News and Events 2024
Apes laboriosae
23 novembre 2024
Dear friends,
This year 2024 has been a year of adaptation. We had to get used to many new realities. Thus, please excuse the rare updates. Many have asked me when a new message would be sent, so I'm getting to work to give you some news.
Our house is very full at the moment. As you know, we have with us our dear Father Mello, Mr Connor Reeder and Luciano Meira our two seminarians, Brother Dismas and Sister Véronique-de-Jésus. Including myself, that makes six members of the community.
In addition, we had the joy this year of receiving several visiting priests, Father David Kemna from Missouri, Father Darovis Caballero from Cuba and Father Francis Mbadugha from Nigeria. In recent weeks, four daily masses were celebrated in Stilesville when everyone was at home. It is good for our young vocations to see new priests and to benefit from their experience and encouragement.
On December 8, Luciano Meira will receive the cassock and the first clerical tonsure. According to Canon Law, tonsure is given at the beginning of theological studies. In principle, our seminarians have already begun their theological studies with the study of ascetic and mystical Theology in the first year and the Theology of Revelation this year, to which they devote themselves assiduously. In the past, many seminarians studied philosophy at the Catholic university or at the Minor Seminary and were at the Major Seminary for the four years of theology. This is why the tonsure was given upon entering the Major Seminary which corresponded to starting theology. As for us, we have philosophy courses on site and not at the university or the minor seminary. However, the theology courses are spread over six years, although it is only the last three years that are truly theology years. You are of course all invited to this joyous event of taking the cassock and tonsure. The exact times will be sent to you later.
Our Brother Dismas will change his habit. We made the decision to give the religious a habit different from the clerical habit to better distinguish them. It is not really traditional for religious to wear the roman collar, although it existed, for example among the Brothers of the Holy Cross (Brother André's community). So do not be surprised to soon see brother in a habit that will look more like a monastic habit than a clerical habit.
You may be wondering what we do with our days. Rest assured, we are not idle. The day begins at 6:45 a.m. with the office of Prime, followed by meditation and mass. At 8:20 a.m., we have breakfast (now in silence except on Saturdays), which is followed by two or three hours of class each morning. After classes, when possible, we sing the Office of Sext. Seminarians then have a little time before dinner to respond to emails and do work of all kinds that the life of our community requires. Then comes lunch, during which a member of the community reads for the others. After lunch, there is an hour of free time to take a short nap and do the spiritual readings required by our rule of life. Then come the two afternoon classes, a time of work, then the Rosary and Compline at 6:30 p.m. Supper is at 7:30 p.m. We read again to continue learning while we nourish our bodies. After the evening meal, we enter into great silence until the next day. This is basically our daily life. There is little time for idleness.
Our farmyard is doing well. We now have two goats who should have babies in the spring. We are experimenting with raising rabbits on the ground rather than in cages. For the moment it seems to be working well and significantly reducing the work of Sister Véronique-de-Jésus. The chickens, the ducks, the pigeons, the cats, everyone is doing well and sends his best regards. As you know, it has been raining here for two weeks, every day, almost without interruption. Mela, the dog, is getting a little nervous about not being able to go for walks with Sister.
I would like to highlight the work of Brother Dismas and Sister Véronique-de-Jésus who make the life of the seminary possible through their dedication. Sister feeds us faithfully every day. She also takes care of animals, sewing, gardening and plays the organ at church. Brother repairs cars and does countless other varied manual jobs. What would we do without them? I am surprised that seminary life is going better than expected. This is largely due, it seems to me, to the daily work of Brother and Sister, as well as to the work of many of the faithful who allow us to free ourselves to be able to study. Many hands are discreetly dedicating themselves at the moment, each in their place, to help the community: sewing, cleaning, washing, shopping of all kinds, work in the future cemetery, computer work, etc. May all our volunteers be blessed, as well as all those who pray for our young community.
I have to leave you already so as not to make this message too long. I ask for your patience: it is true that we give priority to the life of the seminary, without however overly neglecting, at least I hope, parish life and missionary visits. This is because if we want to better care for your souls one day, the training of additional priests – and good training – is necessary. We put all our heart into it. It’s about stepping back to better jump, as they say. The life of the seminary is sometimes disturbed by the life of the parish and the missions, and the latter by the sustained activities of the seminary. Everyone must be patient for the greater good of the whole. In a few years, God willing, the entire Our Lady of Joy Mission should benefit from dynamic and zealous young priests who will lend a helping hand to the aging bishop.
May God bless you all and keep you in His love. What will we return to Him for all His benefits?
With my blessing,
Mgr Pierre Roy
Growth
27 septembre 2024
Dear friends,
It is now difficult in Stilesville to find a square inch that is not occupied… The community has grown. There are currently six members in the community. Added to this are the now frequent visits from priests from outside. At the moment, not a single room in the church or rectory is unoccupied. May God be blessed! It is a great joy to sing the office or to find yourself around a table with six or seven members of the clergy or religious. For quite some time now, three daily masses have been celebrated at Saint Joseph church, and we had to set up an oratory, the Saint Sebastian Oratory, near the main chapel.
I do not know what the good Lord expects of us, but the question of housing is becoming an increasingly pressing problem. We accepted two additional seminarians this year, and unfortunately had to refuse several others who knocked on our door. Will we need to build or buy a neighboring house? We are waiting for a sign from heaven. Until now, the Lord has sent us the necessary funds each time we have had to buy or build. We trust that He will do the same if it is His will for us to expand. If, on the other hand, He wants us to be small, that will also make us happy. Expanding a community is no easy feat…
Our two Brazilians received their visas. It’s a great joy! Classes resumed almost a month ago. I am very busy, as you can tell if you are around Stilesville. I have to give lessons every day, up to three or four hours a day. I ask for everyone's patience. For the future of Our Lady of Joy Mission, this is the essential work: the training of priests. These priests will in turn be able to propagate the Faith in our regions when the time comes by opening chapels, schools, etc. In the meantime, the best part of my time must be devoted to the seminarians. It is a question of forming good priests who have the knowledge, piety and virtues necessary for priestly life.
I am not as available to travel outside as I once was. Thanks to God, the arrival of Father Mello made it possible to maintain all the masses in the missions, and even to increase them. I see myself obliged to travel more in the French-speaking part until Father Mello speaks enough French to exercise his apostolate there, leaving him to visit the English-speaking missions for now. I tried to arrange things so that I could visit you all at least once in a while. Perhaps the Lord will also send us a French-speaking priest... This would be very useful, because if we take the missions as a whole, around two thirds of the faithful are French-speaking. It seems to me that my main role should be in Stilesville, with the seminarians, but for the moment, I have to be absent regularly.
Otherwise, life goes on. Our farmyard is doing well. Brother Dismas and Sister Véronique are busy with gardening work, farm work, construction work and cooking. Nobody has time to be bored.
I commend our growing community to your prayers. Know that you are in our prayers every day, especially during the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
May God bless you and keep you!
Mgr Pierre RoySeptember 17, 2024
Dear friends,
On August 22nd - on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - Reverend Father David Joseph Kemna, former Fraternity of St Peter priest from Missouri, received conditional ordination to the priesthood at St. Joseph’s Church in Stilesville. Father Kemna ceased involvement with the Fssp when he refused an assignment from his superiors. Amongst other complicit compromises against the Faith and Morals, Father could not in conscience continue being complicit in the Fssp’s funding of Novus Ordo dioceses, which in turn not only fund seminaries that teach the Modernist Heresy which continues to corrupt millions of souls, but also scandalously fund organizations that positively promote abortion, contraception and homosexuality.
Fr. Kemna then started to study the crisis of the Church more thoroughly and he moved closer toward the Fsspx. He requested conditional ordination from the SSPX, but it was denied to him, since it is not the policy anymore. Continuing his studies, he moved away altogether from the gallican Recognize and Resist -“R&R”- position, in order to embrace the “Recognize and Obey” position concerning valid Popes -which is the only Catholic position that is compatible with all the binding teachings of the Church- including the Dogmas of the Papacy explicitly defined in Pastor Aeternus, and as taught in the subsequent binding Magisterium of the anti-Modernist Popes including Pope Pius IX and Pope St. Pius X.
Fssp priests are being ordained in the traditional rite of ordination, but by Bishops who have themselves been consecrated in the new rite. Therefore, Father Kemna, having studied carefully the question, requested from me that I give him a conditional ordination to the Holy Priesthood, in order to ensure that the Sacraments he confects and administers are valid. We reviewed his previous seminary studies, and I found him ready to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Fssp priests receive an overall good formation in philosophy and theology. As for the things in his previous studies that were not correct, for instance regarding compromises with the Modernist Heresies of Vatican 2, Father’s study of the Deposit of the Faith in the last several years led him to renounce these previous erroneous opinions, and to fully affirm and hold the true positions in full accord with authentic Catholic Doctrine and Sacred Tradition. Deo Gratias!
Here are a few pictures of this ordination. Father has very much edified the community during the three weeks he spent with us.
Please keep him in your prayers!
Bp Roy
August 18, 2024
Tonight was one of celebration in Stilesville as Sister Véronique-de-Jésus pronounced her first vows in the community.
We ask for your continued prayers for her, the community, the parish and all Missions.
May God bless you!
Bp Roy
Aestas
16 July 2024
Dear faithful,
Summer is in full swing and our hearts are rejoicing. It's hard to describe summer joy in Canada. Winter is a very difficult season and summer really fills us with joy, perhaps more than in other countries.
Plants, animals, everything seems filled with a very intense life that leaves little room for memories of the storms of just a few months ago.
The community is doing well. We took a break from our classes, happy to have studied hard for an entire year. The satisfaction of having accomplished our duty allows us to rest, carefree. I believe you have the same feelings.
Brother Dismas and I had a wonderful trip to France. We discovered the chapel of Rennes, in Brittany, at Father Roger's, and the chapel of Father Rioult, in Charitte-de-Bas. About thirty-five confirmations for both locations combined. Places altogether similar to our chapel, where the faithful gathered around faithful priests to survive the conciliar winter... Same worries, same joys, same Faith.There is no shortage of activities. The roof of Saint-Joseph Church will soon be finished. We have put quality material on it that will last several decades.
The farmyard is doing well. We should have around twenty-five laying hens in the fall, with the young birds we hatched. The rabbits haven't been very active this year. First we had to make some space in the freezers. The pigeons produced many young in the spring, but seem to have taken a break during the heat of summer. Some ducks grow up under the watchful eye of Sister. The trout have fallen asleep at the bottom of the pond, waiting for cooler days to come back to life. We have tasted about twenty of them, but they are no longer biting for the moment. Both hives are expanding. The bees are already preparing for winter. All their activity has only one goal: to survive the cold season. Mella, the dog, is getting older and calmer. She is part of the community and, when we return from a trip, she cannot contain her joy to see us again. It seems we have supplied the entire greater Moncton area and further afield with cats. It is more difficult than before to sell the kittens, and we will have to reduce the number of females...
Several young men have contacted us to join us and study with us for the priesthood. Provided that they can receive their visas, it seems that we will soon have a serious problem in housing them. Should we build, expand? An intention of prayer... May the Lord guide us and give us the means to accomplish what He expects of us.Things are changing quickly in the conciliar sect. More and more priests are leaving to join the Tradition. We even saw an entire convent of nuns in Spain join the Church in condemning Vatican II. Not to mention Bishop Vigano, who has continued to move in the right direction. In the midst of the current darkness, light is making its way. The enemies of the Church are not without knowing it. Let us pray that the Lord protects us.
Let us pray, let us persevere, let us watch! “The joy of the Lord is our strength! » (Nehemiah 8,10) Who can know the trials that await us? Who can know the joys? It’s about putting yourself in the hands of the Lord. “Cast all your concerns on him, because he himself takes care of you. » (I Peter, 5.7)
God bless you!Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Mgr Pierre Roy
June 7 2024
The Community and the Faithful of Our Lady of Joy Mission rejoice greatly for the tonsure of their seminarian, M. Connor Reeder and for the taking of the habit of Nicolas Carnogursky, in religion now Brother Dismas.
May God grant to our young seminarian and novice perseverance and a true desire to serve God with their whole heart!
Mgr Roy
June 2, 2024, Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers. Corpus Christi turned out to be a good day with good weather! Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar! Thank you to all those who participated in making this day a great success!
Mgr Roy
May 13th, 2024
Dear Friends,
We had a nice visit with Father Mello in St-André. Father Mello was very pleased with the place and said : God is pushing everything forward in Canada, it is amazing to see. We will now head to Saumarez for the burial of Claudette Basque. May she rest in peace!
Bp Roy
Beatitudes - 1
1st May, 2024
Dear friends,
You of course know the Beatitudes. In Saint Matthew, the Beatitudes are found at the very beginning of Jesus' public ministry, immediately after the vocation of the Apostles. They contain a wisdom that surpasses all the wisdoms of pagan philosophers.
Among these Beatitudes, I confess to having a particular affection for the seventh: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God!” (Matt. V, 9)
These words could not have been uttered by the Incarnate Word, our divine Savior, without containing profound wisdom. Christ is rightly called the Eternal Wisdom. Happy are the peacemakers! Blessed are those who are instruments of peace. Blessed are those who love peace and pursue it with their whole heart. “Inquire pacem et persequere eam. Seek peace, and pursue it.” (Ps. 33, 15) Peace is an essential condition for spiritual progress. Our God is a God of peace.
Let us clarify here that there is an essential difference between a peacemaking spirit and a pacifist spirit. The first seeks true peace, the second is content with an illusory peace and cannot take up arms, even when it is necessary for the sake of peace, not even when the common good requires it. Peace sometimes requires that troublemakers be fought vigorously. But we are talking here about true peace.
One of the main obstacles to peace is resentment, that is to say the fact of keeping something against one's neighbor in one's heart for a more or less long time. The Lord wants us to forgive. The word forgiveness contains the word gift. To give one's neighbor, despite everything, one's mercy, that is a divine gesture. Disregard offenses. Christ made it a condition of our own forgiveness. “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Matt. VI, 14)
All is well in Stilesville. Spring is coming slowly, but surely. We are filled with joy at the presence of Father Mello, who has joined us and communicates his good mood to all of us. Pray that Father Mello can obtain his work visa and stay with us. We are working on it as best as we can.
The arch in the church is now completed. Blessed be God! Mr. Reeder and Nicolas worked hard to place the stone behind the presbytery to finish the landscaping. This stone was generously offered to us by one of the Faithful and we are very grateful to him.In the coming weeks, I will visit Nova Scotia and Saint-André with Father Mello to introduce him to you. After taking the time to look with him at the studies he has done so far, I am reassured that Father is capable of taking good care of your souls. However, Father Mello asked to continue his studies to strengthen his knowledge of traditional theology. He would like to gradually review all his seminary studies. It’s a very reassuring state of mind! Father Mello makes rapid progress in the English and French languages. Be patient with him. He has all the good will necessary to learn. He already knows quite a bit of English, and French and Portuguese are very close: most of the words and sentence constructions are similar.
My little children, as Saint Paul would say, love peace, love forgiveness, love mercy. When we refuse to forgive our brothers, we harm not only our neighbor, but especially ourself. Sometimes, our neighbor is angry with us without us being angry with him. In this situation there is a profound peace within us, because our heart remains open to our neighbor. But from the moment we ourselves have grudges in our hearts and we close ourselves off to our neighbors, peace is not within us. A worm gnaws and devours us slowly.
May we all be instruments of peace! Do you not want to be called “children of God”? Be peacemakers!
With my blessing,
Mgr Pierre RoyApril 22, 2024 ~ Confirmations in St-André
Dear friends,
We had four Confirmations in St-André yesterday. Deo gratias! We now have only Québec left for Confirmations in the month of August. About 20 people have registered so far. As you can see, the columns are still a work in progress in St-André. The right side on the pictures is the right one for columns. With my blessing!
Bp Roy
April 12, 2024
Dear friends,
We had a nice meeting with Bishop Pivarunas and Father Saunders in London Ontario. Deo gratias!
Bp. Roy
April 11, 2024
Dear friends,
The Community and Faithful of Our Lady of Joy are very pleased to welcome Father Angelo Mello de Carvalho in Stilesville, NB. Father Mello will remain with us until the month of July and will hopefully come back afterwards to remain with us permanently. May God bless him and may his presence bring many blessings on our Missions.
Bp. Roy
Happy Life
29 Februrary 2024
Dear friends,
We are soon arriving to Mid-Lent, already. We are heading toward the great Holy Week, the most beautiful week of the year, with its magnificent liturgy. Much material preparation is needed, but getting our souls ready is even more crucial. Catholics should cherish the Holy Week and be generous to attend as many of the ceremonies as they are able to.
Spring seems to be willing to come earlier this year. No one will complain, I believe. Much is already going on in the barn: the pigeons are hatching eggs all the time. Unfortunately, it is still a bit cold for the young to survive, it seems. The ducks love to go outside as long as the temperature is not too cold. We want to let them hatch their eggs this year. The hens are laying daily and provide more eggs than we need. Their situation is much better than last year with the new barn. We are hoping to collect about forty eggs soon and hatch a whole bunch of new chickens. The roosters will go in the freezer at fall, and the hens will come join the eight existing ones.
We should breed some of the rabbits soon. Mostly the Flemish Giants, to sell the babies, because the freezer is still full of rabbits. The fish have at least doubled in size and we can see them jumping around when Nicolas feeds them. Summer will see some happy fishing for trout. The bees have survived so far. They should make it to spring with a little help. The three female cats are pregnant again and should have their kittens before Easter. Mella, the dog, is growing fast. Last fall, we lost May-Belle, unfortunately, but Mella will be a good dog too. We will not raise pigs this year, as we ended up putting the two pigs in the freezer.
The garden is still feeding the Community: garlic, onions, potatoes, squash, canning, etc. Having too many onions, we decided to sell some. These are organic onions: no chemicals in our garden, ever. Doing some gardening is a big help: Sister goes to the grocery store only every second week, and it is always because there is no milk anymore. The rest we produce on the property. Sister cooks her own bread. The wood to heat the rectory, we collect in the forest. Homesteading is a very rewarding activity but it requires a good planning.
Our studies go well. We continue our classes every day and catch up with extra classes when I am away. Next Monday, we will have an exam of Ascetic and Mystic Theology. I see my students do good progress in Latin. Holy Scripture as well, with Father Ahern. Teachers are faithful to give the students their exams and the later seem to be dedicated to study with zeal. I have increased the chant classes. Right now, we do at least a half hour every day when possible to prepare for Holy Week. I see a big improvement there too.
Adapting the liturgy from Priest to Bishop has been a big task. It is still a work in progress. Sister has worked extra hard on sowing. Thank God, some of the ladies are working from home to give her a hand. M. Reeder has had a lot of work also in the sacristy, and he is still relatively new to the function of a sacristan, but he now seems quite comfortable in preparing everything needed for the ceremonies. The Faithful in the various Missions are also dedicated to making all the efforts needed to find the material needed. Without all this background work, I would be quite miserable.
Father Mello is still in the process of getting his visa to come and join us. Please keep this intention in your prayers. Having a priest to help me will be a great joy. I am quite stretched right now with everything. Nicolas is preparing a bedroom for Father Mello in the former office at the church. Father should have a decent bedroom and also a small office.
The work is being organized to build the arch in the church and also to finish the sacristy. There is also the new altar to complete, if God grants a bit of spare time… Work does not lack. We want to thank all those who are helping. We have had a lot of volunteers in the last few months, especially young men offering their extra time to come help Nicolas and M. Reeder, but also others, working hard in the library, for example. Their help is very precious and we are very thankful.
Sursum Corda, everyone! We are Our Lady of Joy Mission, we must always keep a joyful and cheerful mind. This disposition of soul pleases the Lord and makes the impossible possible.
«Vigilate, state in Fide, viriliter agite et confortamini!» I Cor. 16, 13
«Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, do manfully, and be strengthened.»
With my blessing!
Bishop Roy
Peace - II
11 February 2024
Dear friends,
Some people don’t realize, I think, but the decision to accept being consecrated a Bishop was a hard one for me to take. I obviously was attacked right and left from people of the outside, and although my decision was met with much joy on the part of most people, it was also met with incomprehension on the part of some. This is understandable, because it is indeed a big decision. I hold no grudge to anyone and continue loving each of the members of my flock, the vast majority who are still with us and the few who decided to take their distances. Strange enough, I feel a special love towards them. I sincerely hope to see them back, because nothing major has changed here. Our goals are still the same, our actions are still the same. We are looking forward.
I thought I would take the opportunity to speak a bit about the situation of the Church. We know for sure by Faith that the Church will always stay the same, as Our Lord Jesus Christ has founded Her: with Shepherds and flock until His coming back. In other words, the Church will always have legitimate Shepherds, no matter what. Where are these legitimate Shepherds today? Well, look around and see for yourself. Who is guiding you towards Heaven? Who is guiding you towards the spirit of the world? See for yourself… In whom do you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd? In whom do you hear the voice of the hirelings? « I am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me. » John, 10, 14
The legitimate Shepherds of the Church today – although they have to exist somewhere – cannot be found in the Novus Ordo. Impossible. God cannot grant divine authority to those who do not uphold the True Faith. As hard as this can be to hear for some of you, it simply cannot be. We indeed find some conservative prelates in the Novus Ordo, but don’t pay too close attention to what they say, because one day or another you will face deception. Even those among you who are the most lenient towards some Novus Ordo prelates, will have to admit that they have to sift through what these prelates say, and pick and choose… One who cannot accept the whole truth, as hard as it is to face, exposes himself and his family to nothing short than apostasy. One day or another such a person will have to either deny the dogma of the infallibility of the Church in order to adhere to the Novus Ordo, or reject the Novus Ordo and uphold the dogma of infallibility. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Where, therefore, are to be found the legitimate Shepherds of the Church today? In Tradition, nowhere else. Hard to believe? Hard to accept? True nevertheless. From the moment you accept this truth, your life changes. You are not anymore despaired about the situation of the Church. You see what is going on and your heart is filled with joy and hope. God is maintaining His Church and its divine constitution until a true Sovereign Pontiff governs the Church again. We might be deprived of a Sovereign Pontiff, our souls are nevertheless still taught, sanctified and governed by successors of the Apostles who truly hold the authority of Christ.
There is much chaos, there is much turmoil, but at a local level – a Shepherd and his flock – things flourish everywhere. The Church of Christ continues. I see that in my country, I saw that in Brazil. My trip to Brazil was much refreshing. Yes, there was the episcopal consecration, the splendour of the ceremony, etc. But I think I have been touched most of all by the people of Brazil. The simple Faith, the joy of lay people touched my heart very deeply. I came back from Brazil, and I see the same in my people in Canada. We have a different temperament. Our climate makes us different people. We are not as outspoken as South American people. But within our hearts lays the same conviction: we are the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ continuing. All we have to do is continue on the same path. All we have to do is stop looking to the Novus Ordo in search of the legitimate Shepherds of the Church and accept the full truth.
So, to come back to me, the decision of episcopal consecration was a hard one to make. It challenged my Faith. I was raised in the SSPX. Therefore, I was taught to look for the Shepherds of the Church in the Novus Ordo, while at the same time having to recognize that none of them was upholding the True Faith with all its consequences. We the flock knew better than the Shepherds what was true or false, good or evil. A view completely strange to what the Church teaches. Again correct me if I am wrong… I had to accept that we are the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ that continues and not an emergency wheel ready to fall off at any time.
I don’t know if what I am saying makes sense to you, and I am ready to correct anything I said that might be wrong, but I experience a deep inner peace in these thoughts.
Pax vobis !
Bishop Roy
Taking of the Cassock
2nd February 2024
Connor Reeder has taken the cassock on the Feast of the Présentation of Our Lord, February 2nd. A great joy for the Community and Parish.
The cassock represents death to the world. Let us pray that all clerics, priests and religious die to the world and live for Christ.
Ad multos annos!
Peace
1st February 2024
Dear friends,
it is no little grace to be able to keep one’s soul at peace. The turmoil of the world and the trials of one’s life would suffice to keep us constantly agitated and to deprive us of true rest. Yet the Lord wants us to enjoy his peace : «Peace be unto you!» John 20, 21. He wants us to seek peace and to remain firmly attached to it : «Seek after peace and pursue it». Psalm 33, 15
Peace comes from firmness in Faith. It is a consequence of having found the Lord and of adhering to Him with one’s whole mind and heart.
Peace comes from true Hope, from awaiting eternal rest. There is no peace on earth. The Prince of this world has no peace to offer.
Peace comes from ardent Charity. «But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity.» Gal. 5, 22-23
Tomorrow will be a great day at Our Lady of Joy Mission. On the feast of the Presentation, one of our seminarians will take the cassock. First in the many steps a young man must take in his journey toward the priesthood. Keep our vocations in your prayers always.
A few tens of the Faithful are preparing for Confirmation. A great Sacrament. A Sacrament that is often not given the importance it has. Christ insisted a lot on the Holy Ghost and His action in our souls. Let us take this Sacrament very seriously.
After completing our library, we are hoping to finally build the arch in St Joseph church in Stilesville. This should unite the old and the new parts of the building. «Nova et vetera.» The Church is at the same time old and perpetually young.
Winter has a peace that other seasons won’t offer. Everything is at rest. Animals, trees, everything seems to be in a profound sleep. We should take advantage of this season to deepen our inner life. Less daylight, less outward activity, but a peaceful searching of the Kingdom of God, which is within ourselves.
«For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.» James, 5, 16
Peace be unto you!
Bishop Pierre Roy
