Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (John 6:27-40, gospel reading from the Commemoration of All Souls) 
 

The well-known directive from Saint Benedict advises that on, “Keep death daily before your eyes.” This is one of his more striking “tools from the workshop,” listed in Chapter 4 of his Rule. It is one that we bring into use repeatedly in the month of November. Death, and those who have departed this world, become focal points of prayer, meditation, and reflection. 

All Saints. This inaugural feast of the month reminds us that our hope is in heaven. It is a celebration of Beatitude, of blessing, and of the confidence we have in salvation. The Saints inspire our trust that God works in human flesh. It also strengthens is in the faith that our heavenly brethren do not forget us: a requirement to be canonized is a miracle, a response our petitions. When St. Therese of Lisieux said that she hoped to spend her heaven doing good on earth, we may trust that her fellow saints agreed. It is a day that tells us that death is not the end, but the beginning of our complete human journey, and a reminder of resurrection.  

All Souls. Our prayer then takes a more somber and penitential turn, as the following day reminds us that our hope is in the Lord, and that we are in need of His mercy. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians teaches: “So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away.” While we believe the Saints are “at home,” we must pray for those who remain “away,” the church militant, struggling with sin, still seeking salvation. The Fatima prayer resounds this day: “Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.”  
 

These two great feasts reverberate throughout the month. All Saints Day finds an echo in the celebration of “All Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict” on Saturday, November 13. That list is extensive, and we all may have our favorites. Our campus is filled with reminders: the Church of Saint Gregory the Great; dormitories honoring Hugh, Aelred, Leonard, Benet (in turn, the patrons of members of our monastic community). We may also think of our oblate patrons, Henry II and Frances of Rome. A Manquehue community that has served here for several years is names for Gertrude the Great. All of these follow in the line of inspiration guiding lives directed in some way by the rule of life gathered in the early 6th-century by our Holy Father Benedict, now having guided 1500 years of sanctity. We find All Souls Day rippling through our month in waves: the “Commemoration of Deceased Relatives and Benefactors of the English Benedictine Congregation” on Friday, November 5. With the commemoration of “All Souls of Portsmouth Abbey” on Monday, November 15: we pray for the monastic brethren who have passed before us: our founder Leonard, our priors and abbots, our headmasters, guest masters, novice masters, and more. A prayerful walk through our cemetery reminds us of so many of them, as we encounter the stones of Leonard Sargent, Hugh Diman. Of Hilary Martin, whom we learn of in this issue. Of our more recent losses: Julian, Francis, Damian, Ambrose, Philip, Edmund: these all within the last five years.  These prayers, taken up together with those for all of our oblates, friends, relatives, benefactors. The silver casket placed on the main altar throughout the month serves as a reminder at each Mass, with slips added virtually each day naming the loved ones of the extended community that has grown out of the history of the place.