May 2009
Vol. XXX, No. 5
Dear Oblates and Friends of
Portsmouth,
In the Holy Rule Saint Benedict says in the chapter dealing with Lenten observance that "the lives of monks should always have a Lenten character," although he immediately qualifies this by observing that few can be persuaded of this. But this thought can be extended to a degree to all Christians, not just to monks. What Saint Benedict means is that the work of spiritual regeneration, our need for conversion, is an on-going concern, not something which can be confined to one short period of the year and then put aside, to be resumed ten months later. An interruption like this would, of course, mean our having to start all over again, and as a result, make any kind of permanent change that much harder. For the Christian, life is not merely a journey from birth to death; it is a daily struggle to hold to the course, the degree of difficulty varying with our state of life, the where we live and how we live. What it means to be a disciple of Jesus is to come to realize and accept the fact that life on this earth is studded with crosses, crosses which confront everyone on a daily basis, and which have to be dealt with throughout our lives. They provide us with opportunities for proving and strengthening our commitment to Christ, and consequently cannot be avoided or disregarded. The way of Jesus is the way of the Cross, and this is how we can conceive of the whole year as a modified Lenten experience.
In Peter's first sermon recorded in the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, the book from which the opening Sunday scriptural readings are taken during the Paschal season, the apostle calls on his listeners to repent of their wrongdoings, especially of their part in Jesus' death, even if it was unwitting, and to be baptized as followers of Jesus, who died on behalf of the whole human race. We are told that his auditors were "cut to the heart," beseeching Peter to tell them what they should do to atone. They then consented to be baptized, and became eligible to receive the Holy Spirit, which gave them the grace and confidence to make themselves known to be Christians.
Recognition of our need for God's forgiveness and spiritual reformation is the message of Lent. What the Paschal season proclaims is the joy, the eagerness of responding to the call of Jesus. What he demands of us is often hard and burdensome, and this can be the cross part of discipleship. But the difficulty disappears or is attenuated when we realize that Jesus is also helping us to bear our individual burdens: "Bear the Cross, and it will bear thee."
An important part of being a Christian is the proclamation of the Good News of salvation. In some way we are expected to participate in spreading the Gospel, just as Luke recounts in the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES how the deacon Philip encounters the court official of the queen of Ethiopia, interprets for him the scripture he is reading, recognizes the genuineness of his search for truth, and baptizes him immediately. Obviously we are not all called to be missionaries or modern day crusaders. But what we can do is behave more like what Jesus expects of all of his followers. This is how the church spread so rapidly in its infancy, when the pagans were so impressed by the example of the Christian lay folk: "See how they love one another." When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper, an act commemorated in the liturgy of Maundy Thursday (the mandatum), he gave us an object lesson on how we are to behave: to serve others, no matter how menial the task, not seeking to hold the place of honor, but rather to acknowledge another to be of more importance than ourselves. It is such behavior that is the reverse of what the world at large practices. The Christian response to the values of the world is a total rejection of the concept of me first.
This is a truth so obvious that it should not have to be stated. But we are daily confronted by examples at all levels of society of naked greed in lives dedicated to personal advancement at the expense of others. The late best selling writer, Ayn Rand, advocated just such behavior, referring to greed as a virtue. We can ask ourselves how often we, almost unconsciously, follow this path of getting ahead, according to the standards of the culture in which we live, instead of pursuing the less appealing way, the "less traveled way," of Jesus and the apostles. And yet this is the only way we can be sure of gaining the
Kingdom of
God and securing for others a place in the Kingdom. This is what Jesus meant in his final prayer to his Apostles at the Last Supper: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another." This is the mandate which Jesus demonstrated when he washed the feet of the apostles, serving them rather than being served.
A Prayer in Time of War and Necessity
Praised be Thou, O God, Almighty Ruler, Who dost make the day bright with sunshine, and the night with the beams of heavenly fires! Listen now to our prayers, and forgive us both our conscious and unconscious transgressions.
Clothe us with the armor of righteousness; shield us with Thy truth; watch over us with Thy power; save us from all calamities; and give us grace to pass all the days of our life blameless, holy, peaceful, free from sin, terror and offence. For with Thee is mercy and plenteous redemption, our Lord and God, and to Thee we bring our thanks and praise. Amen. (from the liturgy of the Eastern Church)
Monastery Notes
Dom Gregory is spending a four-month sabbatical in
Rome to participate in a Monastic Formators Program with a group of men and women religious from many countries. Among the presenters are the distinguished lecturers and authors on monastic spirituality, Father Michael Casey, OCSO, and Sister Aquinata Boechmann, OSB. Dom Gregory has been recovering from surgery this past year, but will resume his place on the school faculty next September, teaching studio art.
The Church has been restored to the point that it could be used for the Holy Week services and it will continue to be used for Sunday masses until the renovation of the Lippold sculpture above the main altar has been completed. Meanwhile, a temporary altar near the nave is being used. Daily masses and the choral office of the monks will keep on being celebrated in the temporary oratory of the monastery throughout May and June.
Dom Alban Boultwood, first Abbot of our sister monastery, St. Anselm's Abbey in
Washington,
D.C., died in March at the age of 97. He was a frequent visitor of Portsmouth before his retirement and remained a valued friend throughout his long life. Abbot Caedmon represented
Portsmouth and the abbeys of England at his funeral held on April 4th at the Abbey.
A large wind turbine has been erected in the town of Portsmouth visible from the grounds of the monastery. It was the success of our school's first turbine that prompted the townspeople to take a similar step.
A further green initiative has been started by the monastery for the benefit of the School in the form of a substantial kitchen garden under the inspiration of a recent alumna, Allie DeSisto, Class of 2005, who has been working on the Sweet Berry Farm in
Middletown. Dom Joseph has been placed in charge to supervise the operation, but it is being tended, for the most part, by student volunteers.
On March 26th Jan de Cock, a Dutch social worker, came to the school to speak on an unfamiliar topic, jail conditions in countries he has visited throughout the world, especially prisons in Africa, China and Haiti. He made a deep impression on his largely student audience with visual descriptions of the incredible suffering of prisoners, often innocent of any crime, spending years in overcrowded hovels serving as prisons amid the most squalid conditions. Mr. De Cock has dedicated his life to doing what he personally can to relieve the misery of these people, especially the impoverished children, and to publicize this neglected, global problem through books and lectures. His critically acclaimed book, "Hotel Prison," published in Dutch, French and German, will soon be translated into English for publication in the
United States.
Liturgical Calendar for May
(April 26: Oblate Day of Recollection: Dom Julian)
1
St. Joseph the Worker, Patron of Laborers
2 St. Athanasius, Bishop & Doctor
3 SUNDAY IV OF EASTER
(World Day of Prayer for Vocations)
4 All Martyrs of
England and
Wales
10 SUNDAY V OF EASTER
11 SS. Odo, Maieul, Odilo, Hugh and Peter the Venerable, Abbots of
Cluny
14 St. Matthias, Apostle
15 St. Pachomius, Abbot
17 SUNDAY VI OF EASTER
21 ASCENSION OF THE LORD
(Holy Day of Obligation)
24 SUNDAY VII OF EASTER
25 St. Bede the Venerable
26 St. Gregory VII, Pope
27
St. Augustine of
Canterbury,
Patron of English Congregation
30 Sacred Heart of Jesus
31 SUNDAY OF PENTECOST
Note: Day of Recollection originally scheduled for this
day has been cancelled. Next Meeting in September.
Christopher Smart "Glorious is the Crown"
(1722 - 1771) (From The Song of David)
Glorious the sun in mid-career; Glorious the northern lights astream;
Glorious the assembled fires appear; Glorious the song, when God's the theme;
Glorious the comet's train: Glorious the thunder's roar;
Glorious the trumpet and alarm: Glorious Hosanna from the den;
Glorious the Almighty's stretched-out arm; Glorious the catholic Amen;
Glorious the enraptured main. Glorious the martyr's gore.
Glorious - more glorious - is the crown
Of Him that brought salvation down,
By meekness called thy Son:
Thou that stupendous truth believed, -
And now the matchless deed's achieved,
Determined, dared, and done.
