We hear at lot about the commercialization of Christmas at this time of year. Certainly in a time of deepening recession, I suppose we need a lot of buying to spruce up the Christmas spirit. But one thing I think the church has gotten right and the culture we live in has gotten wrong is the timing of our celebration of Jesus' birth. The church doesn't really start celebrating Christmas until Christmas eve. In our Irish inspired house, when I was growing up we never took down the Christmas decorations until Epiphany twelve days after Christmas. Of course we were the only ones in our neighborhood to extend the celebration so long into the New Year. By Jan 6th all our neighbors' Christmas trees had been long since been hauled off.

On the first Sunday of Advent I said Mass at a Veterans' hospital. There Christmas had already begun with full navitity set and trees all decorated... just as the church was beginning it's somber season of penance as preparation for the feast to come. Well that's the government for you. At Marylake, we didn't cut the trees during the 3rd week of Advent, and on the 4th and last Sunday of Advent we began to decorate. The first picture was taken on the 4th Sunday, December 21st. Fr. Raphael helped me string the lights on the tree, and then I began building the crib, as seen above in its initial stage of development. All was completed on Christmas eve. The crib is different each year as it is constructed anew each Christmas. So the final result is always similar but ever new. I think the finished product shown here was actually last year's crib. I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of this year's, which would be the logical complement to it's beginning pictured above. But you make do with what's at hand when blogging!

The Carmelite friars of Marylake wish you all a blessed Christmas. May the peace and good will of the season carry over in our hearts into the New Year.

On a rainy Thursday, November 6th the Saline County Historical Society came out to Marylake for a tour. The biggest change around here since 1935 is the cars which bring people to the monastery. Oak trees have grown, pines have died, but the driveway (now paved) is the same, as is the building since it's construction in 1926 when the stones were hauled in by mules from Pinacle Mountain. Jim Krueger used the occasion to take pictures around our grounds while his wife Marlo took my tour of the inside. Jim's Nikon D300 with zoom lens, managed to capture the beauty of Marylake in the fall. The Dogwood leaves were a bright red while the sweet gum was just beginning to turn to its yellow stars of autumn. The bridge to the cemetery always draws photographers, whether as a background or as an object of interest in itself. Our cemetery was constructed on the ninth hole of the original golf course. Fr. Herman built the bridge in the '60s to span the lagoon that separates the monastery from the cemetery. Before the bridge, we had to jump from rock to rock to get across the lagoon.

The Greater Little Rock Camera Club came out in October to take some pictures around the monastery. The group led by Camella McCoy (or Angel as she is known) included Gabe Sisney and Neil Jones, who took this nice shot of our facade with the traditional bare cross. The cross found in each friar's cell has no "corpse"attached. The friar is reminded to place himself on the cross through self denial and mortification. In this way he can imitate his savior who died for him on the cross, by doing not His own will, but the will of his heavenly Father. Angel took this nice shot of our waterfall.

Marylake has been a photo magnet this year. Never have so many come out to take pictures. Dillards started the trend a couple years ago when they shipped in models from New York to pose around the property for their fall clothing line. Then there are always young women who want their bridal shot taken here. We even had a family recently who took their Christmas picture here. Gabe Sisney of the camera club took the shot of our monastery's north wall.