1941 Pontiac Woody Wagon

An e-mail arrived on Flag Day in which my correspondent on the Pacific Coast wrote, “I didn’t know life at the Abbey could be so busy during the summer season.” As is often the case, it takes an outsider, someone looking in, to hit the nail on the head, to see things more clearly than those insulated on the, well, on the inside. (cf. the excellent 1997 film, The Ice Storm, set in 1973 Vietnam-era New Canaan CT, by the Taiwanese director, Ang Lee, and starring Kevin Kline, a 1965 alum of St. Louis Priory School.) That e-mail got me thinking about just how busy these summer months are on campus despite the absence of the student body. On the weekend before Flag Day, the Portsmouth Institute welcomed participants to their annual summer symposium, reported upon elsewhere in this issue. No sooner did that event end on Corpus Christi Sunday than the Institute kept the momentum going a week later with their PIETAS program which hosted high school teachers for a 6-day residency.

In between those two Institute offerings, we were privileged to welcome the Bursars of the English Benedictine Congregation for their annual gathering, many of whom had never been to Portsmouth or, in fact, to the U.S. Their schedule of events, both business and social, was facilitated by Dr. Ellen Eggeman, Portsmouth’s Chief Financial Officer. Attendees included several lay persons as well as monks and sisters from Ireland and throughout England, with the visiting monk/priests concelebrating the daily morning Mass. Depending on their individual interests, members of the group seized the opportunity to explore areas beyond campus. One monk did genealogical research at the Newport Historical Society, while another went farther afield to view the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, reminding me later that many of the finest American artists of the 18th and 19th centuries on exhibit were actually trained in England.

Br. Sixtus at the wheel at the gathering of religious

On Saturday, June 17, Br. Benedict and I represented the monastic community at the annual summer picnic for religious organized by the Office for Religious of the Diocese of Providence. A year ago, the picnic was held in our own garden, so it was nice this time around to be able be guests at another religious house. We were graciously hosted by the Missionary Society of St. Columban, known as the Columban Fathers, just over the Mount Hope Bridge, a community of 15 men. Fr. John Brannigan celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass, assisted by Br. Benedict who acted as the acolyte server and reader. Sr. Elizabeth Castro, H.M.S.P., head of the Office for Religious, welcomed everyone following the Mass and introduced guests from the Serra Club, one of whom spoke about their ongoing efforts to support vocations, both as diocesan priests as well as consecrated religious men and women. Because of the on-again, off-again rain showers that day, our picnic was moved into the community’s dining room with a gorgeous view of Hog Island across Bristol Harbor through the wall of windows. Afterwards, once the sun broke through the clouds, a number of us explored the grounds, especially to see the mother osprey tending her woody nest safely atop a pole on the shore.

Fr. Brillis enjoying the bay

Besides hosting groups of visitors, our monastery was a temporary stopping-off point for several individual guests, including Fr. Brillis Mathew, a priest of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (avosa.org). He was a classmate of Fr. Andrew Senay of St. Louis Abbey (now in residence at Portsmouth), when the two men did their seminary studies together at the Beda Pontifical College in Rome. Fr. Brillis was ordained in 2017 at St. Mary’s Church in Dubai by Bishop Paul Hinder, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia. This was his second retreat on Aquidneck Island and during his weeklong visit, he concelebrated Masses at Portsmouth Abbey and at St. Theresa Catholic Church in nearby Tiverton. He is currently based in Annapolis, Maryland, and ministers with the Community of Grace (gracefilled.org).

Another mid-month first-time guest was Joseph Larson arriving from California. He begins his graduate work in creative writing this summer at Salve Regina University in Newport after completing his undergraduate studies at Notre Dame. His official move-in date did not sync with his arrival from the West Coast, so the monks were happy to offer him a way-station for a few days of rest. Whether opening our doors to a group of visitors or just one, we appreciate the opportunity to extend our Benedictine hospitality to everyone, keeping in mind St. Benedict’s dictum that, “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ.” (RB 53:1). This is exemplified by Br. Joseph, our long-serving Guest Master, who effortlessly manages to oversee every last detail, down to the hand-inked door plates in his inimitable style.

Br. Joseph welcoming guests at Solemn Vespers (image: Hansen)

Father’s Day saw the return to campus of the 65th annual car show sponsored by the Portsmouth / Tiverton Rotary Club. Featuring close to 300 cars and trucks, it was the event’s first return to campus since before the pandemic closed our gates. Recognizing some of the car models from my childhood, I hesitate to call it a show of “antique” vehicles, rather let’s just say they are “well-cared-for vintage cars” and leave it at that. The afternoon began with the traditional blessing of the cars. This may sound unusual to some until you remember that the Book of Blessings, as part of The Roman Ritual, also includes special prayers for the blessing of “Boats and Fishing Gear” (most appropriate since we live on an island), “Technical Installations or Equipment,” “Tools or Other Equipment for Work,” as well as for fields, flocks, seeds, animals, and so on.

Summer is the season when several of the monks will themselves become guests in other houses, lay or monastic, and we pray that they will be welcomed warmly by friends and family in the same way that we strive to welcome our guests. We especially ask your prayers for the success and safety of the contingent from Portsmouth Abbey School who will be joining the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage in mid-July. I am humbled to be traveling to southern France as one of nine Group Leaders. For some of our students, it will be their first experience of travel abroad and we pray that it will be a grace-filled and spiritual opportunity for them to be of service and assistance to others.