Oblate Day of Recollection, August 29, 2021

The oblates of Portsmouth Abbey reconvened on campus for a Day of Recollection this past Sunday, August 29. In his introduction to the group, Director of Oblates Br. Sixtus Roslevich pointed out that it was “exactly 1 year, 8 months, and 3 weeks since the last Day of Recollection,” held on December 8, 2019, “before our world was turned upside down.” This is a far cry from the group’s bi- or tri-monthly gatherings, typical of the pre-COVID era. God-willing, the next meeting will be held much sooner. As is also typical, the oblates were nourished with food for the soul at the Eucharist, food for thought courtesy of the day’s main speaker, and also food for the stomach supplied at brunch and lunch by the staff of the Stillman Dining Hall. 

The day began at the 8:30 a.m. Mass with Fr. Edward Mazuski as the principal celebrant and was followed by the Renewal of Oblate Promises led by Prior Administrator Michael Brunner. Approximately 30 oblates and friends attended in person, some having traveled from surrounding states in New England and beyond. Others who were unable to make the drive were able to participate in the special day, in a special way, via the livestreaming efforts orchestrated by Br. Benedict. 

Oblate Peter Simpson, philosophy and classics professor at CUNY in Manhattan, delivered a thought-provoking presentation entitled Apologia Pro Vita Sua (or, “Defense of One’s Life”), a title borrowed from the theological classic penned in 1864 by St. John Henry Newman (1801-1899).  Dividing his reflection into three sections under the overarching question of ‘Why Be Catholic?’, Dr. Simpson drew his audience, seated in the pews of the Abbey Church, into a process of fundamental questions: 

In comparing his own faith background to Newman’s, Dr. Simpson said, “My conversion is not as dramatic or as sophisticated as his, but it has some parallels. I was not born Catholic. In fact, my father was a Methodist minister, so I grew up going to a Methodist church, a mainline Protestant church, of course, relatively liberal in its theology.” In his early teens, Simpson was introduced to the Evangelical movement in England, “a very different kind of fish from the mainline Protestant churches. One of its chief points of stress is dogma, that there are certain truths you have to believe as a Christian. The problem is, you can’t get this dogma from the Bible.” 

Going further into a discussion of Scripture, he noted that, “the Bible is, first of all, not self-identifying. Which books belong to the Bible? It’s not self-explanatory. What does it actually mean all the time? It’s not comprehensive, it doesn’t cover all the issues that concern Christians. And to some extent, it’s not intellectually satisfying. One is left with lots of questions.” Moving through his undergraduate years and beyond, he described the influence he felt from the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and from his “current favorite,” John Duns Scotus (1266-1308), “a fellow Scotsman, by the way,” and finally to his eventual emigration from the United Kingdom to the United States. 

A lively question-and-answer period followed with the discussions continuing over lunch. The afternoon then allowed for some quiet time in the church, ending with Eucharistic Adoration and confession. Dr. Simpson’s entire presentation is available for anyone who missed it by clicking on the following link: