September 2009
Vol. XXX, No. 9
Dear Oblates and Friends of Portsmouth,
On June 19th, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict dedicated the coming year to the Year of the Priest, under the patronage of the Cure d'Ars, and a week later added the twentieth century Capuchin saint, Padre Pio, to this intention. St. John-Baptist Vianney had been named patron of parish clergy by Pope Pius XI in 1929. Pope Benedict has now extended this patronage to priests in religion as well. This special year is partly in response to the scandalous abuses by members of the clergy and religious orders that have dominated the news media throughout the world for more than a decade, contributing to the sharp decline in Christian observance, especially in Europe, North America and Australia. But the Pope is chiefly concerned with the recognition of the vast majority of priests who have been faithful to their calling and wishes to assure them of support for their loyalty, at the same time encouraging them to deepen their commitment to imitating Christ and to have the courage to face the future as "heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace for the world in our time."
During the period of the French Revolution, the Church was persecuted by the anti-Christian government and continued to suffer under the restoration of the Church by Napoleon. For almost a generation France had lapsed into paganism, and was sorely in need of a revival of Catholic observance at a parochial level, both in urban and rural areas. A recovery of the sense of dedication and willingness to give oneself up totally to the priestly vocation was a necessity if the Church in France was to be salvaged. It was from the clergy of the Third Estate that change was to come, and no one better represented this sense of renewal than John-Baptist Vianney, a peasant who had from his earliest years felt the call to the priesthood, but had to overcome many trials and almost insurmountable obstacles before being ordained His first assignment was to go to the small country village of Ars near Lyon which had virtually lost its faith, symbolized in the small, ruined church, which had suffered from twenty years of neglect. Slowly, gradually, through his example, his eagerness to bring about the return to the faith of these simple peasants, and his evident holiness, the Cure overcame their indifference, and even antipathy, to religion. It was not deep theology that he could impart, nor was this what the people needed. They saw in his way of life the apostolic response to the teaching of Jesus.
Word of his success in reawakening the Christian faith which had so long been dormant spread beyond the village to the neighboring towns, and eventually his fame as a spiritual director through the power of the confessional and the sanctity of his life reached all of France. People began to come to Ars as if to a place of pilgrimage, seeking advice and absolution in the sacrament of penance. The tiny village resembled metaphorically "a great hospital of souls." Like John the Baptist for whom he had been named, Father Vianney preached the need for people to become conscious of sin and repentance, if they were to be saved. Much of his day and often far into the night he spent in the confessional, dispensing advice and absolution. In the twentieth century, Padre Pio was to possess the same charism of discernment into the spiritual lives of the crowds of pilgrims who came to him, not just from Italy, but from all parts of the world. From both these saints the faithful benefited from their counsel, recognizing in them a unique, prophetic power to transform their religious observance into something more meaningful.
What makes the Cure d'Ars such an inspiration to the ordinary parish priest is the active life in which he was engaged, despite the contemplative bent of his spirituality. With the help of two devoted women he opened La Providence, a home for sixty indigent, orphan girls, which he continued to supervise all his life in a fatherly way. As a priest, he exercised the routine responsibilities of running a parish, overseeing charitable works, visiting the sick, instructing the children in the fundamentals of their religion, and depending on the laity, both men and women, to assist him in the daily chores of parochial life. The human touch can be seen in the times when he felt overburdened with his duties and attempted, several times, to leave Ars and seek sanctuary in a contemplative environment. On the third occasion, when a delegation followed him to his place of refuge, he realized where his primary responsibility lay, and obediently returned to the life he had sought to abandon. This he considered to be the subtlest of the devil's temptations, and never again did he attempt to leave Ars, the once obscure village that has become inseparably linked with his name.
Extracts of Quotations from the Cure d'Ars
In Letter to Brother Priests from Pope Benedict XVI, June 16, 2009
"Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth...The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord, the administrator of his goods."
"All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass, since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God."
"It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to him."
"This good Saviour is so filled with love that he seeks us everywhere."
Liturgical Calendar for September
Cycle of Prayer: Spread of Gospel; the Harvest; Justice and Peace
in the World; Victims of War; Prisoners and their Families
3 St. Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor
Patron of Portsmouth
4 St. Cuthbert, Bishop
6 SUNDAY XXIII OF THE YEAR
8 Nativity of Our Lady
9 St. Peter Claver, Priest
13 SUNDAY XXIV OF THE YEAR
14 Triumph of the Holy Cross
15 Our Lady of Sorrows
16 St. Cornelius, Pope & St. Cyprian, Bishop
17 St. Hildegard, Religious, Sybil of the Rhine
20 SUNDAY XXV OF THE YEAR
SS. Andrew Kim & Paul Chong and
Korean Martyrs (omitted)
21 St. Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist
24 Our Lady of Walsingham
25 St. Ceolfrid, Abbot
26 SS. Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs
27 SUNDAY XXVI OF THE YEAR
28 St. Wenceslaus, Duke & Martyr
29 St. Michael and All Angels
30 St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church
October 11: Oblate Day of Recollection
Monastery Notes
In June Dom Caedmon as Abbot and Dom Paschal, the elected delegate, attended the quadriennial General Chapter of the English Benedictine Congregation, this year held at the Abbey of Douai in Berkshire. This abbey derives its name from Douai in Flanders, where monks from England sought refuge after the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII. At the time of the French Revolution some of the English houses returned to England, while the monks of Saint Edmund's in Paris moved to Douai, occupying the monastic buildings vacated by the monks of Saint Gregory's who returned to England, eventually settling at Downside. For a century the monks of Saint Edmund's remained at Douai until the anti-Catholic Laws of Association banned all religious houses, forcing the monks to leave their place of exile in 1903 and settle near Reading in England, retaining their geographical name. Here the monks served on the mission and opened a school for young boys, education being part of their ministry abroad. Although the school was closed recently, the abbey continues to care for parishes, give retreats, and operates a conference center and guesthouse.
On Father's Day the annual Classic & Antique Auto Show was held on the school grounds, but inclement weather kept the number of participants smaller than usual.
A number of groups were present on the campus during the summer months, including a month-long summer school, athletic camps in lacrosse, soccer and squash, and groups for a variety of workshops, retreats and conferences.
Dom Joseph spent part of the summer in Italy, while Dom Paschal took advantage of his being in England for the General Chapter to do research for his book in progress in London.
Dom Julian accompanied students from the school on trips to Lourdes in July. Dom Gregory was art instructor for the students who went on a faculty sponsored trip to Rome in June.
The neighboring convent of Saint Philomena's belonging to the Faithful Companions of Jesus held a ceremony of closing in June. Dom Caedmon officiated at the mass and was joined in concelebration by a number of the monks from Portsmouth. For the past sixty years the nuns have supervised an elementary school but dwindling vocations have forced the Order to suppress the house. The flourishing school will continue to operate under lay administration. A deep debt of gratitude is owed to the dedicated nuns who served so well in the field of Catholic education since the foundation of the school in 1963. For many years the monastery has supplied the convent with chaplains for daily mass.
At the end of The Portsmouth Institute held in June, honoring the late William F. Buckley for his contribution to Catholicism, a celebratory concert was held in the Church to mark its reopening after over a year of complete and much-needed renovation. More than three hundred guests were present to hear a performance of Gabriel Faure's Requiem and Richard Strauss' Solemn Procession for the Knights of Saint John. For this an orchestral group, choir and solo performers were assembled from Boston, New York and Rhode Island under the direction of the school's Director of Music, Troy Quinn, assisted by Jay Bragan, both members of the Performing Arts Department of the school faculty. Among the monks participating in the series of Conferences were Dom Caedmon, Dom Ambrose, Dom Damian and Dom Paschal.
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