2019 Nov The Current

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Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, foundress of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth, an apostolic community in the archdiocese of Boston, visited the School last Friday, October 25. We report on her message. We also look at a recurring theme in the month of November, death and the passage to life beyond this world. The month brings us the celebration of All Saints, prayers for All Souls, and commemorations of the faithful departed. Fr. Michael considers this in his reflection on the "Four Last Things."
 

MOTHER OLGA VISITS

Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart visited the School on Friday, October 25, speaking to the community about her life and faith. A recurring theme in her message was to remain open to the unexpected. Her own journey embodied this, for from a childhood filled with the struggles of poverty, illness, and family turmoil, she has found her life transformed. With God, remarkable, impossible transformations become possible. Through her journey to the United States, through schooling in health sciences and theology, through the creation of a new order of religious sisters, she has often returned to the same prayer: that Christ be her rock, her anchor, her compass, and her shield. This prayer helped her negotiate the difficulties of an addicted father, a broken home, and a homeland (Iraq) torn apart by war. Through these hardships, Mother Olga also returned to the prayer that the rosary be the chain around her neck, and the Eucharist be the locket – that these guard her from the reaction of hatred, that she never return hate for hate, that she keep love for all in her heart. It is a prayer she says that has been consistently answered in her life. Through all of her diverse ministry, which has included work in prisons, with addicts, among the homeless, as well as within college ministries,

Mother Olga has sought always to express the heart of Jesus. As she spoke, she gently walked throughout the auditorium, expressing in her own person the proximity of God. She encouraged her listeners to have courage, to never give up – since God has never given up on us, even with our own failings and sins. She appealed to a search for a broader vision, using the image of an empty picture frame. Presenting first a small frame, she asked the audience how much of her they could see. A little more, then, with a larger frame. Imagine, then, God’s picture frame – the perspective that God brings to who we are, His knowledge of us, His knowledge of our potential, our possibilities. This resonated, she said, with an Austrian cardinal she once met who similarly keeps a picture frame with the names of those who have truly challenged him to grow. He is grateful for the struggles that may have come through such challenges, seeing them as blessings from God. How is it that God is challenging us to grow, to expand our own picture frame, and to see more fully His hand in our lives? She marveled at her encounter with Benjamin Watson of the New England Patriots: with all of the accomplishments he has achieved in his life, it is the distinct gift of fatherhood that remains at the top of his list. And with the ups and downs of his career, such as recently being released and resigned by the Patriots, he identifies both sides of that equation as pointing to God in his life, as opportunities to grow in grace. Mother Olga finished by appealing to all of us to see ourselves as we truly are – children of a loving God – and to hold to our hopes, even those that seem least possible to achieve, for in God’s perspective, the impossible indeed becomes possible.

MONTH OF THE DEAD

November finds a series of celebrations and commemorations of those who have passed beyond this world. Beginning with All Saints and All Souls, the month also reminds us of deceased relatives and benefactors, and offers us all the opportunity to make special petition for those who have died. We also present Fr. Michael Brunner’s reflection on this time of year, and on the traditional commemoration of Día de los Muertos. In our monthly series on the Church, we provide excerpts from several popes on the saints and All Saints Day, in hopes that their collective feast inaugurating the month will cast its gentle light throughout these thirty days. Our silver casket adorns the altar, open for the addition of the names of any of the deceased the monastery community is asked to pray for.

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THE FOUR LAST THINGS 

The following is an excerpt of the more extended piece presented in full here. Welcome to November, the month of the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell. They show up a lot in the liturgy this month. Appropriately, it begins with death. The cum laude graduates of death are the saints, celebrated on November 1, those who have arrived at heaven. They are followed on November 2, All Souls’ Day, by those who need a little more polishing in that condition we call Purgatory (a place of cleansing). Unsurprisingly, we don’t celebrate hell or anyone there. This procession of the four last things was immediately preceded by Halloween. This day was once supposed to be a cathartic release of the fear of death and the terrible things we tend to associate with death. Since our society does not really wish to think about death anymore (it’s the ultimate downer), Halloween has just been turned into one big party and is now a bigger deal for adults than for children. If one doesn’t believe in the last three of those last four things, then death is the most unwelcome end to the party of life, and those who have left the party are gone forever. …Well [unlike Día de los Muertos], we don’t have the custom of inviting our dead to parties. But just like the Aztec and Maya people, we believe that the dead are still part of our community, the Church, the Communion of Saints. They are alive, in the condition of heaven, we hope; in purgatory, perhaps. We trust in the mercy of God that they are not in that other last condition. If in heaven or purgatory, they can pray for and intercede for us. And if they are in purgatory, we can pray for them and help them conclude their process of cleansing. We don’t have to invite them because they are now in the world of spirits, which is in some ways all around us; it is not a physical place.  Our beloved dead are souls and are present with us and to us. We don’t call them up with Ouija boards or tarot cards. We communicate through prayer and the movement of spirit... (See the full Reflection) 

COMMEMORATIONS

November marks commemorations at Portsmouth Abbey: All Saints and All Souls, saints of the English Benedictine Congregation, friends and benefactors, departed souls of this monastery. On November 11, we remember at the School’s Veterans’ Day Assembly those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. This marks the 101st anniversary of “11/11,” when Europeans and others around the world thought hopefully of the “end of all wars.” While that hope remains, we know that the century that ensued became the bloodiest in human history, marked by genocide, chemical warfare, and atomic destruction. Portsmouth Abbey has not been spared of its effects. It may give hope to consider that its most recent casualty of war was an alumnus who perished over a half-century ago. Fifty-five years ago, on October 11, 1964, Captain Robert J. Reilly of Dobbs Ferry, New York, a Green Beret and Ranger qualified soldier, a father of one young son, was killed at the age of 25, together with U.S. Army Sergeant First Class George Willis Martin of Chattanooga, Tennessee, when their vehicle hit a landmine in Hau Nghia Province. Captain Reilly ‘57 was also a 1961 graduate of Georgetown University, receiving his commission upon graduation and being promoted to Special Forces in 1964, volunteering to go to Vietnam as an adviser, where he had arrived just in August of 1964. He was the first Georgetown graduate to perish in Vietnam; the only Portsmouth graduate. May this singular and abbreviated story remind us that behind each name there is a story, a life and a loss, and a gathering point for our prayers.

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JUNIOR FELLOWS GATHER

The Portsmouth Institute’s Junior Fellows will meet in Boston on November 16th for dinner and a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The group will also gather for dinner and discussion. The Junior Fellows is a community of students at Portsmouth Abbey School and Saint Louis Priory School inspired by the richness of the Western intellectual tradition and Benedictine monasticism, who participate in the Oxford Summer Programme, and follow up the experience for a year with book readings, spiritual programming, and cultural events. You can learn more about this program and others offered through the Portsmouth Institute on its website.

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THREE PIECES OF HISTORY

As part of our monthly "Archives" exploration, The Current did not search lost records to uncover hidden mysteries. We instead call your attention to three features always adorning the Abbey church, each of which links us to our Benedictine history. The Lancet (pictured) is from the Norman monastery of Bec, founded in 1034 by Herluin, who saw 136 monks join in his life. Its brethren include Lanfranc and Anselm, later both Archbishops of Canterbury. In fact, Bec had enduring relationships across the channel. Anselm is perhaps best known for his “ontological argument” for God’s existence, that from the very idea of a being of which no greater can be thought, we can conclude that such a being must exist. We also include in our note the image of the "Fabulous Beast" from the great abbey of Cluny, and the effigy of "Saint Nicholas," which also dates from medieval times. (See the Archives)

Exhibited in the Winter Garden this term has been a collection of photographs from the early years of the Abbey. Br. Benedict Maria, having noticed these captivating images he discovered in a binder that had belonged to Fr. Damian Kearney, shared them with Kathy Heydt, Director of Communications for the School. The two decided to create an exhibit to make these images, many of which had remained unseen for decades, more visible for all. “We wanted to make them available in connection with the monastery’s centennial. They show in particular some of what the first fifty years of the monastery and school were like,” Br. Benedict notes. With the assistance of Brs. Benedict and Sixtus, Ms. Heydt had the images scanned, enlarged, and printed, posting them prior to Parents’ Weekend. One can see the former chapel, the monks waiting to process into Vespers, a meal in the early refectory, and other scenes from around the monastery and school grounds. The exhibit will remain in the Winter Garden until the Thanksgiving break, and the images will then remain available on the monastery website.

 

Brother Sixtus Roslevich has announced the date and theme of the upcoming Day of Recollection for the oblates. Sunday, December 8, the Second Sunday of Advent, will provide the opportunity for the gathering. Mass for the day will have the School present, so some seating in the monastic choir will be made available for oblates. Oblate Gerrie Beebe will present the conference for the day, entitled “Christ is Alive,” based on visualizing prayer, accompanied by music and inspired by the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Brother Sixtus notes the precedent for this musical element: in 1993, when Henri Nouwen spoke here on the ‘Movement from Resentment to Gratitude,’ the reflection was, “accompanied by meditative music unique to Buddhist monks. A Japanese flute was played by a friend of Fr. Nouwen’s who was a psychotherapist with a theology degree!” Oblates will also make a Renewal of Promises that day. Br. Sixtus, in the meanwhile, will be making a mission trip this week with the Manquehue Apostolic Movement community in Chile, joining Fr. Benedict Allin, a confrere of Saint Louis Abbey, returning in time for the Day of Recollection. Read more.


Eric Buck makes his Oblate Promises (Left)
 

STAR KIDS AT THE ABBEY 

Both the Monastery and the School have strong ties to The Star Kids Scholarship Program, based in Newport, beginning with its founder, Dr. Timothy Flanigan ‘75. Dr. Flanigan, an alumnus of the School and a deacon of the diocese of Providence, as well as an Abbey parent and member of our board of Regents, founded Star Kids in 2000, while working at the Rhode Island State Prison. Our " Works" section has more on our relationship with this important agency.

The Current is pleased to direct you to this developing website. We also note the Latin American travels of two of our monks. And in the Wisdom section, we outline some of the spiritual journey of Fr. Aelred Graham, former prior of the monastery.

Br. Benedict Maria, the newest member of the monastic community, has been working diligently on the monastery’s website. The new “Come and See” section welcomes readers to visit the Abbey, to see its beautiful location and learn about its monastic mission. Expressing Benedictine hospitality, it provides access now for those considering retreats or visits. “Come and See” outlines retreat options at the Abbey, including self-directed retreats, discernment retreats, and group retreats of various sizes. Online forms are posted to begin the process. Br. Benedict is also continuously developing the “Get Inspired” section, which features homilies of the monks, poetry and prose, and a new “Abbey Classics” section which will be increasingly populated with texts from Portsmouth monks. As his biography notes, Br. Benedict also enjoys cooking, and has provided both the recipes and some of the hard work to prepare meals for the entire monastery and school communities, tasty dishes from his native India (“Taste and see!”). We invite the reader to explore the site and learn more about the monastery and its mission, and to come and see what Br. Benedict is cooking up!

(photo - Br. Benedict in the Abbey kitchen.)

 

 

ABBEY MONKS IN LATIN AMERICA

 

Brother Sixtus Roslevich is in the midst of his fourth mission trip to Chile, working with the Manquehue Apostolic Movement. He will spend some of his time at  San Jose in Patagonia , the movement’s remote retreat community, and reacquainting himself with the movement's three schools in Santiago. He is joined by Fr. Benedict Allin of St. Louis Abbey, which has also been steadily strengthening its friendship with the Manquehue community. Father Edward Mazuski, meanwhile, has been off to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Colombia, representing the monastery and School at receptions taking place in each country. Fr. Edward has particular connections to Colombia, as his mother is from Bogota and part of his family still resides there. We look forward to their return and anticipate reports on their respective journeys.

(photo -  San Jose in Patagonia)

 

by Blake Billings, Ph. D.

Fr. Aelred Graham, former prior of Portsmouth (1951-1967), is perhaps best known for his connection with Buddhism, particularly as found in his book, Zen Catholicism, and his “zen garden,” located outside the Abbot’s reception room in the monastery here – even Thomas Merton had heard of it! This article will try to discern some of Fr. Aelred’s personal spiritual outlook and experience, as seen through the lens of some of his autobiographical discussion of meditation and religious life. In the article, “On Meditation,” presented in 1965 to the St. John the Evangelist Society in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fr. Graham in fact provides us with a small window into his own “wisdom journey.” It is a tale not for the faint of intellectual heart, as Graham’s autobiographical sketch offers some challenging descriptions of Ignatian spirituality, Thomistic thought, and Buddhist meditation. But these provide critical landmarks in a journey rooted in and bounded by Benedictine life. Read the article here.