December 12, 2023
A season of receptions. We await the dismissal of the School for the Christmas break, with the preparations of Advent and the spirit of Christmas tangible in the atmosphere. The School erupts into a series of fundraisers for “Clothe-A-Child,” each fundraiser taking on an air of festivity. The Abbot’s Reception in New York invades monastic withdrawal from the world with the glamour of Manhattan. We host here an Advent Service and Christmas Blessing, followed by more parties, such as the annual Faculty Christmas Party, with karaoke to follow. It is a season tailor-made for Meyers-Briggs “extroverts,” and somewhat tiring for the “introverts” like myself. Our articles this week address some of these preparations and speak of various receptions. And ultimately, they lead us to consider the mysteries of the earth receiving its savior in the Nativity, and of the faithful receiving the Lord in the Eucharist. For me, appealing to my inner introvert, these Receptions open wide a Silence and a Solitude, make visible a narrow path – straight in the desert. As the culmination of our Advent journey comes into view, may you be invited to many joyous receptions, and remember your standing invitation to the alpha and omega of all Receptions.
Christmas Peace,
Blake Billings
December 6, 2023
One of the more intriguing “local traditions” practiced over the years by this monastic community has been the lighting of the candle in front of the small statue of Saint Nicholas in the upper narthex of the church. A “narthex,” by the way, is an entrance or vestibule located at the western entrance of a church. The term is particular to early Christian and Byzantine churches – architectural elements of our Belluschi Church of St. Gregory the Great echo such ancient buildings. If you sneak into the church on December 6th, you will find the candle illuminating this small statue that otherwise typically blends unseen into the stonework of the western wall. Lighting this candle has always struck me as somewhat whimsical, albeit amidst narthexian solemnity. A tip of the hat to youth, it seems, to Christmas presents, to childhood dreams. Associated with the original St. Nick, fourth century bishop of Myra, was secret gift-giving and the working of miracles, so such whimsy may be well-founded. His patronage extends to children and to students, making him an appropriate saint for our School, and for our theme this week of the “Love of Learning.” Perhaps an interesting follow-up to a list of “things to learn by age 21” would be things to un-learn. Things to re-think. Things to re-discover. Things to dream, before and after the age of 81. The candle illuminating Old Saint Nick makes me think of stuff like that.
Peace,
Blake Billings
November 30, 2023
Advent is always new. It is a new year, a new beginning, a renewal of spirit, a brand new opportunity. I often consider what Buddhism calls “Beginner’s Mind,” and how valuable it is to retrieve this sense. For me, it resonates deeply with Benedict’s writing of a “rule for beginners.” The “new” here bears an intriguing link to the “old”: this week’s issue seems to take up that theme. Br. Sixtus offers us this week a reminiscence of a childhood experience still linked to his present monastic life. And in retrieving articles from past archives, we uncover discussion of our own beginnings at Portsmouth. Old news becomes new, as we recall an old inspiration and perhaps measure ourselves by it yet again. I might note here that I detected in the image of Fr. Damian in his study, in his inimitable handwriting, the note: “Class of ’77, Fifth Form.” Among the members of the English classes he taught then would have been myself. It is fascinating to ponder how each of us takes up his part in this ongoing web of events, this progressive advent. Fr. Edward’s reflection on music extends the historical connectedness to Gregorian Chant. I am often amazed to identify so directly with the spiritual life of the medievals, in singing anew the antiphons handed down over a full millennium, with many of the prayers themselves an additional two millennia older. But in prayer these same sentiments, longings, and petitions are taken up in our present day. May you have a blessed Advent of reminiscence and renewal!
Peace,
Blake Billings
November 22, 2023
The heraldry of Wilfrid Bayne, and his comment on its nonessential link to nobility, seem to align thematically with the Solemnity of Christ the King. The nobility of Christ, manifested in his crown of thorns, is depicted in the design of Alfonso Ossorio’s crucifix as a more glorious royal crown. This elicits a nobility that, if I catch some of the implication of Dom Wilfrid’s comments, is for the prelate rather aspirational than hereditary. And as our monastic homilists try to parse out for us some of the meaning of the gospel, we are confronted by a series of readings this time of year that confront us with some hard realities. These are the realities of a nobility of which the saints remind us and to which they exhort us. It is the nobility that Saint Benedict places on the “bottom rung” of the descending ladder of humility. It is a ladder we have hopefully been descending throughout the year, as we wait for it to deposit us at the feet of a manger. For me, this time of year always calls me to a reconsideration of nobility, of virtue, of goodness.
Ossorio crucifix
Peace,
Blake Billings