"Ordinary" Time? - An Update on COVID-19 Liturgical Life. With the vigil of the Feast of Pentecost at the end of May, the State of Rhode Island allowed churches to open again, at 25% of their capacity to allow for adequate spacing. As of this writing, we await the expanded parameters of Phase III of the state's reopening. The Abbey has reduced its Sunday Mass schedule for the summer to one Mass, offered at 8:30am. The church is again open for a daily Mass at 7:20am, as well as for the 5:30pm daily Vespers. Only one side door is open for entrance, and one is greeted on Sundays by an usher assisting those with any logistical questions. A sign is posted both outside the door, as well as in the entryway, explaining the various pandemic-prompted procedures. Hand sanitizer is required (and provided), as well as the use of masks, with spare masks available for those in need of one. Brother Sixtus, the monastery’s liturgist, has also been explaining procedures before each Sunday Mass, to get everyone up to speed. Attendance at the morning Mass has remained stable, with many of the regular daily communicants gratefully returning to this daily practice. The Sunday Mass, for which the faithful retain a general dispensation and may choose not to attend, has averaged at about forty each week, with numbers slowly increasing. The diocese maintains current information of the COVID-19 response and the requirements for liturgies and public worship within the Diocese of Providence.

This summer more than any other we may find time on our hands for reading. So let’s count those blessings! We have managed to catch up with several members of the monastic community to inquire into what their summer reading plans might be. A delectable and diverse smorgasbord appears, so let the reader take note.

Father Michael recently read The Cave and the Light: Plato versus Aristotle and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization, by Arthur Herman, who “shows how philosophy and the conflict of ideas shapes history.” He has currently been reading Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America, by Daniel K. Richter, noting, “as I come from and will vacation in Iroquois country, I am always curious about Indian history and the elements of Native American spirituality.” This reading will also no doubt feed his ongoing preparation for World Religions and Morality, a course he will be offering to Form V in the Fall Term.

Abbot Matthew Stark has a hefty reading list lined up for the summer months. Having recently finished Echoes of a Native Land, by Serge Schmemann, “a fascinating history of Russia seen through the history of a family,” he has turned to the spiritual heart of the Christian tradition, reading The Contemporary Challenge of John of the Cross: An Introduction to His Life and Teaching, by Leonard Doohan. Additionally, Abbot Matthew has been exploring Contemplative Enigmas: Insights and Aid on the Path to Deeper Prayer, by the spiritual writer Donald Haggerty, “a good writer on prayer.” Added to this is continued reading of Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 6, with the commentary by Frank Fletcher, and if that is not enough, he will be turning as well to Napoleon: A Life, by Adam Zamoyski, due to its positive reviews.
 

Fr. Gregory notes that he is typically reading several books at any given timer. His strategy: begin early in the day with Scripture and turn to spiritual reading in the late morning. The afternoon brings something historical or topical, and the evening fiction. As of this writing, he is following the Mass readings and looking more deeply into First Kings, as well as studying Adversus Haereses by Saint Irenaeus, being particularly captured by the saint’s defense of the Incarnation and noting a remarkable reversal these days in attitudes flowing from Gnosticism. Whereas the ancient manifestations of Gnosticism were more “spiritual” and opposed to the world, nowadays in its New Age personae it is linked to more world-affirming strands of thought. The Christian Incarnation stands opposed to both of these vectors of thinking. For historical reading, Fr. Gregory is exploring Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History, by Paul Horgan. This book is “spell-binding”: “Horgan can’t write a dull sentence.” Fr. Gregory also recommends, by this same “neglected Catholic author of great genius,” A Distant Trumpet, which examines the Civil War through to the tragic end of the Indian Wars in the West. For fiction, Fr. Gregory is currently reading The Master of Hestviken, by Sigrid Undset, “a long and absorbing novel of 13^th-century Norway just at the point of its being newly (and as yet only partially) transformed from a pagan to a Christian culture.” The gradual spiritual awakening of its protagonist, Olav Audunsson, is “described with incredible sensitivity” by Undset, another worthy Catholic author, whose works can “speak volumes to Catholics living in today’s half-pagan culture.”

Brother Benedict shares his spiritual reading, which is filled with core spiritual classics. Having finished for Lent The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, Brother Benedict has been reading True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, by Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort. This reading was inspired during the Marian month of May. During the summer, he will look into When God Asks for an Undivided Heart: Choosing Celibacy in Love and Freedom, by Andrew Apostoli, to learn more about celibacy and the love of Christ.

Brother Sixtus reports that he has recently completed, for the second time, Appreciating the Collect: An Irenic Methodology, by Daniel P. McCarthy and James G. Leachman. He had actually been one of the proofreaders of the book twelve years ago in Rome, helping to compile and edit the indices. It is the first in a series, “Appreciating the Liturgy,” and in his present role as liturgist for the monastery, he is finding the review instructive. He gratefully notes that the book “has rekindled for me a lifelong love of the liturgy and the rich depth of the sources of the Collect in Holy Scripture.” Br. Sixtus is also reading War Against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin, by Carlos Eire, at the recommendation of Father Paschal. He notes that this reading has connected with his rediscovery of relics gifted to the monastery, which he and Brother Benedict have discovered in their housecleaning efforts in the sacristy. Eire surveys some of the historical controversies that were created when, “the proliferation and adoration of physical relics took dangerous and misguided precedence” over the spiritual realities they are to represent. For the summer, Br. Sixtus will also read The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success, by Ross Douthat. Having heard Mr. Douthat at the Portsmouth Institute’s program in Providence in February, he is intrigued to look further into the work. Br. Sixtus was introduced to Mr. Douthat several summers ago at the Institute, and has followed his writing in the New York Times ever since.

So, dear reader, may you perhaps find among this varied and intriguing list something to spark your own interest, to put to good intellectual use the time afforded to us in our slower-paced summer. ​​​​​​​

An Update from the Portsmouth Institute.

The Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture has successfully completed its 2020 Virtual Summer Conference: Incline the Ear of thy Heart: Rediscovering the Virtues and Practices of the Christian Life. The Institute’s flagship program, the annual summer conference is New England’s premier forum for the Catholic intellectual and contemplative life. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer conference moved online. After providing a series of four recorded sessions by principal speakers, the Institute offered a day of live Zoom discussion sessions with the speakers on Saturday, June 20, enabling “face to face” conversations with Catholic University of America's President John Garvey, spiritual writer Heather King, cultural commentator Sohrab Ahmari, and Fr. Augustine Wetta. The recorded keynote conferences are all available on the Institute’s YouTube page.
            Rather than providing the sole venue for the Institute, the Summer Conference is now more the tip of a the iceberg. Chris Fisher, Executive Director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture, recently provided an update on the diverse activities undertaken by the Institute recently, and it is a remarkable listing. He notes, “Amid the challenges our country has faced these past months, the Portsmouth Institute continues to be a sanctuary of hope, peace, and friendship for so many students, teachers, and lifelong learners who have made us part of their spiritual and intellectual lives. I’m humbled and grateful for the support and encouragement you’ve shown us. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, and your willingness to help spread the word about our shared work.” The Institute inaugurated its fall programming at the University Club in Providence with “To Save the Church: Perspectives on Catholic Duty,” featuring Ross Douthat, Jeremy Wilkins, and James Keating. It was the Institute’s our second annual Catholicism and Culture Symposium. Mr. Fisher reports that, “the event was a huge hit, with a standing room only crowd at the University Club on College Hill… The topic of conversation was what Catholics should be doing in the present crisis – the crisis of evangelization, of the Church, and a post-Christian culture.” The programming has included a range of spiritual, intellectual, and cultural events. The Institute also partnered with Dr. Margarita Mooney and the Scala Foundation to host a scholarly webinar with Dr. Carlo Lancellotti on the meaning of Benedictine education. It will soon be releasing a book of essays by St. John Henry Newman on “The Mission of St. Benedict” and “The Benedictine Schools,” offering rich insight into the relationship between the Benedictine charism and Benedictine education. The book includes an introduction by Dr. Mooney, and a masterful interpretative essay by Abbot Thomas Frerking, O.S.B., Abbot Emeritus of Saint Louis Abbey and former headmaster of the Priory School. Executive Director Fisher also will publish in July his interview with André Gushurst-Moore on his book, Glory in All Things: St. Benedict and Catholic Education Today. Mr. Fisher says it is “a work extremely rich and full of practical wisdom on Benedictine education – and the conversation was a blast!” The Institute also co-sponsored a webinar, Flannery O'Connor: Imagination, Solitude, and the Oddities of Life, hosted by the Collegium Institute. The panel consisted of four distinguished thinkers, all women, who discussed their fascination with one of the greatest American female writers. Over 900 registrants joined for the event, and many hundreds more have accessed the recorded presentation online.
            In April, it offered a virtual retreat (“Crisis Converted: A Benedictine Guide to Hope”) featuring Fr. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B., a monk of St. Louis Priory. The conferences focused on five central Benedictine disciplines: stability, obedience, conversion, silence, and death, and how these offer hope and spiritual growth in times of crisis.  Developing on the growing interest in Lectio Divina at Portsmouth Abbey School and Saint Louis Priory School, the Institute is helping organize a series of virtual Global Lectio meetings, gathering our students, young alumni, and the Manquehue missionaries from Chile for a joy-filled encounter with friendship and Scripture. Portsmouth Abbey School parents have also been involved in the growing devotion of Lectio Divina.
            The Institute’s Junior Fellows were active with programs including a Film Screening and Live Q&A with Catholic Filmmaker Chuck Kinnane, known for his inspirational and spiritually significant works, including The Human Experience. The fellows viewed an Ascension Presents interview with Chuck on being a Catholic filmmaker; and Just Keep Swimming, his moving short documentary on the premature birth of his son. The Junior Fellows also joined a Zoom seminar with noted Catholic physicist Dr. Stephen Barr, an American physicist who is currently professor emeritus of physics at the University of Delaware, and who was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2010 he was elected a member of the Academy of Catholic Theology and is the founding president of the Society of Catholic Scientists. The Junior Fellows developed its sense of community with events like a Winter Stargazing Party at Portsmouth Abbey, and a trip to hear Mahler and Grieg with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
            Mr. Fisher has commented to Institute friends that he is, “humbled and grateful for the support and encouragement you’ve shown us. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, and your willingness to help spread the word about our shared work.” We express in return our gratitude and appreciation for the Institute’s work in developing these extensive and exciting opportunities.