Tony’s Tidbits

Providing you with the latest happenings at St Anthony’s

Tuesday, March 19 - Welcome, Spring!

Today is the Spring Equinox. Daylight continues to grow, with minutes of light now outnumbering minutes of darkness. The warmer than normal winter has trees, bushes, and flowers all believing winter has long passed, but Mother Nature still seems to have a few surprises left with snow forecast for later this week.

Throwback Thursday, March 14 - Snow Foolin'

This photo from March 1922 could never be mistaken for March 2024. Aside from the number of friars frolicking in the mounds of snow, there's the mounds of snow themselves. In this winter that wasn't of 2024, we haven't had any snow on the ground for weeks. In fact, temperatures have been so mild we have more than a few flower shoots poking their heads out of the ground, and could have blooms in time for the first day of Spring next week.

Wednesday, February 14 - Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Many Christians observe Lent as a season of penance, prayer and preparation for Easter. Catholics and other Christians often choose to give up specific pleasures, such as sweets, alcohol, or social media, during Lent as a way to foster simplicity and self-control. Many use their cravings or desires for these items as a reminder to pray and to refocus on spiritual matters. Here at St. Anthony's, we have meatless meals on Fridays and reduce or eliminate our dessert offerings during Lent so as to not unnecessarily tempt retreatants. We also welcome any who wish to make a retreat a part of their Lenten practice.

Sunday, February 11 - Lourdes

On February 11, 1858. in Lourdes, France, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, a miller's daughter, first had visions of the Virgin Mary. The visions were authenticated by Pope Pius IX in 1862, initiating the devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. The grotto on the grounds of St. Anthony's depicts these visions of Mary at Lourdes. Construction of our grotto was begun by Frank Rajek and his son on July 29, 1929. The statues of Mary and Bernadette are made of zinc. They were donated by Fr. Lawrence Merten's mother in 1921. The grotto was blessed on August 15, 1929, the tenth anniversary of the opening of St. Anthony's, although construction was not completed until late September.

Friday, February 2 - Ground Hog Day

Forecast here for Friday is partly cloudy, so our resident woodchuck is not likely to see his shadow today. If the folklore is right, it will be an early spring. Then again, the weather the past couple of days has been very springlike already with temperatures in the 40's. The forecast for the next couple of weeks is more of the same. Only time will tell if it really is an early spring or just a lull in winter, but I'm sure that the woodchuck, squirrels and other critters will enjoy the spring-like weather while it lasts.

Friday, January 26 - Our Apologies!

WE ARE SO SORRY! When things go wrong, they REALLY go wrong! Our sincere apologies to those who tried to get in touch with us this last year by phone, knowing they left a message but not hearing back from anyone. After doing extensive research with our telephone partners, we discovered that many voicemail messages had been intermittently rerouted to an irretrievable voicemail box at Charter Spectrum. Messages recorded there but not on our operating system. Worse still, this started happening back in April 2023. Sometimes everything worked properly, and we received all messages, while other times it didn't work at all. We are so sorry! We didn't know! Thanks to Forward Electronics and Charter Spectrum, this issue has now been resolved. Going forward, you may rest assured that if we are not here to answer your call, you will be able to leave a message with the appropriate party, and we will get back to you just as soon as we can! Thank you to all for your understanding!

Throwback Thursday, January 18 - Winter Wonderland

This photo dated January 17, 1925 shows two friars enjoying the winter wonderland in what was then called Monastery Park, the woods and grounds surrounding St. Anthony's. The friars must have been hardy fellows to be out in the snow in sandals with only a cape over their woolen habits. Based on the topography, it looks like they might be standing near the bluff where the grotto was built a few years later.

What's New Wednesday, January 10 - Snow!

After nearly six weeks without any measurable snow, winter arrived on Tuesday, leaving a fresh blanket of snow for JustBob to play in on Wednesday. Although final numbers aren't in, 3" were forecast between midnight Monday and sunrise Wednesday. More snow is forecast for Wednesday night into Thursday, and possibly more Friday night into the weekend. Cold air will also arrive bringing single digit high temperatures along with the snow, which means two things: the snow will stick around for awhile, and the boilers are about to get their first real workout of this winter season.

Monday, January 1 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to All! As we embark on 2024, we give thanks for all the blessings and graces of 2023, and we humbly ask God to pour out God's abundant grace and blessing on all of us for this new year. May you and yours be filled with peace, joy and all good!

Saturday, December 23 - Christmas Anniversary

This Christmas marks the 800th anniversary of the Christmas creche'. In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi had his brothers set up a manger with hay and two live animals - an ox and an donkey - in a cave in Greccio, Italy and invited the villagers to come and gaze on the humble circumstances of the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem. St. Francis' recreation of that first Christmas night quickly spread across Italy. Soon every church in Italy and even many private homes had its own nativity scene. For many people, it is impossible to imagine Christmas without a nativity scene to behold. From all of us at St. Anthony's to all of you and your loved ones, we wish a very merry and blessed Christmas season!

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