Br. Sixtus Roslevich, O.S.B.

Following two days of sub-zero temperatures that broke records throughout New England, including nearby Providence, oblates and friends of Portsmouth Abbey gathered for their first Day of Recollection of 2023 on February 5, the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. It was planned as a pre-Lenten event and the morning and afternoon activities reflected and pointed the way towards Ash Wednesday, less than three weeks away. The day began with the monks’ Conventual Mass at 9:30 a. m. and was live-streamed, as always, to include the participation of home-bound oblates and friends, or for those who live some distance from the Abbey Church. Abbot Michael Brunner sent his greetings from Cullman, Alabama and said that he was offering his morning Mass there for a successful event. He attended the annual gathering of North American Abbots held this year at St. Bernard’s Abbey. Fr. Paschal Scotti, the principal celebrant at Portsmouth, offered his Mass for the repose of the souls of all the deceased oblates, while Abbot Matthew Stark’s intention was offered up for the living oblates. The Mass readings were proclaimed by Oblate Peter Simpson, New York City; Oblate Jeff Volkers, Goshen NH; with the Universal Prayers offered by Paul Zalonski, K. H. S., East Haven CT, an oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. Following Mass, the oblates and their guests enjoyed breakfast in the Stillman Dining Hall, joined there by faculty families and several students who remained behind on campus, while most others had vacated over the extended Winter Weekend. The dining hall maintained an international atmosphere that day with the welcome presence of students from Indonesia, South Korea, China, Kenya, and elsewhere.

Leonor and Joe Soares

After the morning meal, the day’s conference was given by Br. Sixtus Roslevich, Director of Oblates at Portsmouth, who began with a welcome and with a prayer which stressed unity. He apologized for the “ponderous and verbose” title of his talk: A World View of Imitating Christ in the Context of the Way of the Cross. By way of explanation, he shared that Dr. Blake Billings, editor of the Oblate newsletter, The Current, was out-of-town for the weekend, is the only one entrusted with “editing my words down to a manageable length for clarity!” Br. Sixtus also explained some of his work in another role, as Director of Vocations at Portsmouth, sharing some stories about the national conference of FOCUS (The Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Scheduled for January 2-6, he dreamed that it would be held again in sunny Tucson AZ, or perhaps in Pasadena CA so he could have watched the Penn State Nittany Lions compete in the Rose Bowl. Abbot Michael told him, no, you’re going back to St. Louis. It was an opportunity to see many old friends and to share the story and history of Portsmouth Abbey with some of the 17,000 conference participants.