Preparing the Ground for Monastic Vocations

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- Works
  
  December 2020
Preparing for Vocations
- Author Br Benedict Maria O.S.B.
  Edited by Blake Billings, Ph.D.
  
  The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
  (Luke 10:2)
  
  Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself teaches us here that the first step to receive the laborers for the kingdom of God is to pray. Saint Benedict also emphasizes that every good work must begin with prayer (Prologue, Rule of St. Benedict). We can never minimize the importance of prayers: "the work" must itself be transformed into a prayer of thanksgiving, once accomplished. We see that the work of preparing the monastic ground for vocations can be directly linked to the words of our Lord, and to his blessed follower Saint Benedict. The monks of Portsmouth Abbey realize that if we are to receive vocations at the Abbey, it is a gift of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
  
  Aerial view of Portsmouth Abbey
  
  Does this mean we need not be doing any work, if it all must come from the Lord? Not at all. Our Lord himself asked the servers in the wedding to fill the huge jars with water before he turned the water into wine. This work of filling the jars with water can be seen as a metaphor for our participation in the work of preparing the monastery for vocations. It creates in us an attitude of yet more prayer and for the corresponding work that is necessary. What is this good work that the Prior and the monks of Portsmouth Abbey are doing to prepare the monastery for vocations? We will try to bring to light here the way in which they are offering an invitation to this spiritual banquet table.
- The Prior's Support and Blessing.
  
  Since all work in the monastery requires the permission and blessing of the superior, the work of preparing the monastery for vocations is done under the supervision of Father Prior. In exploring various strategies for this venture, Prior Michael has offered much guidance. The wisdom and experience he has gained from his pre-monastic career as a hotel manager, his role as headmaster of St. Louis Priory School, and his time as pastor of St. Anselm Parish in St. Louis are all priceless in assessing possible directions for this important project. He has supplied a genuine openness to fresh approaches in this effort. In his unique office within the monastery, he must discern the balance between a more “traditional” approach and more contemporary ways of doing things. We already can see how his participation and direction are essential as we look at various areas of this vocational development.
- Prior Michael celebrating the Confirmation Mass
- The Vocation Director
  
  Our present vocation director, Fr. Edward Mazuski, is himself a product of a Benedictine education as a graduate of St. Louis Priory School. He has assumed his new role with the utmost care and diligence. Complementing Fr. Prior's attitude, Fr. Edward’s openness to the Spirit is a valuable asset, and he has demonstrated himself to be a flexible, thoughtful, and wise judge in these undertakings. One of his first steps in this work has been to successfully gather thoughts and ideas from monks and friends of the monastery. This gathering of information has provided him with a clearer sense of what this whole venture will look like. His technological skills enable him to use various software tools to keep track of inquiries and responses. With each inquiry or prospective vocation, he works carefully in consultation with Fr. Prior to prepare a path for someone to visit. This has been particularly challenging in a world so affected by the pandemic. Nevertheless, he is working on a monastic weekend for this coming March.
  
  The extended community praying the Stations of the Cross
- The Office of Communication
  
  The monastic Office of Communications is in fact a team of people working together to build a relationship with the greater Abbey community and potential vocation prospects. The main work of this office is essentially to send out information and greetings from the monastery. Most fundamentally, the Communications Office aspires to let those in the world know that Portsmouth Abbey is here, and that its monks are praying for them. Its work includes the weekly newsletter, “The Current,” edited by oblate, alumnus and faculty member Blake Billings ’77. The publication carries a variety of articles on the history and heritage of the monastery, as well as its ongoing life. This is very helpful in maintaining our long-term friendships, as well for providing insight into who we are for potential vocations.
- Blake Billings and Br. Benedict
- The Office also maintains the monastery’s website, which has been greatly enhanced and includes links to the monastery’s YouTube channel, offering live and recorded access to our liturgical life. Brother Sixtus Roslevich, in addition to serving as the Director of Oblates, also plays a major role in reviewing and developing everything produced by this Office, aided by his rich experience in the field of media. The Office also benefits from ongoing contributions from the School’s communications team, who have helped to bolster all of these efforts. The monastery has also created other modes of communication, targeting several social media platforms, to find more effective ways to reach out to young adults. This has all been quite intentional, with the Office and its work even officially recognized by Father Prior in a ceremony of blessing. The work has itself been a blessing.
  
  Some faces of the many who assist the Office of Communications
- The Monastic Community
  
  While we may visibly see these efforts being undertaken to prepare the ground for vocation, we must not lose sight of its essential character. The most fundamental reason a candidate joins a group of monks is God. The monastic community plays its role in accommodating and supporting this aspiration of the candidate, to seek God. Certainly, for the Benedictine, one of the central ways this is done is by faithful participation in the Divine Office. It is only a community embracing this journey, pursuing holiness in prayer, and happy in its monastic life, that will truly be attractive to someone who wants to choose this life. To become such a community, each of its members must work to progress in their love for God. Each must continue to “prepare the way.” The monastic enclosure will then also become a spiritual sanctuary, a “workshop” of the Holy Spirit, for the candidate. An openness of the monks in the house to the sharing of the sacraments and to offering spiritual guidance is also very important to each new candidate. And these we do find present at Portsmouth Abbey, whose monks are very conscious of these basic elements and are willing and inviting, formed in the hospitality so important to Saint Benedict.
  
  Monks of Portsmouth Abbey
- Conclusion
  
  While the efforts mentioned in this article are surely important to the work of preparing a place for new vocations, we should add one more thing to the list. We should recall Saint Paul's attitude towards his work: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building" (1 Corinthians 3: 6-9). This same attitude must hold true for monks as well. At the end of the day, it does not matter who did what. Everyone has a role to play in the planting and the watering. Everyone is called to prepare the way. However, it is both a consolation and a call to a challenging task to realize that the growth of vocation happens by God alone.
- St. Gregory the Great, Patron Saint of the Abbey
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
- Almighty ever living God, you appointed St. Benedict to be a wise Master in the School of Your Service. Through his intercession, stir up in many hearts the desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ, by a selfless life of prayer, work and zeal for Your Church in the monastic community of Portsmouth Abbey. With Your Grace, help the monks of Portsmouth Abbey to strive to fulfill what they have undertaken, by giving themselves ever more completely to You, and so make them worthy to receive new members into their fellowship. We ask it through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Works December 2020

Works

December 2020