April, 2008
Vol. XXIX, No. 4                  

Dear Oblates and Friends of Portsmouth,                                                   

                  For the Christian the coming of spring is intimately associated with the great drama of the resurrection of Jesus. Christ is risen is the way people greet each other on Easter Sunday in countries where the orthodox rite is observed, whereas in countries of the West our observance  is  more secular, and often has little to do with anything  Christian. We are coming full circle back to the pagan past which celebrated this time of year with fertility rites invoking the blessing of the gods for favorable planting conditions.  But for the Christian, the events of HOLY WEEK focus directly on the true meaning of our existence, which is making the journey, often difficult and arduous, back to the God from whom human kind has strayed. And we can only do this with the help of Jesus through his life, his teaching and the church which he founded.

          Each Sunday of the year commemorates the miracle of the resurrection, the mystery on which our faith is based. This is the Eighth Day, the day after the Sabbath day of rest when God had completed the creation of the world, a day which continues until the end of time, since it is the final age, the age of redemption. This day which begins the week is known in countries whose language is based on Latin as Dominica, the Lord's Day, whereas in English, a Teutonic language, we adhere to the old pagan usage,  and refer to the first day of the week as Sunday in honor of the Sun god. 

       Artists have painted the sacrificial part of man's redemption through the death of Jesus on the Cross in two ways:  one way, as the Suffering Servant portrayed in the Prophecy of Isaiah who undergoes humiliation and pain on behalf of his people, sacrificing himself that they may be saved, an example of humility and obedience, a foreshadowing of Jesus' own words and sacrificial death, that no greater love hath a man than that he should die for his friend.   But in the earliest days of the Church, when it was persecuted and survived underground, Jesus' crucifixion was portrayed in another, more theological way, showing Jesus in his role as Savior.  He reigned from the cross as King and Victor over Death with his body clothed in royal robes and a wearing a precious crown instead of a wreath of thorns. He is not the dead, crucified Jesus executed by his enemies, but the Son of God living forever in glory in whom lies the hope of our own resurrection into eternal life.

           This theological icon of Christ as King contains the whole mystery of redemption.  The  grim horror of the Passion and Death of Jesus, so graphically depicted in the Mel  Gibson film, is not present although still a reality. Instead, the focus is placed on the meaning and rationale of Calvary: namely, that the primal sin of disobedience has been atoned for by the obedience of Jesus. The tree of knowledge with its forbidden fruit has been replaced by the  tree of the Cross, which leads to knowledge of the Word and to eternal life. At the Last Supper, Jesus taught the Apostles that he was the Way, the Truth and the Life.  And ironically, the cross is transformed into the instrument by which this triad is accomplished.  Show us the way, Thomas had asked, so that they, his disciples, could follow. On the Cross Jesus did just that; he provided an illustration of what the qualifications are to become his followers. Jesus did, and the saints do on a grand scale, what we must do on a much smaller scale. We, ordinary Christians, are not called upon to undergo martyrdom or suffering and renunciation to an heroic degree, but the principal condition still remains. Unless we die with Christ, we cannot rise with Him; if we would be with him in glory, we must be fellow with him in pain, as the writer of The Imitation of Christ insists.  And our day to day life provides us with many opportunities in which we can put into practice the Way of the Cross, and so be truly imitators and followers of Christ. 

          Rebirth is a sign of spring in the world of nature, and likewise, in a spiritual sense, renewal is part of what Easter should mean for us. Through the resurrection we are reborn and revitalized in our Christian commitment and this is symbolized in the renewal of our Baptismal promises. The joy from the sense of renewal that comes from this rebirth in the water of baptism ought to be reflected in the way we live our lives. Our observance of Lent, our participation in the services of Holy Week and Easter should make a difference in the way we think, in the way we behave; we should not be the same as we always were. And during the rest of the year, our own Eighth Day, we should try to maintain this sense of renewal, of hope and commitment to our faith as we practice to a greater degree our love ofneighbor.  We must take Jesus for our model as we recall some of the very last words He spoke to his disciples and to us through them. As I have loved you, so must you love one another, since it is through those whom we see here about us that we demonstrate our love of the Father who is made visible in them.

                                  
John Baptist De La Salle: Patron of Teachers  
(selections from an article in the Summer Portsmouth Bulletin 2007)

           In 1950 John Baptist De La Salle was named Patron of Teachers by Pope Pius XII for a number of reasons.  First, the primary purpose in his founding a Christian Brotherhood was to provide educational opportunities for the poor and underprivileged, a class which had, in this area, hitherto been sadly neglected by the Church and ignored by the State as irrelevant.  Secondly, he recognized the importance of the laity in providing the teachers, and these in turn had to be trained in a systematic way.  Priests, therefore, would be excluded from the formation of the teachers and in the staffing of the schools.  Thirdly, the instruction had to be practical and stress the fundamentals, since the students would be from the working class, without the need or time for a more sophisticated course of studies. Only the vernacular, therefore, would be used for the conduct of classes, with Latin strictly banned.  The Superior must always be a brother, not a priest.  Independence from clerical control with governance in the hands of lay religious and the emphasis placed on courses which would be useful for ordinary living: such progressive views as these were regarded as revolutionary in De La Salle's time, smacking of the Protestant reformers; hence this led to bitter opposition from the ecclesiastical and academic establishment.  A glance at his works on spirituality and pedagogy as well as the hundreds of letters he wrote to his disciples provides proof of his orthodoxy and sanctity.  But in the world of the ancien regime it was natural to consider him an obstinate, opinionated upstart, with too little regard for tradition and the past.

          Prayer, Christian ethical practice, proper behavior and courtesy, with exposure to theology based on Scripture: these were the background for the students as they learned the fundamentals of the three "R"s   taught by men of strict principles dedicated to their profession.  These Christian Brothers he referred to as ambassadors of Christ, since it was their mission to elevate through the classroom the lower, unprivileged classes of society: the poor, the delinquent, the disadvantaged, to whom education had been denied.  The first group of men eventually grew into what is now known as the Order of Christian Brothers.  They began by living in common under the direction of De La Salle, learning his techniques, sharing his ideals, and willing to undergo the sacrifices demanded by a life practicing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.  The Brotherhood quickly spread throughout the world and it continues today to be an important factor in the mission of the Church.

          Here in Rhode Island their methods for dealing with delinquent boys have been so effective that the State has turned to their house in Narragansett for dealing with problems regarded as insoluble.  La Salle Academy, a leading high school in Rhode Island, provides affordable education and has produced many of the State's leaders.  Among its alumni is our own Brother Francis Crowley, who has been able, with great success, to incorporate into the Benedictine tradition much of the De La Salle spirituality and educational philosophy.  Dom Hugh Diman, too, Portsmouth's Founder, felt the same concern as De La Salle for the class of society which was denied by birth and economics the opportunity for a practical education. To address this, while he was still Headmaster of Saint George's, Father Hugh was instrumental in founding what came to be known as the Diman Vocational School in Fall River.  De La Salle would certainly have applauded such a foundation and have recognized at Portsmouth many of the features which characterize his own schools.

                                         Liturgical Calendar for April
                      Cycle of Prayer for Eastertide: New Members of Church;
                      Vocations; Right Use of Media; the Church; Human Work

1    Passing of Saint Benedict, Abbot, Founder
6    SUNDAY III OF EASTER
7    St. John Baptist de la Salle, Founder
      (Patron of Teachers)
11  St. Stanislauis, Bishop, Martyr 
      (Patron of Poland)
13  SUNDAY IV OF EASTER
      World Day of Prayer for Vocations
20  SUNDAY V OF EASTER
21   St.  Anselm, Bishop, Doctor
23   St. George, Martyr
       (Patron of England)
       St. Mark, Evangelist
26  SUNDAY VI OF EASTER
      Oblate Day of Recollection - Abbot Caedmon
      "The Ascension of Our Lord"
29  St. Catherine of Siena, Religious, Doctor
      (Patron of Europe)

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