March 2010
Vol. XXXI, No. 3
Dear Oblates and Friends of Portsmouth,
In the final weeks of Lent the parable of the Prodigal Son is featured in this year's cycle of scriptural readings. One of the most moving gospel passages describes this tale of two very different brothers, the elder adhering to the duties of a son, working hard and never yielding to the temptations to which his younger brother succumbs, taking his inheritance, departing from his father's house, and squandering all that he has been given on licentious living. He is the obvious antagonist in the story, the sinner, in dire need of reform and forgiveness, who deserves to be punished before he can be restored to favor. The elder brother has never strayed from the path of what seems to be a virtuous, exemplary life, toiling in the field and remaining faithful to his duties, for which he has never been rewarded by his father. His irritation at the honor shown his brother is perhaps understandable. And yet, as in so many of Jesus' parables, it is the less obvious one, the sinner, who is the one the one to be admired and whose example should be followed. The errors of his life are in his actions and behavior which are rightly criticized by his brother, who judges him harshly and feels no pity for his wretched plight. In the tale, we are permitted an insight into the thoughts of the two brothers. The younger is brought to his senses by the consequences of his prodigality; he is reduced to a shameful state, abandoned by all, with nowhere to turn, except to the home which he had abandoned in favor of the freedom to do as he pleased, the freedom of the libertine. In his misery, the prodigal has come to the realization that a servile life at home is preferable to his present squalid state, and he decides to return, begging forgiveness for his rash, thoughtless behavior. His sins are external, and to some degree common to all of us, and, since they stem from human frailty, they are readily forgivable, once they are sincerely acknowledged and renounced.
It is the elder brother whose sins are the greater, since they are internal and involve a host of other sins which spring from his main faults: his lack of fraternal love and judgmental attitude. He does have a certain amount of reason on his side, perhaps an understandable resentment, but even after his father reasons with him, pointing out why he should rejoice at the return of his brother, he continues to be sullen, wrapped up in his own limited viewpoint. He shares exactly the same narrow-mindedness criticized in other parables in which the virtuous, law-abiding person is portrayed as the anti-hero: the self-complacent Pharisee praying in the Temple who despises the penitent publican, or the priest and the Levite in the tale of the Good Samaritan who obey the Law of the Mosaic code in preference to the divine law of charity to the needy. The father in the parable of the Prodigal Son is the God figure, who forgives the wastrel and receives him back with open arms, an example of paternal love, rejoicing at his change of heart. At the same time, his attempts to reconcile his aggrieved elder son, are the voice of true reason, as he points out why he too should rejoice that the wandering son has been found, the brother who had been dead, has now returned to life. The elder son's true sins are the sins of the Scribes and Pharisees; they prefer the letter of the law to the spirit; strict justice rather than temper it with charity, and in this case, with the additional claim of fraternal love. The elder son has no idea that he is in the wrong, and consequently is indifferent to his father's pleadings. Instead of joining the feast celebrating his brother's return, he remains envious, angry and wronged, unable to share his father's joy nor accept his point of view. Lent is a time when we should overcome just such sins of meanness and judging others even when we think we may have some cause from a comparative .standpoint. 'We should avoid being blind to the log in our own eye through focusing our attention on the splinter in the eye of another.'
Some years ago Franco Zefferelli directed a film, Jesus of Nazareth, in which a highlight of the film was his interpretation of this incident of the prodigal son. His particular take on the parable placed the emphasis on the role of the elder son, giving the viewer the ability to share the lesson Jesus intends to teach his auditors, one especially relevant during the Lenten season of self-examination and conversion. The apostles are cast in the role of the elder brother, as they look askance at Jesus' breaking the Law by accepting an invitation to dine with Matthew, a loathed tax collector. They hold themselves aloof like the Pharisees, who are also present and refuse to sit at the same table with someone considered to be a flagrant sinner. Jesus thereupon tells the story to the critical Peter and the other disciples who are brought to a recognition of themselves in the behavior of the older brother. Shamefacedly, they one by one enter the house and take seats at the table with Jesus and Matthew, the tax collector, whom they are now willing to accept.
The joy of Easter, which Laetare Sunday anticipates at the center of Lent, lies in our reconciliation with the Father, through the power of our recognition of guilt and the need for forgiveness, which are atoned for by the redemptive act of love by Jesus on the Cross. 'For on Himself He bore the sins of humanity,' the sins of both the brothers, those of the prodigal who recognized his sinful state and who was truly contrite, but also the more subtle sins of the elder, who was blind to his own hidden faults and the need for absolution. Our prayer for Lent should be to be given the grace to look inwardly at our selves and contemplate the many ways in which we have failed to live up to the primal command of love of God and neighbor, which are inseparable. Obviously, there are many, among our own acquaintances, whom we know to be greater sinners than we are, but we are obligated to let God be the judge. Our gaze should be vertical, not horizontal, focusing on our relationship to God rather than on those around us. The saints should be our examples, who consider themselves he worst of sinners, something we know, from our perspective, to be false, but in the sight of God there is a certain sense in which we are all leveled by sin, venial or grave, whereby everyone requires Jesus' redemptive death. This is the meaning of the humility and obedience, motivated by an all-embracing love, which led Christ to the Cross and gained for us the redemption confirmed by His resurrection at Easter, and for which cause, God has exalted Him and has given Him a name which is above all names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
The Prodigal Son -- Albrecht Durer
He longed to fill his belly with
The husks that were fodder for
The pigs, but no one gave him
Anything. Coming to his senses,
He said ..."Here I am starving; I
Will break away and return to my
Father, and say to him, 'Father I have
Sinned against God and against you.
I no longer, deserve to be called your son.
Treat me like one of your hired hands.' "
Liturgical Calendar for March
Cycle of Prayer: Candidates for Sacraments; Women; the Needy
And Hungry of the World; Penitents & Wanderers
1 St. David, Bishop, Patron of Wales
3 St. Aelred, Abbot (Ampleforth)
7 SUNDAY III OF LENT
14 SUNDAY IV OF LENT (Laetare)
17 St. Patrick, Patron of Ireland
18 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop & Doctor
19 St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
21 SUNDAY V OF LENT
22 PASSING OF ST. BENEDICT
25 ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
28 PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION
29 - 31 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of Holy Week
Saint Aelred of Rievaulx (1110 - 1167)
This year marks the 9th centenary of the birth of Aelred of Rievaulx, one of the most outstanding ecclesiastical figures of the high Middle Ages in England. The first noteworthy biographical fact concerns Aelred's family background: his grandfather and his father held the proprietary care of the church in Hexham, a town in Northumberland on the border of Scotland, a region of age-old contention between England and Scotland, although at this time it was enjoying a peaceful interval. A second important factor in Aelred's early life stems from his close association with the royal court of Scotland, where he was educated with the sons of King David, the first born of eight children by Queen Margaret and King Malcolm, famed as Macbeth's successor on the throne. Margaret had taken refuge in Scotland after the death of her uncle, Edward the Confessor, which precipitated the Norman Conquest, hence putting her life in jeopardy. Margaret did much to promote peace between the two countries, bringing to the court a refinement and a degree of culture that had hitherto been lacking. Quickly, she won the hearts of the people from her concern for the poor, for her shrewd common sense and for the evident holiness of her life. With Malcolm she established the Benedictine abbey of Dunfermline, which replaced Iona as the royal burial site. With such a background it is understandable that Aelred should eventually find his vocation in the newly formed order of Cistercians, under the charismatic leadership of Bernard of Clairvaux.
The abbey of Rievaulx, which takes its name from the valley of the Wye River, was the first of Bernard's foundations in Northern England. It was headed by his trusted associate and personal secretary, William, a Yorkshire man, whom he appointed abbot and who was accompanied by a group of fellow Englishmen. Their explicit purpose was to begin the reform of monasticism in the North by establishing a central mother monastery which would create a cluster of daughter houses to offset (and perhaps reform by example) the worldly Benedictine monasteries of black monks, particularly York and Durham, both victims of wealth and secular entanglements. With the support of the King and the backing of the Archbishop of York, Rievaulx was founded, quickly gaining the prestige to attract not only numerous and dedicated recruits, but large tracts of wilderness which could be converted into arable land. This was made possible by the institution of a lay brotherhood to assist the choir monks and render the monastery self-sufficient. This also allowed for a permanent labor force to construct the buildings required for a huge community over an extended period of time. Among the early benefactors of the newly founded abbey was Aelred's patron, King David, himself a founder of Cistercian monasteries in Scotland and deeply interested in the reform movement. Aelred visited Rievaulx and instantly fell under the spell of the extraordinary beauty of the site and of this first generation of Cistercians, known as white monks by the color of their habits. Their adaptation of Benedict's Rule insisted on a literal separation from the "world" and independence from secular and local ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The authority of Cistercian monasteries was vested directly in the Abbot of Clairvaux, which helped protect them from the harmful effects that had led to the need for radical reform of the black monks.
After joining Rievaulx, Aelred's rise was swift, since his credentials were hard to match: birth, royal patronage, the favor of his abbot, recognition by Bernard and his own gifts as a scholar, leader and person. At the advice of Bernard, he was appointed to the crucial office of Novice Master and shortly afterward, ordered to found a new daughter abbey. Upon the death of the superior of Rievaulx, he became the third abbot, a post, for which he was eminently qualified. When Aelred first took over Rievaulx at the age of 38, it was not the impressive complex of buildings that still survive in ruins. It more closely resembled the original ideal of Saint Bernard, who insisted on simplicity in architecture, austerity in lifestyle, and a liturgy which would allow for observance of the balanced day of Benedict, divided into prayer, sacred reading and work. The Cluniac reform had long since departed from this division, emphasizing as it did a lengthy, time-consuming office and an elaborate liturgy, leaving little time for private prayer or for labor
With the rapid increase in the number of monks seeking this new form of religious life, which now made room for the illiterate, working class and for those not intellectually inclined, there was a need for numerous structures for worship, housing and workshops as well as for the acquisition of granges to provide support for the maintenance of a large, complex organization. At its height, in the years of Aelred's rule, Rievaulx became the largest monastery in England, with over 600 monks, not all of whom lived at the abbey, but were present on great occasions and for the principal feasts. 400 monks, the majority of whom were lay brothers, would have resided at the abbey, a population reflected in the buildings still extant, although these represent fewer than half of the original structures, which numbered 72 at the time of the suppression in 1538. Those not resident in the monastery lived on the granges scattered over the lands the monastery had acquired, chiefly through donation, some of which were located at a considerable distance from the abbey.
The massive character of the ruined buildings which survive amply testify to the abbey's paramount importance in the social, cultural and religious structure of England in the high middle ages. Aelred was an outstanding figure in every way: first as an abbot, whose personality and reputation attracted a steady flow of vocations during his long, fruitful reign and continued into the rule of his successors. It was said that he never refused an applicant nor dismissed a monk for a serious infraction of the Rule. His abilities as an administrator came to the fore in his handling of the routine business of a large, diverse community and simultaneously, overseeing the seemingly endless construction of buildings that were useful, architecturally impressive and esthetically pleasing so as to be worthy of being what today would be called an archabbey, Aelred's scholarly bent fostered a love of learning in his abbey that was consistent with Bernard's views. This is illustrated in the character of the books he produced on local hagiography (saints of his native Hexham) as well as a Life of Edward the Confessor, kinsman of Queen Margaret, for which his early years at the Court of Scotland afforded him a primary source for his research. In addition to the hundreds of community conferences based on the study of Scripture and the Church Fathers, Aelred found time to write devotional essays like Jesus at Twelve Years Old, and philosophical works such as his dialogue On Christian Friendship, adapted from Cicero's De Amicitia.
In addition to the responsibilities involved in heading a huge monastery with extensive holdings of land and granges, Aelred also held the important duty of visitor of Cistercian and other monastic houses, a task which required frequent, arduous journeys through Scotland as well as England. Of special importance was the annual chapter held at the mother abbey of Citeaux, which all Cistercian abbots were expected to attend. In his last years Aelred suffered from continual bouts of ill health, but with heroic endurance he continued in office until his death in 1167. To his successor he left behind a healthy community of observant monks and a reputation for personal holiness that would lead to his being acclaimed a saint soon after his death, even though he was never officially canonized. Dom David Knowles, the leading historian of English monasticism of the 20th century, referred to Aelred as a "singularly attractive figure." He well deserves to be called the most memorable English monk of the twelfth century. At the dissolution of the abbey in 1538, the richly appointed shrine erected in his honor in the strikingly beautiful presbytery, which remains almost intact, was pillaged and his relics scattered. His legacy continues not only in what remains of the abbey for which he was chiefly responsible, but through his literary works, which have undergone a revival through new editions and fresh translations from the Latin by Cistercian Publications of Spencer and Kalamazoo.
Two Monks of Portsmouth Named Aelred
Two Portsmouth monks who made significant contributions to monastic life were named after Saint Aelred: one, Dom Aelred Wall (1917 - 1984), the other Prior Aelred Graham (1907 - l984 ). Despite their contrasting personalities, each of these monks reflected some of the qualities that characterized Aelred of Rievaulx. One founded two priories, the other was a distinguished scholar; both supervised the building of churches and monasteries which eventually became abbeys.
DOM AELRED WALL
Dom Aelred Wall was a graduate in the earliest years of the school and attended Princeton, before completing his studies at St .Louis University in 1940. He then joined the community and, after his novitiate spent in Washington D.C. at Saint Anselm's Priory, was soon deeply involved in the life of the boarding school of Portsmouth, serving as Housemaster of Saint Benet's and Headmaster from 1944 until 1957. Feeling the need to pursue a contemplative form of monasticism, he left Portsmouth to try his vocation at Mount Savior, in Elmira, NY, a monastery of the primitive observance, which had been founded in 1951 by several Portsmouth monks under the leadership of Dom Damsus Winzen, a monk of Maria Laach in Germany. This proved to be a transitional period, allowing Dom Aelred the time needed to plan and prepare for a more radical form of Benedictine life, a throwback to the earliest type of monasticism, that of the Egyptian Desert Fathers.
Accordingly, Dom Aelred set out with two monks from Mount Savior to establish a foundation near Abiquiu, in the desert of New Mexico. He was able to acquire a property which seemed at the time an ideal location: remote, exceptionally beautiful despite the barren terrain, and capable of development along monastic lines of the primitive observance. Eventually, his dream was realized with the help of volunteer workers and generous patrons and the monastery of Christ in the Desert came into being. Here he and those with similar aspirations, could live in the seclusion he considered essential to his interpretation of the monastic life. There were, however, many difficulties to be overcome arising from the inaccessibility of the location and a lack of a viable means of self-support. After undergoing a long period of hardship and frustration, Dom Aelred, in the latter part of his years, sought the total isolation of the eremitical way, journeying to Mexico, where he founded a hermitage, which he named La Soledad. There he found the peace he had sought all his life, and died in the year 1984. Both these religious houses, in modified but recognizable forms, have not only survived, but are flourishing, witnesses to the way of life he sought and serving to inspire those who have followed in his path.
DOM AELRED GRAHAM
The other monk for whom Saint Aelred was patron was Dom Aelred Graham of Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire, England: a writer, scholar, teacher, priest, monk, lecturer, author, retreat master and Prior of Portsmouth for sixteen of the most crucial years of its history. To fill the need for a Superior shortly after Portsmouth became a Priory independent of its mother house, Fort Augustus Abbey in Scotland, the Abbot President agreed to lend Dom Aelred to Portsmouth as Prior until a suitable monk from the community could emerge. During the time he was superior, Dom Aelred had the vision and administrative ability to supervise the planning and construction of much of the Portsmouth that is visible today, including the abbey church, monastery, dining hall, and many of the buildings of the main quadrangle. To do this, he engaged the services of the renowned architect, Pietro Belluschi, at that time Dean of the School of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who planned most of the buildings of the upper campus, stamping the monastery and school with his distinctive mark. For this undertaking Dom Aelred was given the strong support of the community, and principally of Dom Hilary Martin and Dom Peter Sidler, who took care of the practical details of raising the necessary funds and overseeing the construction. At the same time he continued writing articles and books on ecclesiastical and literary topics.
During the time he was Prior, from 1951 - 1967, the monastery reached its peak in the involvement with the school, in which every important post was held by a monk. Each of the residential houses was headed by one of the monks, and monks held the most important positions in the administration: the Headmaster, the Treasurer, the Director of Studies, the Director of Admissions, the Athletic Director, the Librarian, Bookstore Manager and virtually all of the Department Heads: these were entirely drawn from the monastic community, who at that time were still young enough to undertake multiple duties, which also included such duties as coaching sports and directing activities. Although the monastic impact on the school was all-encompassing, it was the monastery through the Benedictine influence that characterized the Priory, as Portsmouth was then known. During Dom Aelred's long tenure, not a single monk died; applicants were numerous, and senior monks, stable. Dom Aelred became a nationally known figure through his publishing several controversial articles. One was highly critical of the American Catholic press, in which he quoted the satirical typical headline found in a diocesan journal: "Priest's Housekeeper's Cat Has Kittens" and another article in the Atlantic Monthly, which attacked the most popular Catholic writer of the time as "a young man in a hurry." This was Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, many of whose books have become "classics of spiritual reading." Later, Dom Aelred and Father Merton found common ground in their mutual interest in Zen Buddhism and became literary friends, exchanging their most recent books with each other. Of all his books Dom Aelred's most lasting contribution to Catholic thought was his earliest, a treatise on The Love of God, a text which had been used in many seminaries both in England and in the United States and the book which best reflects his theological depth. His most popular book continues to be Zen Catholicism, available once more in paperback.
Finally, Dom Aelred, as Prior, met the challenges of the Second Vatican Council with some degree of success, as it affected the monastic community. Some changes in office and liturgical observance were implemented, and these happily came about close to the time of the construction of the monastery and church. Dom Aelred's years at Portsmouth proved to be critical in fostering the national reputation of Portsmouth as a monastery and school. At the end of his 16 years of office at Portsmouth, before returning to his own abbey of Ampleforth, Dom Aelred was given a trip by American friends to the Orient to continue his study of Buddhism and to explore the ways in which Buddhist beliefs can be reconciled with Christianity. While in India, Dom Aelred had a most cordial meeting with the Dalai Lama, who was so impressed with his sympathetic understanding of Buddhism that he made a special trip to Ampleforth to visit Dom Aelred shortly before his death in 1984. In recognition of his many contributions to the Church in England and the United States, General Chapter of the English Benedictine Congregation in 1972 conferred upon Dom Aelred the honorary title of Cathedral Prior of Winchester.
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