Portsmouth Abbey cemetery

The month of November, inaugurated by the great Solemnity of All Saints, followed by the Commemoration of All Souls, stands as the month in which we pay closer attention to prayers for those who have gone before us. This practice is enshrined in the Ordo of this monastic community, the calendar of our feast days, which adds to those universal feasts of the Church several days specific to our community and to the Benedictine order. On November 5 are commemorated all “Relatives and Benefactors” of the English Benedictine Congregation. This wider, more general commemoration expands to include those who have become friends of monks, and in an act of hospitality they are accorded the first of our special commemorations. The next two special feasts look within the Benedictine order, first to all Benedictine Saints (November 13), and secondly to all souls of this monastery (November 14). It is the time of year when our liturgical readings turn to matters eschatological, to Christ’s return, and look to the meaning of His imminent judgment, culminating in his exaltation as Christ the King.

November AdorationAbbot Matthew Stark offered the following sermon on November 14, at the Mass of All Souls of Portsmouth Abbey: “Saint Benedict says in the Rule that the monk should fear the Day of Judgment, that they should dread hell, and desire eternal life with all spiritual longing, and that we monks should keep death daily before our eyes. So, clearly, Saint Benedict is aware of our need to be conscious that we will die, that we will be judged before the judgment seat of God, as Saint Paul says. And the response of the Church, of course, and of this community for our brethren, is to pray for them, so that they may enter soon into eternal glory. And that this should be done is testified by different writers of the early church, one of whom is the great Cyril of Jerusalem who said in his catechetical sermons: ‘If a king banished those who offended him, and if those who are friends and family of the banished should present a crown of precious gold on behalf of the banished persons, would the king not forgive those who offended him? So it is [says St. Cyril] with us. We do not make a crown of gold, but we offer for them [that is, in the Mass] Christ sacrificed for our sins, and we beg God to be merciful to them, and to us.’”

At the beginning of the Mass of All Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict, Abbot Michael Brunner offered the following introduction: “Today we celebrate the feast of all saints of the Order of Saint Benedict, those men and women who, following the Rule set forth by the first of these saints of the Order of Saint Benedict, Saint Benedict himself, have arrived at their eternal destiny in heaven, a group which we aspire one day to join. So, to prepare to celebrate this eucharist together, let us acknowledge our sins, our weaknesses and failings, those things that keep us from union with God, and ask God for pardon and strength.”

The Roll Call of School alumni who gave their lives in service to the country

At each of these Masses, and each day throughout the entire month, the silver “casket” is left on the main altar, holding the names of deceased loved ones our extended community would like to remember in prayer. We offer here the list of names of those buried in our monastic cemetery, both monks and laity. And we include, from the Chapel of St. Basil the Great in our Abbey Church, the remembrance plaque of alumni of the School who gave their lives in service to the country. For all these we ask for continued prayer, as we continue to pray for all souls.