2020 May: The Current

In an update this week, Brother Sixtus Roslevich comments on various “signs” we might seek at this time: “A popular song from my first year of university had an earworm refrain that went: ‘Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?’ Fifty years later we find ourselves in this global bind, reading about signs, with almost every pandemic news story warning of a bad sign or trumpeting a good sign. Signs of recovery, of an uptick, of a leveling off, of a sudden outbreak, of another shutdown or another reopening.” Brother Sixtus detects a variety of signs indicative and exemplary of our faith community. Whether it be in Lectio Divina by Zoom, in communications with our oblates, in contacting some of our staff that is furloughed at this time, in the gratitude felt for inquiries about Fathers Julian and Christopher – who are well, but not able to be visited due to present restrictions. In such contacts, he is thus led to think of the many signs of the Risen Christ, as we find in many of our readings of Easter. You can read his reflections in his newsnote to the Oblates.

The monastic community of Portsmouth claims one bishop from amongst its ranks: Bishop Ansgar Nelson. It may seem perhaps not the right time for a brief retrospective on Bishop Ansgar, given our present extraordinary circumstances. Yet, in a way, it may be as good a time as any. A perusal of different reports about him, combined with reports of those who had even tangential contact with him, may lead one to wonder if his personality and spirituality might not be particularly suited to these times. He was a man familiar with the desert. A man quite capable, in the words of Pascal, of “being alone in his room.” He was a man that his own brethren felt compelled to eulogize as “a stranger on earth.” Yet a stranger who, like the Christ of the Road to Emmaus, could open his companions to the power of the Word; who exhibited a sanctity challenging our this-worldliness. It has been worth the effort, for this writer anyway, to begin to look into the remarkable journey of Portsmouth’s bishop. Our Archives section this month provides a brief retrospective. (article by Blake Billings ’77)

The abbeys of Portsmouth and Saint Louis share an important present and long-standing relationship. They also share a patroness in Our Lady, though under different titles. While Portsmouth appeals to Mary as “Queen of Peace,” Saint Louis has chosen her patronage as “Mother and Mediatrix of Grace.”  May 8 marks this patronal feast for Saint Louis Abbey, and so this week we think of her in this light. In 2009, Abbot Thomas Frerking offered a beautiful homily at the School Mass celebrating the feast, addressing the meaning of this title for Mary: “Grace is the divine life in our souls. In this life, it elevates us infinitely above our natural human life and in fact recreates us and makes us truly sons and daughters of God the Father, brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus, temples of the Holy Spirit; in the next life, it flowers into the life of glory, when we shall see God and live forever with God and our brothers and sisters in God in heaven… the grace, the divine life, in our souls, since it is the grace, the divine life of Jesus himself, once existed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was brought forth by her. She is, then, the Mother of Grace, and the mother of grace within us…  By constantly interceding with, praying to, her Son Jesus for us, constantly asking him to give us more graces, greater shares in the divine life... she is the Mediatrix of Grace, that is, the one who constantly prays to her Son, intercedes with him, on our behalf that he might give us more grace, more gifts of salvation.” He directed that, “…then, always, constantly, we should contemplate Our Mother Mary in all her radiant beauty, in all her mercy and fairest love. For, as the highest of all creatures, she of all creatures most manifests who her Son is.” We pray for the communities of Saint Louis and Portsmouth, in gratitude for this shared fellowship and center of intercession – Mediatrix of Peace! Queen of Grace! – that she may continue to lead us to the life of her Son. (You can find Abbot Thomas’ full homily here.)

Our monthly column on "Works" takes a turn again to prayer. One of the central "works" available to the monastic community, as to the greater Church in this time of enclosure, resonating with the "spiritual communion" of our time, is a ministry of prayer. A re-dedication to intercessory prayer, and a keen awareness of the millions in need of it, opens up before us. For the sick, the dying, the healthcare workers, families, those who lack visits, the unemployed and under-employed, the hungry…: the list expands. And we are told that remain towards the beginning of this pandemic, both in this country and abroad. We may be grateful for the monastic vocation, that has already been placing prayer front and center, and has taken up petitions for so many, for so long. Brother Sixtus Roselvich this week takes us on a kind of tour of monastic prayer, reminding us of this vocation, one of the two lungs by which the monastic tradition breathes. And we see it in light of the other lung, "Work" – as supplementing, grounding, supporting the efforts we make outwardly on behalf of those in need, in building up God's kingdom on earth. May we all take our own prayer inventory, to see how our days, weeks, and months may more fully be saturated with the constant prayer to which Saint Paul directs us; and to see how we may put its fruits to the service of our neighbor. (Read Brother Sixtus' article)

One of the byproducts of the online availability of religious services is that even if the quality of participation feels reduced, the quantity is not necessarily down. In many cases it can be considerably higher, as there is now greater availability across the web for people to access services around the world. With virtual attendance possible for Vespers at the Abbey, interest has grown in the Office. Brother Sixtus has responded to some requests about sending along to the Oblates and Friends a list of the Scripture readings for daily Vespers, to assist those who view it on the website. The evening readings cycle through some of Isaiah and the Jeremiah, with special readings on the upcoming feasts. Br. Benedict has provided a scan of two pages, which can be found on the Oblates page.  One is for the Vespers remaining in May, as requested, and the other is for Matins (or "Vigils," as it is labeled in some books), though the morning office is not available online. We call your attention again to the availability of Mass and Vespers on the website, and invite you to join the community in prayer.

The year winds down for the class of 2020, with distance learnign sessions having finished for the class on Friday, May 8. The School has continued to explore how to celebrate the graduates. The State of Rhode Island will limit groups to less than 50 through July, with only a possibility of expanding that number to 100 in August. Headmaster Dan McDonough continues to discuss with students and administrators how ultimately to proceed for the class of 2020, with a June 2021 program in development. These limitations do not prohibit a Mass being said on the original day for Commencement, Sunday, May 24, which is still the date that will appear on diplomas and transcripts of the graduates. So graduates and their families will be remembered in a special way on that Sunday here, with a Mass in the Abbey church to be live-streamed at 9:30am EDT. The headmaster has invited graduates and their families to a community celebration: "After the Mass, there will also be messages from faculty and staff to you. We look forward to sharing a couple of hours with you." While we will not be able to have our graduates process into the church for Mass, and recess to the Holy Lawn for a tent graduation, we will bring them and their intentions to the altar, pray for their health and success, and in some way share that day together with them. And echoing one of the headmaster's messages to graduating students and their families: "We all miss you and pray for you. Please keep us in your prayers too."

The common trope that suffering weakens faith seems to once again be proven a misleading or misguided claim. As the refiner's fire, it may have the reverse effect. The Catholic News Service recently noted a survey done by Pew Research indicating that many Americans report that they have relied on their faith in the present crisis, and that it is helping them through this difficult period. Nearly 25% say their faith has grown stronger during the pandemic, while only 2% said it has weakened. A Fordham University poll found that nearly 70% of respondents reported that their faith "helped a lot" through the crisis. One may find a certain irony in the phenomenon that faith seems to be more relied upon precisely at the moment when churchgoers cannot go to church. Nearly 4 in 10 Americans reported attending services less frequently, with just over 25% watching services more online or on the television through the crisis. Despite these limitations, one sees a flourishing of internet faith resources. Musicians and artists as well have sought to support the faith of others through their various media. We recently reported on the availability of chant of the sisters of Jouques. Also, iconographer Joseph Malham of the Archdiocese of Chicago has created an icon called "Christ the Healer" (pictured). The artist intended the image to comfort those who are ill, or who have loved ones who are ill or who have died. He also intends it for those struggling financially, emotionally, and those isolated from friends and family, as well as front line workers putting their own health at risk. Rhode Island Catholic even recently reported on a newfound devotion to Saint Corona, a Roman martyr saint. The Abbey has seen the development of our online presence, through the availability of services online, the creation of a new Facebook group, and extended communications through social media. May this note, making its way across these same cyber paths, lend its own support!

This week, Ascension Thursday brings us to the beginning of the original novena. It is the period of nine days intervening between the Ascension and the Pentecost. Luke tells us that at the Ascension, the disciples are directed to return to Jerusalem and await “the power from on high” They return to the city “with great joy” and are “continually in the temple, praising God.” (Lk 24). Luke goes on to speak in the Acts of the Apostles of their imminent baptism “with the Holy Spirit.” In our liturgical life, we thus discover a third and final “season” of preparation, a time dressed in white and not the penitential colors of Lent or Advent, one rooted in the joy of the Resurrection, awaiting the power of the Holy Spirit. As Christ departs to “prepare a place” for us, we prepare for his promised gift. It is a time leading into the third great feast of our year, the baptism of the church in the Spirit on the feast of Pentecost. Pope Leo XIII devoted particular attention to teaching about the Holy Spirit, introducing his support of a novena prior to Pentecost in the Apostolic Letter “Provida Matris” (1895), and affirming this two years later in the encyclical, “Divinum illud munus” (1897), pledging “the indulgence of seven years and as many quarantines”:
 

Abbot Gregory Polan, of Conception Abbey in Missouri, was elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order in 2016. A scripture scholar familiar with Greek and Hebrew, a musician known as composer of the Conception Abbey Psalm Tones, and an abbot and administrator with years of experience, Polan brings much to the position. His scholarly and liturgical achievements are impressive. The rights for his revision of the Grail Psalter of 1963 were purchased by the U.S. Bishops in 2019, with the intention of incorporating them into the Church’s official liturgical books. The Bishop’s Committee for Divine Worship has also adopted the Conception Abbey Canticles, which will eventually be inserted into the revised Liturgy of the Hours and the Lectionary for Mass, as well as the New American Bible and other ritual and catechetical texts. Abbot Polan received the McManus Award in 2019, the highest honor bestowed by American liturgists, recognizing significant contributions to furthering the liturgical renewal in the United States. His approach to the psalms, it should be emphasized, while academically grounded, is by no means merely academic. In an article in America magazine on his revision of the psalter, Judith Valente notes that Polan says of the psalms, “If we look at the variety of ways even Jesus prayed, he says on the cross, ‘O, God my God, why have you forsaken me, quoting Psalm 22’... The Psalms have that very close proximity to the human experiences of longing, need, thanksgiving and praise of God… They are really the nourishment of monks. Despite the fact of their daily use and their often use, they never wear thin.” Abbot Primate Polan is no stranger to the community of Saint Louis Abbey, having been a frequent visitor for spiritual direction from Abbot Luke Rigby, and having joined in a visitation of the community. In our monthly “Wisdom” column, we perhaps introduce some of our readers to the Abbot Primate, and benefit from a sampling of some of his writings.

The Diocese of Providence has announced the opening of public Masses, beginning with the vigil of Pentecost, Saturday, May 30. Noting the "painful but necessary decision" to suspend the public celebration of Mass in March, the Bishop expresses joy and gratitude at this opening: "May this Pentecost of 2020 be an historic milestone for us, a new beginning for the church." The practice of the celebration of the Eucharist will still be subject to significant limitations. The diocese is maintaining an ongoing dispensation from Mass: Catholics continue to be dispensed from Sunday Mass and Holy Day Masses. Access to Mass will be limited by numbers and space seating, with masks and hand sanitizing required. Singing will be limited, as the aerosolized particles generated have proven to be significant in the spread of the virus. Communion will be received in a safe manner, churches will be sanitized after every service, and personal contact will be minimized, including the suspension of a sign of peace. Any who are even mildly sick are directed to remain at home. You can find the full guidelines for the faithful on the website of the diocese of Providence. The diocese has posted extensive information on the opening of churches in the diocese next Saturday, including videos of Bishop Tobin's statement, and the directives for returning to worship. Funerals and weddings will also be able to resume, also under various restrictions.  The monastery will soon be publishing specific and detailed policies that will be followed here at Portsmouth Abbey. We look forward to being able to join in this "new beginning" of liturgical life, as we move past Pentecost into what is, not without irony at the moment, called "Ordinary Time."

This Monday, May 19, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, Pope Saint John Paul II.  Pope Francis acknowledged this occasion in a Mass offered in Saint Peter's Basilica, at the altar of St. John Paul II. The Holy Father highlighted three traits of the saint in his homily: his dedication to prayer, his closeness to his people, and his commitment to justice and mercy. He noted John Paul's promotion of Saint Faustina, whose revelations becamse the basis of Divine Mercy Sunday. This month's "Church" column, our final monthly column until September, presents Pope Francis' homily, as well as several excerpts from Saint John Paul II's homilies and catecheses on the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. A comprehensive list of publications of the Saint's writings can be found on the Vatican's website.

This edition represents the completion of the first academic year of publication for "The Current." Beginning next week, we will move to reduced monthly summer issues for June, July, and August. This project has been a blessing for me personally, enabling me to reflect in a new way on life at Portsmouth. "The Current" has been created in conjunction with the larger communications effort being made by the monastery, centered in its various Web outlets. The monastery will continue to post ongoing news on its website, including updates on services, monastery news and events, the oblates, and more. Please also note the Facebook and Instagram presence, as well as the ongoing related information available through the School. Particularly in our moment of social distance, we hope these social media can help to bridge the gap. Our hope is that with "The Current," the monastery and its mission has been made more visible and understandable, to thus assist in evangelization and the passing on of the gospel message inherent in Benedictine life. It has been a remarkable school year, beginning with the celebration of precedent in our centenary, and ending with the unprecedented, in the suspension of liturgies. We echo our bishop's hailing of a "new beginning" with services reopening, and look forward to the precedented! Many thanks for reading, and for your ongoing prayers - Blake Billings (for additional notes on the year, see "From the Editor").