Oblates gathering in the Church of St. Gregory the Great

This description of the character and vocation of Benedictine Oblates appeared in the monastery newsletter in 1968. At this time, Fr. Chris Davis was assisting Fr. Benedict Lang with the oblate community.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father through him.“ (Col. 3:17)

This general Christian ideal of sanctity, namely, the ability to make every action the outcome of our faith, has drawn monks to their monasteries, and has also drawn lay Oblates into association with these monasteries. For both the monastery provides a setting within which to work out in practice the Christian ideal. For the monks, the whole plan of their day, the whole structure of authority which applies to them, make it possible for them to do each single thing from a constant religious motive. The “strong and glorious weapons of obedience” replace personal initiative at every point, and these will lead them eventually to that “perfect love of God which casts out all fear.“
Fr. Chris Davis, beginning his ministry in Texas in 1974​Lay Oblates, when they have decided that they share the same spirit as do the monks, associate themselves with the setting which a monastery provides so that they may submit, in their own fashion, to the same process which has subdued the monks. Their program is different, but their spirit is the same; yet for both monks and Oblates the whole monastic life and spirit is but one of many pathways traced within the Church which promise a fulfillment of the larger Christian ideal. With Saint Benedict and with Benedictines, it is the RULE FOR MONKS which is the real monument to this particular form of the Christian ideal. “This rule, more than any other monument, breathes and transmits the holiness of a saint for any who are looking for a tested pattern of life, one which is immediate, practical, and profound.”

Lay persons have been associated with monasteries for the purpose of sharing their spiritual life since the ninth century. But the real landmark in the history of Oblates was created by Saint Frances of Rome in the fifteenth century. She persuaded a number of noble Roman women to renounce the world, live a more perfect Christian life in their homes, and dedicate themselves to the service of the poor. These ladies placed themselves under the direction of the Olivetan Benedictines and later formed their own community and elected their own superior. They were the original institute of Benedictine Oblates, and Saint Frances is regarded as the patroness of the Oblates of Saint Benedict.

Oblates were given canonical status in the church in 1898, and further Papal approval came to them in 1904 and again in 1927. Oblates undertake a year’s test or trial or novitiate; they make a promise or oblation at the end of this period; they bind themselves to say a very short and modified form of the monastic prayer (or an even shorter form of daily prayer if this is inconvenient); they wear a cloth scapular; and they enjoy certain spiritual privileges which have been granted to them.

A conference for oblates in the dining hall​But primarily Oblates offer themselves to God. “An act of oblation is a rite approved by the Church by which any one of the faithful living in the world and moved by a desire for greater perfection and by a special devotion to Saint Benedict and to the Order, offers himself to God, to our Savior, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to our holy Father Saint Benedict.

Fr. Benedict Lang, long-serving Director of Oblates,

to whom Fr. Chris was assistant when

this article was published

“The offering is a spiritual affiliation with a Benedictine community, in order thereby to lead a more perfect Christian life in the world, according to the spirit of the Rule of Saint Benedict, and also to share in the spiritual treasures of the Benedictine Order and enjoy the special privileges granted to Oblates, and promote the good of the monastery to which he is attached, and the good of the entire Benedictine Order.” (from the Oblate Manual)

Those friends of Portsmouth, who would like to join themselves more closely to this Monastery in prayer and rule of life are invited to send for information to the Director of Oblates.

Dom Christopher Davis
Assistant Director of Oblates

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Father Christopher Davis died this past July 14. He was a member of the Portsmouth monastic community for 70 years, making his Solemn Profession in 1954.

The Horton window

Following up on our August 2024 article on the William Dixon Horton window in the monastic choir, some new information has emerged. Our source was very close to home: our monastic librarian, Mrs. Roberta Stevens. Bobbie passed on that she has had a note from Fr. Damian about the window “on my desk for two years,” and our article prompted her to undertake some additional research. The note, pictured below, is representative of a significant amount of our archive information, which consists of hand written notes by Fr. Damian, tucked into files here and there, or Post-it noted to the backs of art works. Following this scavenger hunt further, Bobbie discovered in the School’s Fiftieth Anniversary book (page 66) a reference to the first two scholarships established at the School in 1927. The St. Gregory Scholarship of $10,000 was provided by the monastery itself. The second scholarship was “The William Dixon Horton Scholarship Fund” of $5,000 created by “Miss Edith Lee Horton in memory of her father.” This discovery, first, entirely confirms the identity of William Dixon Horton as the man described in the August article (a Tennessean medical doctor and convert, who had briefly served in the Army of the Confederacy). Secondly, it confirms a longstanding relationship, stretching back to the very founding of the School, perhaps between Horton and the monastic founders, continued through his daughter. As the founders of the School were linked to Fort Augustus Abbey in Scotland, and Miss Edith Lee Horton was living in Scotland at this time, one must consider the possibility of a personal tie through that community. The link between the 1927 scholarship and the 1960 window is yet to be entirely spelled out, but we seem to be finding the dotted lines we may eventually more fully connect.

A note from Dom Damian Kearney​