The Abbey recently welcomed a new contingent from the Manquehue Apostolic Movement. This community of five young men will be in residence for the winter term, shepherding the growing groups of students and faculty participating in Lectio Divina. Two of its members, Pedro Vega and Ramon Gimeno, joined us before the Christmas break, enabling them to make the transition with Alvaro Gazmuri and Cata Quiroga prior to the couple’s departure shortly after Christmas. They were joined at the end of the month by remaining team members Raimundo Zunino and Matias Echeverria, who were both in residence here in 2015 and 2016, respectively, as well as Renato van de Wyngard. The crew did not stay in town for long before heading out to Phoenix with Director of Spiritual Life Fr. Francis Hein and Br. Benedict Maria to participate in the FOCUS conference (see the photo above). Our visiting Manquehue groups are drawn from already existing small “communities” formed around lectio divina and a shared life of prayer. The winter group is the Aelred Community, having as its patron a saint important to Manquehue, the medieval abbot of Riveaulx for whom the practice of spiritual friendship was so important. And so we welcome our new friends!

Fr. Gregory Borgstedt became the first autonomous prior of the monastery at Portsmouth when the house was elevated to independent status in 1949. He left the community the next year. Who was this man, who played such important roles in the monastery throughout the crucial decade of the 1940’s? While he assumes a quieter place in the history of this monastery, alongside more resonant names like Leonard Sargent, Hugh Diman, or Aelred Graham, his role in the life of this community is significant and undeniable. While his path may not seem on first glance to reveal a Benedictine commitment to stability, that may be too quick a judgment. Clearly, from his conversion to his death, his monastic life seems to have circled again and again around Benedict and the Rule’s dedication to the search for God.  This article from our "Archives" section traces some of his journey.

With the bus departing Thursday, January 23, at 5:30am for the airport, forty students joined Mr. John Huynh and a group of faculty members for this year’s March for Life in Washington, D.C. Mr. Huynh has led this group since his arrival at the School, and is pleased to see its participation grow, while acknowledging the additional logistical challenge. The event consistently draws hundreds of thousands to the National Mall to express support for the rights of the unborn. The first March was January 22, 1974, making this the 46th gathering, prompted by the Roe v. Wade decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The 3-day school trip also includes participation in various events, including Masses, concerts, and some touring. On Thursday, January 16, Lucia McLaughlin '21 spoke to the School on her experience with the March:

"So why do 300,000 people, every year, trudge to Washington DC in January in what some have called the largest continuous peaceful and selfless demonstration in the history of our
country? I mean this thing is bigger and has been going on longer than Coachella… My mom went to the March for Life when she was in high school which was a ​long ​ time ago. Why do we do it? Why do we go to Washington D.C? Simple.  We go to add our voice to the debate and to ensure, like Ghandi says,  that our government continues to be great by remembering its commitment to our weakest members. During last year’s trip in D.C., we went to a Christian concert that was part of the March For Life program. Laura Conlan and I didn’t know most of the songs the band was singing and a woman who was a chaperone from another school noticed this. She tapped my shoulder and proceeded to teach Laura and I the “Jesus Dance,”  which seemed childish at first, but then we got into it and let’s just say we know it by heart now. This small act of kindness taught me the importance of a community that celebrates together and takes action together. The March for Life is an event that has the ability to restore one’s faith in humanity and give people a sense of community larger than any school or workplace." (read Lucia's full talk)

Maddie McCann '16 on the 2016 Trip
See report on the 2018 Trip

Monday, January 20, marked Martin Luther King, Jr. day, recognized in the School in its annual MLK assembly. This year's assembly included remarks from several students on the significance of King's legacy to them. The students also offered a clip from the 2018 HBO documentary, "King in the Wilderness," which "chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum" (HBO site). Andrew Young, Executive Director of the SCLC notes of King in the film: “He was prepared to die, but he was also determined that his death and his life would have meaning.” The clip shown at the assembly included some of King's speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop," delivered April 3, 1968, the day before his death. Student remarks, noting the ongoing political debate about race, and King's impact on them through word and example, provided clear evidence that his death and life indeed continue to speak to us today.

HBO: "King in the Wilderness"

This month’s exploration of Benedictine wisdom presents selections from Searching for God, by Cardinal Basil Hume (1923-1999), who was called to serve as Archbishop of Westminster and cardinal from his position as abbot of Ampleforth Abbey. The Cardinal Hume Centre posts: “In 1998, Cardinal Hume asked John Paul II for permission to retire, so that he could go back to his monastery at Ampleforth and spend some time fly fishing and watching Newcastle United Football Club. The request was refused. He was diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer in April 1999. On June 2 of that same year, Queen Elizabeth awarded him the Order of Merit. He died just over two weeks later on June 17th in London, aged 76. His funeral was live on national television and he was buried in Westminster Cathedral. Pope John Paul II said he was a “shepherd of great spiritual and moral character.” Excerpts from some of his best known writings, conferences collected in the book, Searching for God, can be found in the January's Wisdom section.