March 2008
Vol. XXIX, No. 3
Dear Oblates and Friends of Portsmouth,
Lord, remember me when you are come into your Kingdom. The prayer of the good thief to Jesus as he was dying on the Cross can be the prayer of all of us, since in the eyes of God, we are all sinners, and it behooves us to recognize our guilt and repent of our sinful state. At the same time, we accept on faith that Jesus has died precisely that we may be freed from this sinful condition, that he has borne the sins of all mankind on his back and atoned for them by his death on the cross. But Calvary is not the end. God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me is not the final word; in fact, though this quotation from Psalm 22 begins in apparent despair, the prayer ends in total affirmation and faith in God's deliverance.
The generation to come will be told of the Lord,
That they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
The deliverance you have brought.
Sin, acknowledgement of guilt, repentance, and death: these are on one side of the Cross; the side of Dismas, the good thief, while on the Cross itself, are expiation, atonement, forgiveness, self-sacrifice and life. Jesus' response to the thief is immediate and unconditional: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise
In his direst need as he hung on the Cross, Jesus certainly must have felt pain, anguish, desolation and sorrow at the betrayal and desertion of those closest to him. Only one loyal apostle and a few grieving women to show for the three years of his ministry! The words of Jesus from the Cross encapsulate the depths of his love for all mankind, even, and perhaps especially, for those responsible for his execution as a criminal, for the unrepentant thief, for those who failed him in his greatest need, as well as for Dismas, for the handful at the foot of the Cross and for those who looked on from a distance or for those who lacked the opportunity to show their sympathy and support. All are included in the all-embracing love of Jesus, since it was precisely for this that he was inexorably led, from the time of his birth, to the Way of the Cross. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, was soon to be echoed by Stephen, the first witness to the new covenant just before his death, and provide the pattern of pardon in future martyrdoms.
The Cross of Christ has a twofold dimension: it is the means by which we contribute to our own individual salvation and it is the emblem of triumph over sin and death, both of which lost their power over humanity on Calvary. By uniting our experience of suffering, pain and affliction on the Cross, we are sharing in the redemptive plan and making the universal ordeal of suffering meaningful. Divorced from the suffering of Jesus, our suffering would be irrational. The conviction that we are helping to bear the cross of Jesus by bearing our own is what gives us the encouragement and support to endure whatever affliction we encounter. Bear the cross and it will bear thee. This is the Way that Jesus preached and lived throughout his life, and provided an example for us. When he called his first disciples to abandon their nets, and follow him, he was addressing all who would elect to become his followers, demanding total commitment. The cost of discipleship is radical and uncompromising. If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple. Nothing whatever, neither family nor one's own life, can take priority over the call to discipleship. Nothing can be allowed to block the vision of our final goal in life, which is the same for all: apostles, saints, religious, laity. The difference is in the means of achieving this goal, which depends on the type of call that is given and the response which is made. It is a challenge and a hard one. The way of Jesus is a way which involves renunciation, conversion, and suffering, but a way which is rendered viable and purposeful by the fact that we are imitating Christ.
Station IX: "The Way of the Cross" Padraic Colum (1881 - 19 )
O Lord,
Bring us to life according to Thy word!
The skull-shaped hill is near:
The earth and heaven are bare
Of light, and sight, and sound;
He falls upon the ground,
Knowing that journey's end
Without one to befriend.
Monastery Notes
The gift of a house heated by solar energy has been accepted by the monastery. Donated by the Rhode Island School of Design, it is the product of their Architectural Department and was exhibited last year in Washington, D.C. The house will be transported to its site on the school grounds in the spring and be ready for occupancy by a member of the faculty in September. Because of its distinctive appearance, it will be placed in a section of the grounds where it will not be in conflict with the architecture of the other school and monastic buildings. The Community and the School are grateful at being selected for such a gift, which will help to ease the need for faculty housing and make an important contribution to the country's need for alternate methods of securing energy. Like the wind turbine, it will be the first of its kind in Rhode Island. An additional feature of the house is the option of planting a roof garden.
The family of the late Daniel Childs, Class of 1953, has donated a large number of volumes from his library to the monastery. It contains works of European and American history, belles letters, and books on art. Books more appropriate to the School will be transferred to the Thomas More Library.
A second gift of ancient coins has been given to the School by an alumnus, Peter Ferry, Class of 1975, who has lately moved from Tokyo to Singapore. In recent years he has contributed an impressive collection of classical pottery and glass, and earlier he gave a unique collection of Sepik sculpture, which is periodically exhibited in the School Art Center.
Oblates who have died over the last year include Elizabeth Fleming of Lexington, Ma., sister of the late Dom Maurus Fleming; John Hoare Kerr, Class of 1949, of Newport, an alumnus, who adopted the life style of a hermit and is buried with special permission in the monastery cemetery; and Marguerite Bonner, who at 101 was the oldest living oblate of Portsmouth. May they rest in peace.
Dr. Robert and Joanne Carr of Cape Cod made their final oblation at the meeting held on February 3. William Devereaux of Smithfield and David and Marie Hayes of Newport began their one-year trial period as novices. Dom Matthew, abbot emeritus, gave an inspiring talk based on the ancient account of the martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. More than fifty oblates and friends attended.
In late February Warner Premier, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, came to the School to film part of a movie, The Clique, based on a book about a girls' school by Lisi Harrison, a Canadian author of juvenile books. Portsmouth is one of several schools in the area which will be used for the film. Jon Kuyper, Class of 1985, who is in charge, is Vice President of Warner Premier.
Liturgical Calendar for March
1 St. David, Bishop, Patron of Wales
2 SUNDAY IV OF LENT
7 SS. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs
9 SUNDAY V OF LENT
Oblate Day of Recollection
Dom Damian: Stations of the Cross
15 Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary
16 PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION
Holy Week and Sacred Triduum
20 MAUNDY THURSDAY
Mass of the Lord's Supper: 5 p.m.
21 GOOD FRIDAY OF LORD'S PASSION
Liturgy: 5 p.m.
22 Holy Saturday: Paschal Vigil: 8 p.m.
23 SUNDAY OF LORD'S RESURRECTION
Masses: 7, 8 and Solemn Mass: 9:30 a.m.
24 - 30: Octave of Easter
Cycle of Prayer for Paschal tide: New Members of Church
Vocations; Right Use of Media; the Church; Human Work
31 Annunciation of the Lord
The Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis
Thomas a Kempis' treatise on prayer in four parts has remained one of the most popular spiritual books since its publication in the fifteenth century, inspired by a movement referred to as Devotio Moderna, a reaction against scholastic spirituality, with the emphasis placed on Scripture. Although Part Four is devoted to an orthodox Catholic treatment of the Eucharist, the Imitation has always been popular with Protestants because of the role of Scripture, its appeal to the laity and its Christocentric orientation .Composed in Latin, it was quickly translated into the vernacular, so that it, like Scripture, could be accessible to the people. The passages quoted are from the Whitford-Klein version, (1941) Richard Whitford being the first to translate it into English in the early 16th century and Edward Klein editing a modern edition.
I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life! Without a way no man may go, and without truth no man may know, and without life no man may live... I am the way most straight, the truth most perfect, and the life most soothfast; a blessed life, and a life unmade, that made all things. . Go wither thou wilt, and seek what thee list, and thou shalt never find, above thee or beneath thee, within thee or without thee, a more high, a more excellent, nor a more sure way to Christ than the way of the holy cross. In the cross is health, in the cross is life, in the cross is defense from our enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the cross is the strength of mind, the joy of spirit, the highness of virtue, and the full perfection of all holiness; and there is no health of soul nor hope of everlasting life but through virtue of the cross... If thou die with Christ, thou shalt live with him, and if thou be fellow with him in pain, thou shalt be with him in glory.
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