont,
arrived. Dom Marcel of Prairies and Dom Jacques Garneau of Saint-Benoît du Lac
had not been able to come. They had supper with us in the community refectory
and we were joined by Mother Alfreda from Assomption.
February
2005
Tuesday 1 February – The abbots and abbesses held a mini-meeting which lasted most of the day. They had their meals with us and the midday meal was extra special.
Wednesday 2 – Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and the Abbatial Blessing of Mother Alfreda, the
new abbess of Assomption.
We all went over to Assomption for 10h30. But Brother Urbain was not able
to come because he had to wait for the district nurse who is coming in every day at the moment to change the dressing on the
open sore on his leg. The liturgy was presided by Archbishop André Richard of Moncton. The whole
day went very smoothly thanks to the organization of Sister Kathleen. We first
had the blessing and procession of candles. Then, after the gospel, the Archbishop
blessed the new abbess, after which the Mass continued as usual. Then a superb
dinner was served to all the participants in the community’s ample refectory.
Everybody had a great time.
Thursday 3 – On the dot of 6am the abbots and Abbess Marie set off on their return journey in Dom Jacques of Mistassini’s minibus.
Saturday 5 – Greg Kennedy, an applicant, arrived from Truro. He is originally from
Ontario.
The temperature went up above freezing for a few days.
Monday 7 –
This morning we had our monthly day of prayer for the dead. It is our last until
after paschal time.
A district
nurse from the hospital comes to attend Brother Urbain: he has an open wound on his leg which is not healing as quickly as
it should.
Father Maurice
went to Moncton for a cardiogramme.
We have nobody
that is really sick, just some who have to have periodic check-ups.
After a long
wait, Brother Gilles got his appointment for Halifax for his assessment of
his heart condition. He has to be in Halifax on the 17th of March.
Wednesday
9 – The Mennonite Pastor, Werner DeJong, from Peticodiac, to the south of Moncton, spent several days on retreat with us. The abbot invited him to talk
about his church and its principles. The Mennonite Church began at the time of the Protestant Reformation.
The Pastor
took five points to illustrate the teaching and approach of the Mennonite Church:
- Christ first and foremost, as for all Christians.
- Pacificism
- Community life, with a lot of mutual support
- Discipleship
- Simplicity of life-style
The Mennonites
have known a lot of persecution. Rev. DeJong was a lively speaker.
Thursday 10
– There seems to be a certain spirit of nostalgia at large in the community. This
evening we were discussing whether to re-adopt the liturgical posture called in ceremony (the arms by the sides with
the cowl sleeves let down) which we suppressed after Vatican II under Abbot Alphonse.
We also decided to put the crucifix beside the altar during Lent.
Saturday 12
– Our cows are too good. Brother Stephen has difficulty in keeping the
milk production within the limits imposed by the quota we have.
Wednesday 16 – This evening we worked on our house report for the next General Chapter of the Order. We are basing it on the last visitation card, adding the developments that have taken
place since.
Thursday 17 – This evening we watched a further episode of Mel Gibson’s film. People don’t seem to be getting much out of it.
Elmer Aucoin, one of our workers, has been re-painting the refectory.
Friday 18 – The guesthouse is full. Something that doesn’t
happen often.
Sunday 20 – Our little chapel was packed for the Mass.
This evening Father Maurice went by train to Rougemont, at the invitation of Dom Raphael. Since we use the same accounting computer program Father Maurice will be able to help Dom André learn it.
Monday 21 – Dom Bede has been able to get out on his bike despite the cold. Brother Urbain likewise, at 87 years of age has been riding his tricycle, in minus 6ºC.
Wednesday 23 – Brother Graham sent us a copy of the Beda Review.
Hidden away in one corner we discovered a picture of him, all smiles. Thank
you, Brother.
Thursday 24 – We are following the Pope’s illness by internet and we are praying for him.
We have been reading in the refectory a little work by Timothy Radcliffe: “The Seven Last Words of Christ”. But we have interrupted it to listen to the latest circular letter from the Abbot
General.
Friday 25 – Three sisters of Myriam de la Paix spend a day of recollection here. They are from Tracadie-Sheila.
Saturday 26 – Father Maurice came back from his week at Rougemont where he had helped Dom André familiarize himself
with the computer accounting program. The Abbot and community of Rougemont expressed
great satisfaction.
Monday 28 February – Our electronic organ is showing increasing signs of wearing out and is beyond
the limits of any guarantee. Brother Stephen’s dream would be a pipe organ,
but such a thing is beyond our financial possibilities. On the other hand digital
computer organ technology has made huge strides forward and they come at reasonable prices.
The abbot and Brother Stephen went to look at one on sale in Miramichi. The
company, Irving Keyboard, agreed to let us have the organ here for a week to see how it suited us.
March 2005
Tuesday March 1 – We recalled the seventy-first anniversary of Brother Urbain’s entry into the
monastery.
Another big snowstorm today; will this be the last storm of the winter?
Friday 4 – For the year of the Eucharist there will be a night of adoration in the guest house chapel
each first Friday of the month. The first one was held this evening, with Father
Clovis Chiasson, chaplain to the Trappistines, and some of the sisters and laity of the area participating.
Saturday 5 – 71st birthday of the chronicler: So
I was born four days after Brother Urbain entered the monastery. Something he
reminds me of frequently.
A meeting was held so that the brethren could give their opinion on the buying of the new organ. The sound of the new instrument was certainly considered a great improvement on the old one.
Monday 7 – We have at last gotten ourselves a retreat preacher for next November. He is an Oblate of
Mary Immaculate, a Franco-American, Father Francis Demers. For next year Dom
Marie-Gérard Dubois has given us to understand that he might be able to come.
Wednesday 9 – Father Rufus of Mount Saint
Bernard,
where our abbot came from, has asked our prayer-support for a retreat he is scheduled to give next week to a group from the
Beda College in Rome. Father Rufus is the novice master and Mount Saint Bernard and had Father Bede as his novice master many years ago. Our Brother Graham is currently a student at the Beda College.
We seem to have brought to a successful conclusion the text of our house report for the General Chapter. It is due to be submitted to the Father Immediate.
Thursday 10 – Brother Damien and Elmer are busy painting and sprucing up a number of rooms for our hoped
for postulants.
Friday 11 – The guest house is full of young people looking at their vocation in life.
Saturday 12 – Two technicians came to install our new Johannus organ permanently. The price to us was $14,000.
Sunday 13 – During the Mass Brother Stephen served up some marvellous pieces on the organ.
Monday 14 – In chapter, the abbot is commenting on the liturgy of Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
I received a nice letter from Dom Bernard Lefebvre.
Dom Bernard was the last Abbot of Bonnecombe, which was the house which founded our monastery and is now suppressed. Since then Dom Bernard has had many and varied experiences and he is now at Aiguebelle
and 89 years old. Everything going on here interests him a lot.
Tuesday 15 – For a variety of reasons several of the brethren had to go out today: six out of nine of
us! There were not very many at some of the Offices.
Wednesday 16 – The chronicler was plunged into mourning.
Last night, at the Georges Dumont Hospital in Moncton, the second youngest of my sisters,
Léa Robichaud, passed away after a long battle with cancer. It was her who kept
our large family of 13 brothers and sisters together.
Thursday 17 – At last Brother Gilles got to Halifax for his appointment in cardiology at the hospital there. There is one more test, and exacting one, which is not without risk that they want
to do to eliminate the possibility that his problems come from the heart. They
did not do the test today, but reviewed his case and promised to have him back for the test in a couple of months.
Saturday 19 – My sisters funeral at Acadieville, a country parish; the church was full.
Sunday 20 – Palm Sunday. This year we began the liturgy
in the guest house chapel. This gave the possibility for the faithful to sit
down and we had a longer procession.
Monday 21 – The abbot continued
his conferences on the Good Friday Liturgy.
A team of
workers under Reginald Gaudet, Mother Alfreda’s brother, began the second phase of the repair work to the big chicken
barn roof. This chicken barn was built in 1963; it is 216 feet long, 35 feet
wide and has three storeys.
Tuesday 22
– Brother Stephan is in the process of making organ pipes to be fixed as a façade to the speakers of our new organ. They call them “canons”, that is to say silent pipes. The abbot is keen on the monks making use of their creative gifts, especially when he knows that to buy
a set of dummy pipes from the company that made the organ would cost $6,000!
Thursday 24
– Maundy or Holy Thursday: We have a very good group of retreatants very
recollected and silent and faithful to the services in church and to serious reading.
Among them there is a couple from Madawaska, Charlène et Julien Bossé. Julien is an expert
in trimming apple trees: he went over all ours to get them into their best condition.
I’ll have more to say about his wife later.
At the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, after the homily, the abbot washed the feet of all the monks (seven
in fact because Brother Leo was assisting him).
Friday 25 – Good Friday. The Celebration of the Lord’s
Passion saw our chapel nearly full.
Saturday 26 – Holy Saturday. As last year, the
Paschal Vigil was divided into two parts. At 7.30 pm, in front of the big red door, the abbot blessed
the new fire. It was a bit chilly out there for those who could not get close
to the fire! Brother Stephan sang the Exultet once again, uplifting everybody’s
heart. Most of the people and some of the monks stayed on in private prayer for
about 20 minutes, then we went to bed. A lot of people from outside and some
of the guests were in the chapel long before the time for the second part at 4 am.
Sunday 27 – Easter Day: About 3.30 am a number of people,
youngsters among them, were already here praying before the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, the Baptismal Liturgy
and the Eucharist. After the gospel, the abbot read a very beautiful homily by
Saint John Chrysostom. The abbot says that otherwise there is no patristic input
into the celebration of Easter Day. There is also an ecumenical value, in that
this homily is always read at Easter Mattins in the Byzantine tradition. It also
avoids the inconvenience of the abbot having to give two Easter homilies.
At the 10 am Solemn Mass of Easter Day our chapel was filled to overflowing, some people had to remain
standing. After communion Charlène played on her zither accompanied by Brother
Stephan on the organ; a meditative duet, which was well appreciated. When Brother
Stephan had finished his concluding voluntary after the Mass the people applauded.
Monday 28
March – In chapter, the Abbot looked back over the celebrations of Holy Week and thanked all the brothers who facilitated
the liturgy and the reception of the guests. In addition to the guests, there
had been an impressive number of faithful from the neighbourhood.
Tuesday 29
– Father Wesley Wade, Vicar General of the diocese of Bathurst and a frequent
visitor to our guest house arrived for a few days. He is preparing a retreat
for the priest of the diocese of Charlottetown.
Wednesday
30 – Meeting of the finance committee to examine last year’s accounts.
We learned
of the transfer of Bishop Daniel Bohan, formerly a priest of the diocese of Moncton, currently auxiliary bishop in Toronto, to be Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan.
Thursday 31
– Like the rest of the globe we are following in prayer the development of the Pope’s illness.
April
2005
Saturday 2 April
– The news of the death of the Pope came as no surprise. We remembered
him in our intercessions.
Sunday 3 April
– The Abbot announced that the Mass would be that of the Sunday In Albis
but offered for the repose of the soul of the deceased Pope John Paul. A
Mass for the Dead will be celebrated on Tuesday and again on the day of the Funeral.
At the end of the Mass the abbot read out the text that had been read that morning at the end of the Mass in Saint
Peter’s Square, the text prepared by the Pope for this Sunday’s Regina Coeli.
A group gathered in
the guest house chapel for two hours of prayer and adoration in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday, under the guidance of Father
Clovis Chiasson, chaplain to the Trappistines.
Saturday
2 April – The news of the death of the Pope came as no surprise. We remembered
him in our intercessions
Sunday 3 April
– The Abbot announced that the Mass would be that of the Sunday In Albis but offered for the repose of the soul
of the deceased Pope John Paul. A Mass for the Dead will be celebrated on Tuesday
and again on the day of the Funeral. At the end of the Mass the abbot read out
the text that had been read that morning at the end of the Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, the text prepared by the Pope
for this Sunday’s Regina Coeli.
A group gathered
in the guest house chapel for two hours of prayer and adoration in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday, under the guidance of Father
Clovis Chiasson, chaplain to the Trappistines
Tuesday 5
– Early this morning I learned of another death in my family, that of my brother Leo, 79 years old. He died just 16 days after my sister Lea.
Wednesday
6 – The abbot informed us about various decisions taken by the General Congregations of the Cardinals relative to the
Pope’s funeral and the date of the Conclave, as announced by the Vatican Press Office on their website. The Rome City
Administration – SPQR – had also made some predictions about the number of pilgrims they were expecting. The abbot also made available to us the text of the Pope’s Last Will and Testament.
Thursday
7 – My brother’s funeral at Grand-Anse; the presiding priest was a retired Holy Ghost Father from France. He serves in 21 parishes as a replacement as the need arises.
Friday 8
– We had the good fortune to be able to see the Pope’s funeral on television, live, at 5 o’clock in the morning, thanks
to Rhéal’s being able to fix up an aerial on
the roof of the old novitiate. The commentary was in English, but later in the day, thanks again to Rhéal, we were able to watch the funeral on video
with commentary in French. The abbot was obviously very impressed with Cardinal
Ratzinger’s homily, since he quoted it at the beginning of our Mass for the Pope at the usual Mass time.
Saturday 9 – A large group of people took part in a three-day retreat preached by Father Melvin Doucet,
of the White Fathers.
Monday 11 – A new adult tricycle arrived for Brother Frère Urbain.
It is bright red.
Wednesday 13 – Our former Brother Shawn Daly spent a few days with his friends and our neighbours
and helpers Rhéal and Irène DesRoches. He came over to see us several times,
especially to meet with Fr. Maurice and Br. Stephan. Shawn is still looking towards
the priesthood. He is doing pastoral work in the Dominican Republic, but he has health problems due to
the local diet. The Abbot presented us with interesting statistics concerning
the Pope’s funeral that he had found on the Vatican website. It was the largest gathering ever of Sovereigns
and Heads of State. To pay one’s last respects to the deceased Pope, at
the peak period, you had to wait 24 hours in a queue that was 5 kilometres long. There
were 11,600 police officers deployed in the City. Saint Peter’s Square
and the Via della Conciliazione were full, with 500,000 people. There were 3,600
chemical toilets strategically distributed around the Eternal City.
Thursday 14 – Early this morning I went to the Georges Dumont hospital in Moncton for a variety of tests requested
by my new doctor.
Friday 15 – In chapter, before continuing his commentary on the Rule, the abbot spoke about the preparations
for the Conclave and the timetable the Cardinals would follow. He also explained
what we were going to do to be united in prayer with the Cardinal Electors.
Saturday 16 – A group of the Catholic Women’s League, made up of representatives from
the dioceses of Moncton, Bathurst and Saint John spent two days of reflection and discussion here with their National President.
Half of them stayed at the Trappistines because we are not equipped to board that many women.
Sunday 17 – Before supper we had a holy hour for the success of the Conclave. It consisted
of Vespers, the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, followed by
Benediction.
Monday 18 – The abbot took the train in the evening to Oka, in view of a meeting on Thursday at Rougemont,
where all the abbots and abbesses of Canada had been invited to meet with the superiors and delegates of the different houses
of the Cistercian Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of Lérins, who were taking part in the General Chapter of the
Congregation there.
The Cistercian nuns
of Our Lady of the Valley, and the monks of Spring Bank, both in Wisconsin, were also represented
at this day of Cistercian sharing, by their superiors and a member of each community.
Dom Bede spent the remaining days of the week enjoying the warm hospitality of our brothers at Notre-Dame du Lac, Oka, near Montreal. Fr. Sylvain, the prior of Oka took our abbot to visit the site of Oka’s future monastery at Saint-Jean de Matha.
Tuesday 19 – Br. Gilles went to Halifax at last for the tests on his heart. The results
were less alarming than we had feared.
When the news came through of the white smoke, the brethren rushed to the television just in time to see Benedict
XVI emerge on the balcony of St. Peter’s.
Friday 22 – Br. Gilles came back happier than when he went to Halifax.
Saturday 23 – The abbot came back thrilled with what he had seen and with the representative of the communities
that he had met.
Sunday 24 – We changed the time of Lauds to give us the opportunity to see the installation of the new Pope. A wonderful celebration that kept us riveted in front of the small screen for two
and a half hours.
Monday 25 – The abbot gave us a detailed report of his visit to Rougemont as well as to Saint Jean de Matha. He certainly profited from
his journey.
Tuesday 26 – Bit by bit we are preparing the greenhouse for the vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers,
etc.
Wednesday 27 – The abbot drew us a picture of Benedict XVI from the first few addresses he has given. The abbot, knowing Italian, was able to study them on the Vatican website.
Thursday 28 – A video of Jean Vanier made at Arche in Trosly, France, in which he speaks – in English – about the sufferings of the handicapped.
Friday 29 – The abbot continued his comments on the addresses of Benedict XVI “Papa Ratzinger”. We are getting a good idea of the new Pope.
Saturday 30 –
Br. Stephan finished installing
the pipes which he had made himself for the new organ. They are “dummies”,
only there for the look of things. As organist Br. Stephan
is full of admiration for our new Johannus organ and thanks God for it daily!
May 2005
Sunday 1 May – After None, a big catechetic group turned up from Dieppe. The
abbot received them in audience as usual.
Monday 2 – Fr. Jean-Bernard Malais, pastor of three English-speaking parishes in Moncton, came on retreat here, while his confrères were on retreat in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Tuesday 3 – Fr. Maurice and I went to Moncton, each one to his respective medical appointment. Fr. Maurice came back
equipped with a heart monitor that he has to keep on for 15 days. As for me,
they just re-balanced my tablets.
Wednesday 4 – Greg Kennedy, a 30 year old aspirant, doctor in philosophy, came for a month’s
observership.
Thursday 5 – At 7 pm we continued watching video of interviews with Jean Vanier, filmed at
L’Arche in Trosly, France.
Friday 6 – The abbot continued his talks about the first few speeches of Benedict XVI.
Saturday 7 – Mr and Mrs Boyd Touchie, parents of our Brother Graham, currently studying in
Rome, were here for the weekend.
They were on cheerful form, still teasing each other like youngsters.
Sunday 8 – Solemnity of the Ascension: Fr. Maurice celebrated
without telling anybody the 10th anniversary of his abbatial blessing. He
recalled that it was in 1995, with a snowstorm raging outside that played havoc with the travel arrangements of those who
came from afar. At the beginning of Benediction the fire alarm went off. Nothing special, the incense had set it off because the novice stood swinging the
thurible underneath the sensor while waiting for the priest to arrive! Novices
have so much to learn these days!!
Monday 9 – We had a visit from Father Raymond Vaillancourt, Provincial of the North American
province of the Eudist Fathers. He was doing the rounds of the members of his
Province, which includes Father Clovis Chiasson, the chaplain to our Cistercian sisters across the street at Assomption… He was happy to speak to us about himself and his Congregation and replied readily
to our questions. He did not know that we have had several of our community retreats
preached by Eudists down the years nor that the Eudists opened a house in Rogersville at the same time as our two monasteries
were starting out. Father Vaillancourt is a liturgist and sacramental theologian. He has taught in the Eudists’ seminaries and universities. The Eudists were, for a long time, in charge of the inter-diocesan seminary in Halifax. Which was responsible for the formation
of nearly all the priests of Atlantic Canada? We discovered that the Eudists
only have 500 members worldwide.
Tuesday 10 – As every Tuesday we had our gospel sharing. But,
this week, we had a new participant, Gregory, who is doing an observership.
Wednesday 11 – In the refectory we are reading a new biography of Saint Bernard, by Pierre Aubé. It sounds promising, as it seems a well-researched work.
Thursday 12 – There is a lot of industry on the farm and in the greenhouse. The fields are being prepared for planting, mainly corn which provides the basic feed for the milk herd. The abbot wants to see the garden develop a bit so as to provide work for our newcomers
and any retreatants who might want to help.
Saturday 14 – Another big catechetic group came by. They
were from Bouctouche and Father Maurice talked to them.
Sunday 15 – We celebrated the Feast of Pentecost in the joy of the Holy Spirit. At the end of dinner the abbot blessed the large new icon of the Theotokos which has been installed there.
Tuesday 17
– Our gospel-sharing is becoming ever more interesting with the participation of a Master in Divinity and a Doctor in
Philosophy. I mean they are getting deeper!
Wednesday
18 – We recalled the nineteenth anniversary of Br. Gilles’ solemn profession.
Thursday
19 – An interesting video: “Notre-Dame de Paris”. A musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo’s, “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”.
Saturday
21 – I discovered that our novice had succeeded in getting a cow that gave him a lot of trouble sent to the slaughterhouse. A dire warning to the rest!
Sunday 22
– Trinity Sunday. It was 50 years since my solemn profession! I thank God for having kept me in our « holy Order » all this time despite my unworthiness!
There was
torrential rain today. It was cold as well.
In fact, the whole week was wet and cold. Not an easy undertaking to prepare
the fields in these conditions.
Monday 23
– 23 years since Br. Henry’s solemn profession!
Wednesday 25-
Feast of Saint Bede. The abbot chose his name day for a celebration that is not
so common in our monastic setting. With the Archbishop’s permission he
gave the sacrament of confirmation to our aspirant, Greg Kennedy. The 25th
June was the thirtieth anniversary of his baptism, but he had never been in the right place at the right time to get included
in a confirmation class. The celebration was simple, but moving.
Thursday 26
– Brother Stephen went to Prince Edward Island to buy a big corn cultivator second hand. With this we
will have an alternative method of weed control. Things have reached the point
where we spend $5000 a year on chemical weed killers and there is a need always to use more and more. We have to think of the effect on the environment.
Friday 27 –
Feast of Saint Augustine of Canterbury. I was presiding at the Mass. In the
introduction I pointed out that the liturgy seemed to favor the English during these days.
In fact we have, almost one after the other, the feasts of Saint Bede, Saint Augustine of Canterbury, and, shortly, Saint Boniface. The abbot, at the prayer of the faithful followed on with prayers for England, for our Anglican brothers,
and with other intentions relating to England.
Saturday
28 – For a very long time every Saturday we have had the Mass in English. Including
our aspirant, we have 11 people in the community of whom five and a half are French-speaking and five and a half are English-speaking. But, in fact, Brother Henry seems to belong to both groups, since he is a Franco-American.
Sunday
29 – Corpus Christi: Father Maurice presided at the Mass and was congratulated by the abbot
on his homily. He is truly gifted as a orator, even if he sometimes comes out
with astonishing points of view, in my opinion.
Monday May 30 - The abbot went on the train to meet Dom Jacquesand
Dom Yvon Joseph in Quebec. They were going to check out the campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy near Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures
to see whether it would be suitable to house the General Chapter. The conlcusion was that it would be ideal. This
would be for the Chapter 2008, but the decision would depend on the Chapter in the Fall in Assisi.
This was the first hot day of spring. But the heat brought out the mosquitoes.
June 2005
Wednesday June 1 - Father Maurice was celebrating his 60th birthday.
His family sprung a pleasant surprise on him and arrived just in time
for the Mass that he was about to preside. His two brothers, Jacques and Georges were there with their wives and his
only sister from Vancouver, as well as his Aunt Thérèse.
Thursday June 2 - The abbot returned from his trip to Quebec.
Friday 3 – The abbot showed pictures
of the Campus N-D de Foy and explained the details.
It was sunny and warm all the week.
The field work got ahead well.
At the beginning of the Mass you could
smell the manure in the chapel. Thanks to the incense on this feast of the Sacred
Heart it was all wafted away.
Saturday June 4 - A nice group of young
people was here from Saint John for a short retreat. They were very edifying.
Sunday June 5 - A fine Sunday, such as we haven't seen many this Spring.
Monday 6 – The abbot showed us photographs of the older sisters of Notre-Dame du Bon
Conseil. They live with the Little Franciscan Sisters of Baie-Saint-Paul, and
try to live their monastic life as far as they can – very well in fact. They
are happy and enthusiastic about their adaptation of the monastic life. The abbot
met with the Mother General of the Franciscan Sisters and they are very happy to have the Cistercian nuns as a praying presence
in their midst.
Tuesday 7 – Br. Gilles was celebrating his 62nd birthday. He follows closely on Dom Bede. A group of girls joined us
for Vespers. They were the catechetic class from several parishes in Miramichi.
Wednesday 8- We had a visit from our Archbishop, André Richard, of Moncton.
He came to invite us to make a contribution to the major diocesan finance campaign currently under way. To guide us he suggested a sum. The aim for the diocese is
to raise 8 million dollars over five years to finance the training of lay personnel who will be required to take over functions
in the community that, because of lack of numbers, the priests can no longer assume.
I spoke in an earlier chronicle
of the way our community is composed from the language point of view. Our library
has also become truly bilingual. Since Brother Graham took over as our devoted
and enthusiastic librarian, we have a very good selection of valuable books in English.
We expect our student back n June 24th.
Thursday 9 – I went for an appointment with Dr. Mona Savoie. They are a dental practice served
entirely by women at Saint Louis de Kent. They are very competent and get to
the bottom of things or of the mouth!
Friday 10 – Our farmers finished sowing the maize today.
They can breathe again.
Saturday 11 – Greg Kennedy reached the end of his observership with us, without having yet made
up his mind about his vocation. For the time being he wants to visit Ireland. We liked him a lot.
Sunday 12 – I was presiding at the Mass this morning. In
the homily I quoted our Constitutions #31 about the way monks are called to respond to the missionary vocation of the Church.
At dinner we listened to songs by Cayouche! A pretty good
choice for those who don’t know: this is a singer whose songs are in Acadian and about the live of the Acadians and
full of the local humour
Tuesday 14 – Early this morning, our only novice, Br. Damien Truslow, left us to return to his family in Virginia.
We are back to only solemnly professed.
Wednesday 15 – In chapter, the abbot reviewed the departure of Brother Damien and the reasons he had
given for leaving. He found he could not adapt to enclosed life and needed something
with greater freedom. The abbot reflected on the benefits and lessons of the
experience for the community.
Thursday 16 – I have had a lot of medical appointments and difficulties with my health this week, so
I am not properly up with the news.
Friday 17 – In the context of his commentary on the 41st tool of Good Works in Chapter 4 of
the Rule, “To put one’s hope in God”, the abbot gave a series of chapter talks on Hope, in the Bible. Very good!
Sunday 19 – This morning, the sun came out after a full week’s absence, but rather shyly. Ultimately it was a very nice day!
Monday 20 – The met office promised us a nice sunny week. Br.
Stephan began cutting the grass for the silage. We have had a lot of rain and
there is plenty of grass. Thank you, Lord.
The abbot had an invitation to a press conference at the Rogersville municipal building. The Premier of New Brunswick had
come to announce some projects of interest to the people of Rogersville. I went
as the abbot’s driver. The announcement was about the opening of a new peat-moss bog in the area by the Sungro Company. The government will provide $85,000 for the building of an access road and for the
provision of electricity to the site. The road will be much appreciated by the
local population. Lord also announced $2,000 for the purchase of the old parish
hall, so that it can be converted into a call-center and playschool. In addition
there was $15,000 to be invested in tourism.
Tuesday 21 – Today the day’s harvest of silage topped all the records.
Wednesday 22 – The school-leavers of the École Secondaire Assomption in Rogersville came on a visit. There were 54 of them this year. The
abbot spoke to them and showed the boys round.
Thursday 23 – The mower broke down in the middle of the silage.
Fortunately, Bremner Farm Supply in Napan, near Miramichi, who are always ready to help us out in a crisis,
were able to hire us one.
Friday 24 – Today is the feast day of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist; Patron of all French Canadians. At
least this is what it says in “Prions en Église.” Is it true? I had
never understood Saint John the Baptist to be the patron of the Acadians, who are nonetheless French Canadians!
This afternoon Brother Graham came back, driven by his parents. His return fills us with joy. We had
a festive supper.
Saturday 25 – Paul Breton and Esmond Babineau, a former
novice and a former simply professed, have come for a week. They have one of
their friends, a lady, with them.
A water problem; a badly connected hose came apart. The leak was running long enough to seriously lower the level in the well.
The abbot went to the graduation day at the Secondary School. The burse we offered was assigned to someone who only lives a few doors away from
us.
A very hot day!
Sunday 26 – Brother Graham
took up his duties as though he had never been away. He is also preparing for
his ordination to the diaconate on August 10th, feast of the deacon Saint Lawrence.
Monday 27 – In the guest house we have a Brother of the Sacred Heart from Atholville, New Brunswick.
He is 81 years old and making a full week’s retreat. The Sacred
Heart Brothers had a large establishment at Petit-Rocher, but they had to close it because of lack of personnel due to shortage
of vocations.
Tuesday 28 – Thanks to the good weather, the silage has more or less been completed. Brother Stephan can get back to his work on the machines.
Wednesday 29 – A Jesuit priest, spiritual director in the seminary in Florida and his brother
a priest from the diocese of Miami, came for a 4 day retreat. They were originally
from Cuba. There was a big turn over of guests this week.
Thursday 30 – A hot week! The abbot discovers
that it can be hot in Canada.
It is not always “my country is the winter.”
July 2005
Friday – 1 July – Canada Day. It was the 46th
anniversary of my ordination. Poor old man!
Saturday 2 – A nice wet day delighted the gardeners, but perhaps not the holiday makers.
Sunday 3 – The guest house emptied, only to fill up again with some arriving and some booked
to come in the next day or two. There are also some poor people. They fit in with the day’s gospel and Jesus’ teaching on the little ones!
Brother Gilles was out biking and came home happy: he had seen a handsome moose in the “Lac de
Fr. Urbain”.
Tuesday 5
– Our garden is not a success. Lots of the seed has not germinated. On the other hand, the weeds are flourishing alarmingly. In the greenhouse things are better.
Bishop Faber MacDonald, of Saint John, New Brunswick, arrived for a few days retreat.
Wednesday
6 – In chapter, the abbot presented a calendar of forthcoming events in the community that are already scheduled as
far as late into 2006. Among other things, the Regional Meeting of the Abbots
and Abbesses are scheduled for August 1 – 5.
Friday 8 –
Dr. Roger Gusman and his wife, Evelyn, accompanied by Marie Perry. The Gusmans
are from Saint John but of Philippine origin. The
doctor is a retired psychiatrist and a great Christian.
Saturday 9
– Bishop MacDonald presided at our Mass in English. He gave us an inspiring
homily. He also commented that our presence here is itself a witness to the presence
of Christ.
Sunday 10
– A happy Feast of Saint Benedict!
Monday 11 – We had a mighty thunderstorm this morning such as we have not had for a long time. The monastery seemed to shake. It left
us with a blown phase on our three-phase power system, the elevator ceased to function and the motor of the walk-in freezer
burned out.
Tuesday 12 – Today, Brother Stephan left for Mount Saint Bernard in England. Since Father Rufus was here for Dom Bede’s
abbatial blessing he had wanted to get Brother Stephan over there to assess their farm operation. Brother Stephan will be away for about 12 days.
Wednesday 13 – With Brother Stephan being away we had to cut back on the singing at the Mass. But, at Lauds and Vespers,
Father Maurice stands in at the organ.
We had an interesting visitor in the guest-house. Lorenzo
Sforza-Cesarini is an Italian, but for 19 years he has been with L’Arche in Toronto. He considers that as his vocation,
as he told us when he accepted to answer our questions tonight in chapter. He
spoke about his own spiritual growth and about how one the houses of L’Arche functions.
Each nucleus is composed of 5 handicapped and 4 community members. The
community members do not make any vows or promises. The community called “Daybreak”
in Toronto is made up of 5 such groups in separate houses in one area of
the city.
Friday 15 – Father Maurice nearly had a head-on collision.
Happily it was averted at the last second. One advantage was that it was
just in front of the funeral parlor: it might have cost less!
Saturday 16 – Rosimond Bourque was present at the Mass this morning. It was his 95th birthday. The whole of his family
was with him. Rosimond is nearly Father Maurice’s father’s twin. The two were cousins and were born on the same day.
Sunday 17 – There were a lot of people at the Mass this morning.
At 10.30 a film crew came to take some shots in the grotto. A
lady called Marie Cadieux is preparing a television feature on the late Laurie Henri.
Laurie worked in youth theatre. It happens that the guy entered here in
1945 and left while still in simple vows.
The abbot spoke to Brother Stephan on the phone. He
is enjoying himself, but he has lost some weight!
Wednesday
20 - This afternoon, the joiners finished the job of replacing the roof on the three-storey chicken house. A lovely
roof, 250 feet long, all covered with corrugated zinc color, the same yellow as the parapet of the monastery; the abbot's
idea.
The abbot
gave a conference on the theology of the diaconate, in view of Br. Graham's ordination.
Thursday
21 - Fr. Wade of Bathurst and Fr. Gratton of Saint
John are with us. They are frequent visitors
to our guest house.
Friday 22
- I went to see my brother-in-law, Émile Landry, in the hospital with stomach cancer. It does not look as thought he
will live much longer.
A
young man, who is Orthodox, stopped off here. He is traveling around on motorbike,
having left his home in San Francisco a month ago. He stayed a few nights and was glad of the opportunity
to rest up, a have some spiritual refreshment.
A great
bit of rain during the morning; God bless the garden!
Saturday 23 - Brother
Graham had his parents here for several days.
Brother Stephan
came back from Mount Saint Bernard. He is going to talk to us about his journey.
Sunday
24 - This morning, my brother-in-law died peacefully, remaining conscious right up to the end. Thanks be to God!
Monday 25 – Br. Graham went on retreat for his ordination as
deacon. He will be spending the time from the Mass to Compline in the hermitage
each day.
Br. Stephen spoke in chapter about his time in England. He liked what he saw.
Tuesday 26 – Feast of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim; even if
Saint Anne is not our patron as she is in Quebec, there is still a great devotion to her in this part of the country. The sanctuary of Sainte Anne du Bocage, near Caraquet draws a lot of people for the
novena and the feast. The Micmacs also like to pray to Saint Anne.
This is the raspberry season.
They are good but not plentiful.
Wednesday 27 – In chapter, the abbot continued his reflections
on the diaconate and on the rite of ordination of a deacon.
Thursday 28 – Fr. Maurice went to Moncton for a medical test and came back with
a monitor that he had to wear for 24 hours.
The abbot worked at getting ready for the Regional
Meeting of Abbots and Abbesses, which will begin there on Monday.
Friday 29 – The abbot continued talking about the diaconate. Br. Graham finished his retreat this evening.
Saturday 30 – according to Br. Leo, this is the best month of
July we have had relative to numbers of guests staying in the guest house.
A warm welcome to the Abbots and Abbesses who will be arriving tomorrow
for the Regional Meeting!
August
2005
Monday
1 – about 4 pm, Dom Jacques, Abbot of Our Lady Mistassini, arrived by car with some of the other participants in the
regional meeting of Abbots and Abbesses. The rest arrived in time for supper. Besides the Canadians there was M. Danièle, member of the Abbot Generalès Council. Br. William of Oka
was also here, because he will be the Regional Delegate at the forthcoming General Chapter.
Mother Marie, the Abbess of Notre Dame de Bon Conseil and Dom Raphael of Rougemont were not able to come. The members of the meeting attended the Divine Office with the community and had their meals with us.
This week began rather on the cool side.
Tuesday 2 – the chaplain to the nuns went
away for the week, the Abbots went one by one to celebrate Mass at Assomption each day, starting with Dom Marcel Carbotte
of Prairies.
Wednesday 3 – the Regional Meeting continued
in calm and joy, judging from the atmosphere at the meals.
Today, invited by Abbess Alfreda, we all went to
have dinner with the nuns at Assomption – just across the street. It was
meant to be a barbecue but the heavens opened so we had to eat in the refectory what Sister Maureen and Anita had barbecued
on the veranda; a superb meal.
Thursday 4 – We heard this morning of the
death of Dom Bede’s aunt, Ada, at the age of 96, his mother’s sister and his godmother.
Dom Yvon of Oka and Brother William went to visit a quarry in Hillsborough, near Moncton, which
might be a possible source of stone for the building of their new monastery. There
is plenty of good granite in Quebec, but at a price!!
Friday 5 – Early this morning our charming
and distinguished visitors left us to return to their own monasteries, happy with the hospitality they had experienced here.
Several of them had had a cold while here, due, no doubt to the change of climate and environment. But some of our community caught it too, presumably not wanting to be left out! Br. Stephan went down with a real attack of flu.
Saturday 6 – For several weeks our water
supply system had not been working properly. Yesterday, Rhéal installed a new
pump regulator which will enable us to do away with our big tank and maintain the water pressure constant.
Sunday 7 – Several of our old friends, who have made retreats here for years, were
staying in the guest house, among them Mr. Robert Pichette who wrote the book about the history of our monastery.
Monday 8 – In chapter the Abbot gave
a final talk on the ordination of a deacon.
Archbishop Richard is preaching the preparatory
novena for the Assumption in Rogersville; the Abbot went on his bike to see him at the presbytery to settle the details of
the ordination.
Tuesday 9 – Instead of the gospel-sharing
we had a singing class directed by Br. Stephan.
Wednesday 10 – Feast of the deacon and martyr Saint Lawrence. During the mass, at 10 am, Brother Graham Touchie was ordained deacon by Archbishop André Richard. The Abbot acted as master of ceremonies, having done it for years at Mount Saint Bernard, it comes as second nature to him. Our Cistercian Sisters from Assumption were with us for the whole event, including the barbecue on the
lawn above the lake. The newly ordains’ parents were active participants,
as well as some of his friends.
Friday 12 – the Abbot began to talk
about the agenda of the forthcoming General Chapter, treating first of all of the previous week’s Regional Meeting that
took place here. The main purpose of this meeting had been to prepare for the
General Chapter. The Abbot began by presenting the house reports of the monasteries
of our Region.
Saturday 13 – Br. Henry’s brother Roger and his wife were here for a visit. Roger did have cancer but seems on good form now
Sunday 14 – Br. Graham preached his first homily. It was well prepared and appreciated by the community.
Our new deacon is a man who knows how to stay calm. At the beginning of
the Mass, the principal celebrant, who is by no means an absent-minded man (!) forgot to bless the holy water which we usually
do on ordinary Sundays. The cantor, unaware, intoned the Asperges which
the choir sang right through. Then the president intoned the Gloria first
in French and then, correctly, in Latin. To cap it all the public address system
set up a heavy crackle during the alleluia and had to be turned off. The
Abbot ventured to turn it on again before the homily…
Monday 15 – Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption; Patronal Feast and National Festival of
all Acadians; there has been a lot going on this year, on account of the 250th anniversary of the deportation. The Acadians have picked themselves up after this sad event and hold their heads high. In New Brunswick we have a French-speaking Premier, an Acadian Lieutenant Governor,
an Acadian Archbishop and two Acadian Bishops and an awesome French University in Moncton with campuses in Edmundston and
Shippagan, etc. etc. God bless, Acadia!
In community there is not
much talk of the events of Acadian history, given that a number of the brethren are English-speaking, including the Abbot,
who does his job well, but says that he is the “Great Disturbance”!
Tuesday 16 – after the last couple of weeks filled with
joyful occasions and with many graces, certainly, it is time to get back to normal and return to our contemplative way of
life.
Wednesday 17 – We had our office and mass for the dead today. Since our senior
members all left together (for Heaven) four years ago, we have not had a death. Four
of us are pensioners. Br. Urbain, at 87 is our oldest.
In chapter the Abbot continued reading the House
Reports for the General Chapter on the houses of our Canadian Region.
Thursday 18 – The guest house continues to
be fairly full. People keep on telling us how wonderful a place we have for making
a retreat in. Br. Leo keeps any eye on the office books for them so that they
can join in our community prayer.
Friday 19 – Feast of Blessed Guerric of Igny. The
presiding celebrant at the Mass, to his great shame, got mixed up and attributed to Blessed Guerric the works of William of
St. Thierry.
Br. Graham went to Antigonish
to visit with his brother Colin; who was not able to get away to come and see him here.
When Graham was a student at Saint
Francis Xavier University he stayed with Colin and his family.
The Abbot read us the house
report for the General Chapter on our neighbouring monastery of sisters at Assomption.
We were all ears to find out what was going on over there! Bravo!
Saturday 20 – Solemnity of Saint Bernard; the Abbot was invited to celebrate with the sisters the jubilee of Sr. Thérèse
Bourque. This was the celebration for the community. Her rather extensive family came to celebrate a few days before.
All is well that ends well: the garden, which got off to a slow start, ultimately has produced
a good yield of vegetables.
Sunday 21 – to mark the Year of the Eucharist, we held a Blessed Sacrament procession from the monastery
chapel to the Lourdes grotto. All day, and right at the time fixed for
the start, 3 pm, the skies were very threatening and rain was forecast.
But the weather got better as the procession proceeded and after Benediction the sun was coming out. It was a blessed event. Phil Leblanc lead the singing, with
his guitar, and supported by his group of women singers. The Abbot read a very
suitable text by Pope Benedict XVI.
Monday 22 – In
the litany one of the brethren prayed for rain. It started this afternoon with
a thunderstorm. Ask and you shall receive.
Br.
Graham returned to the fold.
In
chapter, the Abbot talked about a single General Chapter for both the monks and the nuns of our Order of the Cistercians of
the Strict Observance. This is to be discussed at the next…General Chapter
(in October in Assisi.)
Tuesday 23 – More
rain! Thanks be to God!
Wednesday 24 –
Br. Stephan went to Prince
Edward Island. He has discovered there a
businessman who gives does him a good deal on farm machinery, new or second hand. When
he got back he learned that his mother might be suffering from cancer of the colon.
She is having tests. In chapter we continued the discussion on a single General Chapter. Some of the brethren gave their opinion.
Friday 26 – In chapter, the Abbot
spoke about Tre Fontane, the monastery where Br. Graham is staying while he completes his studies at the Beda College.
At least up until recently the Pope was Abbot of Tre Fontane.
Saturday 27 – Br. Graham’s parents came for a
short stay. Br. Graham is the only one in the house to have both his parents
still living and young. He still has even his mother’s mother who is 98
years old and had to have a few days in hospital earlier this week.
Sunday 28 – There were a lot of people at the Mass; perhaps
it has something to do with the Bluegrass music festival taking place this weekend in Rogersville.
Monday 29 – Brother Graham drove me to Moncton to a dental specialist. He took out one of
wisdom teeth by hacking it into little bits. I have such dense teeth that ordinary
dentists won’t go near them.
Br. Gilles went to his home town, Montreal, to see his mother
and brother. This time he went by train.
After the health problems he had immediately after his last visit a year ago, which have not yet been satisfactorily
explained, he did not want to drive all that way.
Tuesday 30 – Father Maurice went to Moncton once again,
for more tests on his heart. Nothing seems to have changed, but nothing has gotten
better either.
Wednesday 31 – In chapter the Abbot presented the theme
of monastic enclosure and solitude as it is outlined for discussion at the General Chapter.
It is an important theme for monks.
September 2005
Friday 2 – In chapter we began a community discussion on the solitude theme.
We heard questions about how far we can go in making use of the modern means of communication and how to form the newcomers
in the necessary discipline.
Saturday 3 – We had plenty of rain this week, linked in with the tail end of Hurricane Katrina, which cleared
New Brunswick on Thursday on its way to Labrador. We had just an ordinary rain storm here, with a bit of wind and lots and lots
of rain. For us this rain was just very welcome.
But our hearts go out to the people of New Orleans and we are praying for them.
Sunday 4 – There were six priests concelebrating and a deacon at our Mass this morning. There was a big congregation as well, and the same at Vespers!
Monday 5 – Labour Day: At Mass we had the prayers indicated in the
Missal. In chapter we continued our discussions on the theme of monastic solitude,
as part of our preparation for the General Chapter.
Tuesday 6 – We had a rather lively gospel sharing on forgiveness.
Wednesday 7 – I went to Richibouctou to get my two dentures adjusted. It
was a good opportunity to meet up with some members of my family who are in that area.
In the afternoon Br. Henry and Br. Graham went to Moncton with the truck for a variety of errands and appointments.
Friday 9 – At Assumption the Mess’AJE program on the Bible was resumed.
The same two ladies are directing it as last year, Josée Maltais and Léone Boudreau.
The sisters extended an invitation to us, and three of us are taking part: Dom Bede, Fr. Maurice and myself. Back at Calvary the evening chapter was dispensed with.
Saturday 10 – at dinner we finished reading the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the next
Synod of Bishops, to take place in Rome in October, on the Eucharist.
Sunday 11 – Brother Graham’s parents are here for a couple of days, their last visit before their son returns
to Rome.
Gaston Babin is here for a week. He is one of our aspirants.
Tuesday 13 – We received an interesting letter from Dom Bernard Lefebvre, the last Abbot of Bonnecombe,
our founding house. He reminded us that it is already 40 years since Bonnecombe
was closed. There are still 6 monks alive who belonged to the monastery of Bonnecombe,
four of whom are at Aiguebelle. Dom Bernard is now a monk of Aiguebelle and its claustral prior. Calvary is, in a way, the continuation of Bonnecombe.
Wednesday 14 – In chapter, the Abbot, in the context of our discussions and studies in preparation
for the General Chapter, presented the working paper done by Dom Joseph, Abbot of Mount Saint Bernard, on the problem of finding
superiors from within our communities and the proliferation of superiors ad nutum (appointed rather than elected superiors)
in the Order. One of the causes is the dearth of vocations and the drop in personnel. But perhaps certain attitudes need to change.
We are working at finding a solution.
Thursday 15 – Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows or Our Lady of Calvary. Our Patronal feast, we celebrated it with a Solemn Mass during which
the Abbot gave his State of the Union homily. In the evening we had a festive
meal of fraternal sharing, that is, without the usual restriction of eating in silence.
Friday 16 – On the notice-board there was the following: “The day after the feast of
Our Lady of Calvary seems the right one to make our annual visit to the cemetery. This will take place after NONE. But
if it rains we will postpone it to another day. Bede.”
Fortunately it did not rain, and everybody was able to appreciate that the cemetery was a wonderful place
to be.
There was another day of Mess’AJE at Assomption. We
have four hours of lectures a day.
Saturday 17 – The tail end of Hurricane Othelia. It
rained all day, (and all the next day, and three nights.).
The celebrant at Mass, in his introduction said: “Our soul is like a garden sown with the Word of
God. We have got to take out the thorns, the stones and the weeds.” Hopefully our vegetable garden is not an icon of our souls! The weeds have gotten the upper hand. Some of them are a metre
high! Nonetheless, we have a great quantity of vegetables.
Sunday 18 – We had four women from Prince Edward Island on retreat for the weekend. It was their first time;
they liked it and promised to come again.
Our deacon, Brother Graham, presided at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Monday 19 –
Our student returned to Rome. His parents were going the same
day but not on the same plane. They were going to spend time with their two sons,
Graham and Jason, both students for the priesthood in their respective institutes and both expecting to be ordained priest
next year. We will miss Brother Graham and all he does for us.
Wednesday 21 –
Today the moose-hunting season opened. Several of our workmen took the week off.
In chapter, the Abbot
played us a cassette that he had bought during his time in Rome. We were able to hear the voice of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, whose feast was coming up on Friday.
Friday 23 –
another dose of Mess’AJE, the course of bible study, at the sisters. The
two lecturers are very capable, so that the sessions are very interesting. The
two final instalments will be in November and December.
Saturday 24 –
We are busy picking apples; three young guys from the neighbourhood are helping with that.
Sunday 25 –
Last night we had our first frost. The Abbot is alarmed at the winter coming
on so fast!
Monday 26 – in chapter, we continued discussing the question of superiors ad nutum, that
is superiors appointed for a community instead of the community being allowed to proceed with an election. There has been an increased tendency in recent years in the Order to have recourse to this practice. It is a phenomenon to be discussed at next week’s General Chapter.
Wednesday 28 – Another question to be discussed at the General Chapter; “Could we have non-priest abbots?” We discussed
this among ourselves this evening. Opinion is divided within the Order. There is uncertainty about how the idea would be received by the Congregation for
Religious at the Vatican.
Thursday 29 – the Abbot spent the day with our nuns across the street, at Assomption.
A group of ten or so Anglican priests arrived for a few days retreat in the guest house. They were
also reflecting on possible closer ties with the Roman Communion.
About 8 pm a strong wind started blowing. This was followed by torrential rain and
by 10.30
pm the power was out
all over the area.
Friday 30 – We had the Night Office and Lauds by candlelight.
This was nice in a romantic sort of way, but not very practical for having breakfast and getting on with things in
the early morning. We have a stand-by generator principally for the farm and
the chicken houses but which maintains the heating (not on yet), hot water and water supply to the monastery. Happily the kitchen has propane stove, since the electricity was not restored until the end of the morning.
The abbot talked in chapter about details of the Statute on the Regular Visitation, mainly who could be delegated
as visitor or to accompany the visitor; details due to be finalized at the forthcoming General Chapter.
October 2005
Saturday 1 October – There was tremendous activity in the production of apple juice. With the help of a volunteer and some young assistants we were able to turn nearly all our crop of apples
into juice in the space of a single day.
Sunday 2 – a lovely sunny autumn day today; Thank you, Lord!
General Chapter of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance
Assisi 11 - 31 October 2005
To know more about where the chapter was held, go to:
http://www.bellaumbria.net/Assisi/santa-maria-degli-angeli_eng.htm
Monday 3 –
The farm team started cutting the corn for silage. There were vast quantities of it going into the pit. Br. Stephan was rolling it down until late at night.
Tuesday 4 –
The Abbot went to the annual meeting of the French-speaking Bishops and Major Religious Superiors of Atlantic Canada, 4 Bishops and about 12 Superiors. Each participant gave a short report
on the situation in his or her administration.
Wednesday 5 –
In chapter, the Abbot gave details of the previous day’s meeting.
Thursday 6 –
at 7 pm, those who wished were able to continue watching the video of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero of El Salvador. Terrible violence!
Friday 7 –
The Abbot left for the General Chapter of the Order. This time it is being held
in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis. Br. Stephan took the Abbot to the airport after dinner.
Saturday
8 – We were thinking of our student in Rome, Brother Graham was celebrating his 40th birthday. Our prayers are with him. Happy birthday!
Monday 10 – In the Abbot’s
absence, it was decided, for the three days a week that he speaks normally in chapter, to listen, on video, to the conferences
on Saint Mark’s Gospel that Father Maur Standaert had given earlier in the year at Oka. They are interesting talks given in a pleasant manner.
Tuesday 11 – the Canada
Geese have come back again and, as in recent years, made our lake their base for a while.
There are at least 100 of them. It is always good to hear them sing and
watch them circling in groups overhead. In fact it is our fields of maize that
draw them to our area.
Friday 14 – The harvest
of corn silage is complete. But it was not without its problems for Brother Stephan. The silage cutter was subject to a serious breakdown and everything was held up for
four days. As well as running the farm and the cow barn, Brother Stephan is prior,
which means that, during the Abbot’s absence, he has to keep an eye on the general running of the community. Fortunately, we are all good boys!
Saturday 15 – Gaston
Babin came for a visit. He is in the process of disposing of his worldly goods
with a view to entering the monastery. One purpose of his visit was to bring
his dog to Rémi, our farm worker, whose children had fallen in love with the beast.
Monday 17 – Brother
Stephan asked our prayers for his mother who has to have a second operation on her bowel; a delicate operation at her age.
Tuesday 18 – The Chaplain
to the nuns went away for a few days. I had to stand in for him for the Mass
at Assomption. So P. Maurice was left to “concelebrate” by himself
here.
Wednesday 19 – the Canada
Geese terminated their monastic observership, to continue on their route towards the south, not without having lost a few
of their buddies into the hands of the hunters.
Thursday 20 – Father
Clovis dug up his potatoes. They are a real success, despite the fact that they
were planted rather late. There red, white, and blue ones!!
Friday 21 – The Abbot
sends us news of the General Chapter by e-mail. Up to now there has been nothing
out of the ordinary.
Sunday 23 – For the
Mass this morning our little chapel was as full as it could be; lots of new faces.
Monday 24 – Mass for
the sick and the aged, as proposed by the missalette to match the day’s readings.
It was a pleasure to pray for the sick of the community and those from among our friends and acquaintances and to pray
for those who suffer all over the world.
E-mail from Brother Graham. He went to Assisi to meet the Abbot and the other Abbots and Abbesses that he had met before.
Tuesday 25 – The forecast
was for several days of rain. It is the tail end of another hurricane, Wilma.
Wednesday 26 – Yesterday
evening we were told to expect a terrible night of wind and rain. But, after
all, it was not as bad as all that. What is going on this year, all these hurricanes,
floods, earthquakes etc.?
Br. Stephan rented a machine
to put the ears of corn into large black plastic sausages, one hundred fifty feet long; He feels he can no longer take a chance
with our large silo. It could collapse.
I greatly miss Brother Louis
Landry, of Mistassini, and late of here. He was the specialist at freezing the
apples. It is a job that demands a lot of patience.
We broke off the reading of
the life of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, by Pierre Aubé, and are reading in the refectory the discussions of the Synod of Bishops.
Thursday 27 – Early
this morning Brother Leo received a telephone call to say that his brother Eddy, 76 years old, had suddenly died.
Friday 28 – We received
two interesting e-mails from our two important absentees; Dom Bede and Brother Graham.
Sunday 30 – Father Alphonse
Richard concelebrated mass with us. He is a nephew of our lamented Father Alyre
Richard. There were more new faces at the Mass.
Monday 31 October
– Brother Leo went to the funeral of his brother, Eddie, at Memramcook. He
went in the company of Brother Gilles who had to see the heart specialist in Halifax. Rhéal was their driver.
November
2005
Tuesday 1 November –
Feast of All Saints and 103rd birthday of our community. With the
abbot being away we were left without disturbance.
Wednesday 2 – At
last, everything was ready for Brother Stephan to try out his big machine for stirring and pumping the liquid manure from
the cows. Brother Stephan built it from various bits of scrap and has been working
on it steadily for about a year.
In fact it worked like
a dream. Rémi did not take long getting used to it.
Friday 4 – It ought
to be the time for harvesting the corn ears. But the heavy rainfall recently
is going to delay this work: the fields are too soft. The tractors would just
get bogged down. The harvest might have to wait until the ground is frozen
Saturday 5 – The
Abbot arrived after midnight
at Moncton and stayed over in town before coming on to the monastery. Brother Graham’s parents, the Touchies, drove him over this afternoon. He arrived back with a new responsibility: he has been elected President of the Canadian
Region of the Order. This will mean a few extra journeys and a bit more work. The Touchies spent the night here.
Monday 7 – The Abbot really
wants us to experience the event of the General Chapter. At chapter time he showed
us photos that he himself had taken at Assisi. He will continue on the next free days.
At lunch we began reading the House Reports presented
by all the monasteries throughout the world to the General Chapter.
Wednesday 9 – Four of us
went to be vaccinated against the flu. In fact, one of the candidates, the Abbot,
had already had the flu in Assisi.
We saw more photos of the General
Chapter and of Assisi.
Thursday 10 – the sisters’
chaplain went to preach a parish retreat at Yarmouth, Nova
Scotia, and asked for our prayers.
I am replacing him for the Mass at Assomption today and the next two days. Fr.
Maurice will celebrate the Mass Sunday, which will include the homily; as well as Monday.
We saw more photos.
Friday 11 – This evening, the Abbot spoke about
some of the matter covered in the General Chapter.
Saturday 12 – The document “The State
of the Order 2005” based on the findings of the fifteen commissions that studied the reports on each monastery presented
to the General Chapter was read in the refectory. It can be found on the website
of the Order:
http://www.ocso.org/assisi-eng.htm#8)_State_of_the_Order,_2005
Sunday 13 -Today
is the Feast of All the Saints who lived under the Rule of Saint Benedict. Nonetheless,
the Sunday liturgy takes precedence. We have to be satisfied with celebrating
that in our hearts.
A group of
young people from Miramichi came to see round the monastery. The Abbot received
them.
Monday 14 –
Brother Stephen went to pick up our retreat preacher at Moncton airport. This was Father Francis
Demers O.M.I., from Massachusetts. He is a well-known retreat preacher
and highly recommended. He is a canon lawyer who acts as judge in marriage cases
in a number of dioceses, particularly in Tahiti, not far from Australia, so at the opposite end of the world from us!
Yesterday, Sunday
13th, Charles de Foucauld was beatified without our realizing it. This beatification
should have been the focus of our attention because Blessed Charles was a novice at our monastery of Notre Dames des Neiges
in France.
Tuesday 15 – This evening our retreat opened with
the first conference at 7.15.pm.
Wednesday 16 – We like our retreat-giver. He is easy to listen to.
Friday 18 – A group
of Canada
geese has returned to our property. Is this a sign that winter is going to be
delayed…or that autumn is over?
Saturday 19 – The farm team finished saving the corn
grain harvest. It has been a difficult season because of all the rain making
the ground soft.
Monday 21 – a female moose and her calf took a stroll
on our lawn in front of the reception area, to the delight of Br. Leo!
Tuesday 22 – End of the retreat. The conferences were greatly appreciated.
My brother-in-law, Delphis Babineau, of Richibouctou, is
back in hospital because his cancer has returned. Let us pray for him.
Wednesday 23 – Early this morning Br. Stephan left for a visit with his family, especially his mother. She is in better health, but one could wonder whether she will ever be fit enough
again to come and visit here son here. A lot of the family is around the Pennsylvania area. There are 12 brothers and sisters. A couple, who are neighbors of ours in Collette, drove Br. Stephan to Moncton airport.
Our retreat preacher, Father Francis Demers, took the opportunity to go and see both Moncton and his friends among
the Holy Cross Fathers, on his way to getting his plane back home the day after.
Thursday 24 – The Abbot showed us another lot of photos of Rome and of the people
at the General Chapter. These were some taken by M. Marie and included some nice
shots of her monastery of Notre Dame du Bon Conseil at Saint Benoît Labre.
Friday
25 – We spend another day in the Mess’AJE programme with our sisters at Assomption. The same three participants went from here.
Saturday
26 – Brother Stephan came back very happy about his visit with his family.
Sunday 27 – New liturgical year inaugurated by snow sent on to us from Lac-Saint-Jean and Mistassini. There was a good covering this morning. Its
beauty rejoiced the soul of the Abbot because they do not have that much in England where
he comes from.
Monday 28 – in chapter,
this evening, the Abbot took up again his commentary on the Rule. He had interrupted
it for the work of preparation for the General Chapter and, since he came back has been sharing the experience of the General
Chapter with us. He is still talking about the Tools of Good Works.
Wednesday 30 – an interesting retreatant is with us; Father Broderick,
a retired priest from Miramichi, ninety-two years old!
In chapter the Abbot corrected certain details of the way we recite the
Eucharistic Prayer at the concelebrated Mass. He also consulted us about sitting
down for the psalms at the Little Hours. The brothers were fully in agreement.
December
2005
Thursday 1 December –
At 7 pm, first instalment of a film made in France on the Life of John XXIII. Very well done and to be continued.
Br. Stephen spent
yesterday installing new water fountains in the barn where the young stock are kept
Friday 2 – A big group
of people from Lameque met by arrangement here for a working session with Father Melvin Doucette from Tignish on Prince Edward
Island. This priest, a White Father, and an Acadian, attracts a lot of people. It is said that he claims to have visions of the Blessed Virgin. But when he spoke to our community on a previous visit he only said that he received, in prayer, words
of guidance for the movement he directs. He teaches people to pray, in particular
contemplative prayer, about which he has written some books.
Saturday 3 – The conferences
with Father Doucette continued. A crowd of people from the neighborhood joined
the group.
Sunday 4 – the Lameque group, with Father Doucette, had dinner
and all went away. The guest house was left empty. The weekend had made a lot of demands on our cook, Linda Gallant.
Let us hope that everything will redound to the glory of God and of Mary.
Monday 5 – This morning
the Abbot and Fr. Maurice found Br. Urbain asleep; sitting on the floor in his room.
Though he came down to the Mass he seemed unable to fully wake up. So
the ambulance was called and the paramedics decided to take him to the hospital in Miramichi.
There he was found to have a very bad urinary tract infection. He was
not dangerously ill, but the Abbot gave him the sacrament of the sick. Fr. Maurice
accompanied him to the hospital and was there most of the day, only getting back for chapter and Compline.
Tuesday 6 – Br. Urbain,
who had had a very high fever with some sort of confusion during the night, was reported much better this morning. The antibiotics had done their work. The Abbot went to see
Br. Urbain in hospital with Br. Gilles, and found him very lively and well. Br.
Urbain was insistent that the ice on the lake should be thick enough to skate on now.
But nobody seems interested in trying it.
Wednesday 7th –
Br. Henry who had to have blood tests at the Miramichi hospital went with Br. Gilles to see Br. Urbain. Br. Urbain commented later that Br. Henry did not seem at all well!
Tests are proceeding, but it seems likely that Br. Henry has Parkinson’s disease.
Thursday 8 – Feast of
the Immaculate Conception. We do not seem to have kept the tradition of observing
this day as the community’s Thanksgiving and feast of the jubilarians. In
any case, we have no new jubilarians this year. The Abbot, who had another appointment
in Miramichi, went with Br. Stephen to see Br. Urbain.
Friday
9 – Final day of the Mess’AJE programmed at Assomption, at least as foreseen for the time being. The first two sections covering the Old Testament have been completed
Saturday 10 – Fr. Maurice
learned of the sudden death of his uncle Sylvain Guimond, the sculptor.
Sunday 11
– Jacques, Fr. Maurice’s brother, came for lunch and drove Fr. Maurice to Fredericton for their uncle’s funeral.
Monday 12 –
Feast of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, patroness of all the Americas. It is inspiring to think that we honor and pray to Mary
in union with all the Catholics of so many countries. May Mary keep us all under
her protection!
Br. Stephan is taking
advantage of the major farm work being finished to do up the farm truck. This
was bought second hand around 1985, but is still resilient. It was converted,
at some stage, to a diesel engine.
Tuesday 13 – The Abbot
and Fr. Maurice went to see Br. Urbain. In chapter, the Abbot gave us news of
him. The medical personnel are trying to find the root of his infection. They are also attending to the sores on his legs which are an on-going problem.
Wednesday 14 –
the Abbot uses the Wednesday chapter to announce news and discuss items concerning the community; as things arise. This evening he told us that Br. Henry has decided to stay in the monastery for the winter months, rather
than return to the hermitage. His health is far from good. He has been discovered to have osteoporosis and vitamin B12 deficiency.
This discovery puts in doubt again whether he actually has Parkinson’s disease.
The Abbot also spoke
to us abut the regular visitation which we are due to have in 2006. Dom Jacques
Pineault, Abbot of Mistassini, our Father Immediate has gladly accepted to come for Br. Graham’s ordination to the priesthood
in September and to stay on to do the visitation.
Thursday 15 – Br. Urbain,
still in hospital, is neither better nor worse. He says he feels very well.
Friday 16 – The weather
has been on the cold side for a few weeks. This evening, a team of chicken-pickers
from Sussex was loading up three tractor-trailers with birds.
Saturday 17 – This evening
we had a singing class to refine the O antiphons.
Sunday 18 – This morning Br. Graham arrived back, with his parents. He will spend three weeks with us. The
viral infection he picked up from the General Chapter is still hanging on.
Another load of chickens went off this evening. The abattoir cannot do without them for Monday. Happily we
do not have to load them up ourselves.
Monday 19 –
Brother Graham spoke to us about his studies during the first trimester of the new academic year. He is very satisfied with
his studies.
Tuesday 20 –
This evening we had the gospel-sharing on the prologue of Saint John, which we have as the gospel at the Christmas Day Mass; a rich gospel text.
Wednesday 21 –
In chapter, the Abbot talked about the history of the three Masses of Christmas. He
explained that there is a fourth Mass in the books for Christmas to be celebrated in conjunction with first Vespers, but that
it is hardly ever celebrated.
Thursday 22 - At 7 pm we continued viewing the film on John XXIII.
It is certainly the best we have ever seen.
Friday 23 –
at 7 pm, singing class to prepare for the Christmas Night Mass. Br. Urbain came back during lunch today.
He is not completely cured, he will need a bit of special attention.
Saturday 24 – At 5 pm we had the first Vespers of Christmas followed by a supper with a lightly festive note. The night Mass was celebrated at 7 pm, a beautiful Mass with our sisters from Assomption taking part and a large number of people
from the neighborhood and our guests. I said a beautiful Mass, that is, up to
the moment that Brother Henry crashed to the floor. There was a lot of reaction
as you could imagine, right up to the ambulance men wheeling him out on a stretcher to take him to the hospital.. The Abbot who was celebrating the Mass kept calm, at least exteriorly, and gave a word of spiritual encouragement
in interpretation of this incident
Sunday 25 CHRISTMAS
– Another solemn Mass at 9 am, with a lot of people, well
sung and some beautiful music on the organ by Brother Stephen, who had already enriched the Night Mass by his playing and
had milked the cows in between the two
Dom Bede called the hospital. Br. Henry was doing all right
but no explanation was yet available of what had happened to him. It is quite
the fashion to collapse in the chapel here!
We finished off Christmas
with a festive supper and talking. It lasted right to Compline. The conversation was very lively.
Monday 26 – Our Christmas
guests had to stay on an extra day. A heavy snowstorm made traveling hazardous.
Tuesday 27 – Rémi,
our farmhand worked all day blowing snow. Fortunately he has a state of the art
machine.
The little Thomas loader
broke down this morning. Br. Stephan had to work on it and only got it fixed
by 5 pm. The cows had to wait all day for
their feed. This little piece of machine has become indispensable for feeding
the cows and it is useful for lots of other jobs around the cow-barn as well.
Wednesday 28 – This
evening, Arnel and Doris Martin of the restaurant and motel “Chez Doris” in Rogersville,
provided a superb dinner for our employees and ourselves, in our guest-house dining room.
The Abbot took the opportunity to make a presentation to Rhéal and Irène Desroches who are retiring after lots of years
of service to the monastery. They were presented with a laptop and a digital
camera.
Thursday 29 – Br.
Henry came back from the hospital. Nobody knows what caused his fainting bout
during the Christmas Eve Mass.
My family came to lunch. We were 11 all together. They stayed
most of the afternoon. One of my sisters and a brother-in-law were not able to
come.
Friday 30 – Dom Bede
has a good formation in liturgy. So he liked to give talks from time to time
on liturgical subjects. The evening he talked about the Jewish feast of Hanukkah,
the Dedication of the Temple, which Jews still keep. It
is a feast which has something of the same atmosphere as Christmas. A joyful
festival, with the children particularly in evidence, it is also a feast of light with the nine-branch candlestick (menorah)
on display in each house. It lasts 8 days, like our Christmas octave. Presents are also exchanged, in some traditions each day of the eight.
It is always around Christmas time but, because of the lunar calendar it changes dates.
This year it began on the evening of December 26th, so really coincided with Christmas. That made for a lot of joyful people with Christians and Jews celebrating at the same time world wide.
Brother Graham went
to see his maternal grandmother who is 98 years old and was admitted to hospital over the last few days. It looks like the end, but she is very resilient. Br. Graham,
due to return to Rome in a week, does not know whether he will see her alive again.
Saturday 31 – Our
sisters at Assomption invited us to lunch with them. We were delighted to accept. We first celebrated the midday hours of prayer
together in their church.