Cata and Alvaro

bidding farewell to our chilean friends
- The joy of this Advent season of imminent arrivals is tempered by the imminent departure of our long-term and beloved Manquehue friends, Alvaro Gazmuri and Cata Quiroga, who will return to Chile shortly after Christmas, after two years with our community. Their sojourn with us has been a fruitful one, inaugurating their married life, which soon added the beautiful Clara, their young daughter who has indeed been a clear and warm light for our community. They have also overseen and guided tremendous growth in the spiritual life of our community, helping our student and faculty lectio divina to grow substantially. Their constant presence at the Divine Office and Mass, even with young Clara along with them, has been edifying to the monastic community. They have also been instrumental in creating Confirmation Retreats, our Spring Retreat, the development of lectio leaders both student and adult, and making lectio available to parents.
- Alvaro Gazmuri , Cata Quiroga, baby Clara
- At the center of Manquehue spirituality is not only the practice of lectio or such various programs, but an approach to evangelization that is about “acompanamiento” (accompanying) and “tutoria” (a kind of mentoring). Both of these emphasize fellowship and care, an accompanying and supportive listening, and a joining on the journey of life. These they have indeed offered to our students and adults alike, who have found in our Manquehue friends that the “good news” of evangelization is about much more than hearing about the right beliefs. It involves walking with each other along our journeys, being present to and with each other, and finding in the gospels a God who wants to be available to us, to speak to us.
  
  The warm fellowship that such evangelizing generates resonates well with Benedictine hospitality, and has been positively contagious within the Abbey community. Brother Joseph has invited the Manquehue group regularly to the monastic Sunday dinner, a moment for friendship, fellowship and discussion. Father Francis, who has worked closely with Alvaro and Cata in spiritual life, also became the godfather of Clara, who was baptized here in the Abbey church. Brother Sixtus just returned from his fourth visit to Chile, reporting to the oblates of his time at the San José retreat facility in Patagonia, as well as his visits to the three Manquehue schools in Santiago. He noted the Manquehue presence at numerous schools of the English Benedictine Congregation, and the spiritual vitality they bring to these communities. The regular presence here of the Manquehue group, even little Clara cooing in the distance, has been a true grace for the monastic practice of the Divine Office. Several faculty members have also traveled to Chile, learning more about the Manquehue Movement and its approach to education and formation, engaging more deeply in lectio divina.
- Thank you, Portsmouth Abbey, for all what you have given me. Thank you for receiving me and letting me be part of this community. Thank you for letting me be a witness of a living community that wants to be closer to God. Thank you for being open to the Spirit and joining Lectio Divina. Thank you for showing me once more that the Word of God is alive, and really transform the hearts of the people who encounter it. Thank you for letting me share with you the joy I have experienced in Lectio Divina, in being friends with God. And, especially, I thank God for bringing me here for these two years, for renewing my missionary vocation every day, for speaking to me so strongly in daily Mass, and for enabling me to witness a monastic community open to renewal, open to the Spirit. Thank you, God, for giving us Clarita in our mission time. We are taking back to Chile the best souvenir: each one of you will be always in our hearts.
  
  Catalina Quiroga
- Brother Sixtus, in addressing the oblates on Sunday, December 8, spoke of the impact upon him of his encounter with Manquehue: “Suffice it to say that I give credit to the movement for helping to nurture and solidify my vocation as a Benedictine monk, going as far back as Easter 2002. I mentioned their large number of oblates. There are celibate men oblates, who live together in a designated house, same thing for the celibate women oblates. There are also married oblates with families, one or both of the parents being deeply involved in the movement and its various works. I met with, prayed with and dined with many of them, and I promised to bring back to Portsmouth their special greetings and prayers for you, the oblates of Portsmouth Abbey.” The Movement’s English-language webpages summarize its spirituality: “As disciples of St Benedict, the oblates build their lives upon four pillars: the encounter with the Risen Christ in Scripture, through lectio divina; the Divine Office; community life according to the Rule; and working together in community.” We have certainly found Alvaro and Cata to be living examples in all four areas of this commitment.
- Cata Quiroga and Antonia Lopez Valdes
- It is difficult to summarize my Portsmouth Abbey experience in a few brief words. To be able to decide to come here had been difficult: there was always the unforeseen, or the thought that it was not the right time, or that I should have more training, etc. There was always something telling me it is not yet your time to go on this mission. But this year, after a retreat in Chile where they talked about the need for people for this mission to Portsmouth, I felt immediately called and said that I am going. I saw that this really was my moment, and so the next day I sent a letter explaining why I wanted to go and the call of God that I felt in that retreat, such a clear message. This time it was not difficult but easy, and I was given the opportunity to come to Portsmouth. This great dream of mine was about to come true.
  
  While here I discovered that throughout my life, the things I truly wanted to do have always come with more of a cost, but that God gives me twice as much through them. I am lucky, or I would say that I am favored by God: I came at the best moment of this mission, where I have been a witness to daily miracles. I feel blessed to be experiencing the fruits of what was seen distantly, years ago, by other missionaries. What is happening today with the lectio groups is historic. It is a gift to be able to witness the encounter of these young people with the Word. It is a gift to witness how each of them has grown in their friendship with God. I am thrilled to see the new leaders and the teachers of this community who have accepted the challenge of leading this ongoing mission with the lectio groups, because I know that they will ensure that the light of Christ, manifested in their word, never goes out at Portsmouth Abbey, through commitment and perseverance.
  
  I have felt very welcomed here, and have received a lot of love from everyone. I was able to be who I really am: I never felt judged, and I could freely transmit my experiences of faith. I have made great spiritual friendships thanks to the prayer with those who are part of the group community the lectio Group and community of monks! Thanks very much to all! I am leaving happy – and I will never forget this experience!
  
  Antonia Lopez Valdes
- Indeed, Benedictine life has been central in the Manquehue Movement since its inception. A monk of the Benedictine monastery of Las Condes in Santiago helped to guide its founder, José Manuel Eguiguren, through his own process of discernment, aided by lectio divina. Eguiguren visited several monasteries in England, notably Ampleforth Abbey, inaugurating a relationship with the English Benedictine Congregation that has only deepened with time. The three Manquehue schools, large k-12 day schools in metropolitan Santiago, administered primarily by oblates, integrate fully into the experience of students the practices of lectio divina, tutoria, and community service through participation in mission and service trips. In addition to having a presence at Portsmouth, Manquehue has helped nurture the spiritual life at several monastery schools in England, and has a close relationship with Saint Louis Abbey.
- Intentions offered up "as incense.";
  Cata with friends at Lectio Party
- As their two-year sojourn with us comes to an end, Cata and Alvaro can only marvel at all they have been able to witness in the community’s spiritual life, after what felt like a slow start. “It was difficult at the beginning, but we slowly entered into the community and began to deepen our relationships here,” Alvaro says. After feeling somewhat invisible, with the general flow of life going on around them and without them, the two began to familiarize themselves with the School’s schedule and culture, soon developing friendships with students, faculty, and monks. They are convinced that God has been and continues to be working strongly here. Since introducing lectio student leadership last year, beginning with just one single student lectio leader, Alvaro and Cata have seen that number grow to twenty in just one year. Word began to spread of the experience, and the ongoing efforts of the two Manquehue directors helped nurture that program. Lectio groups have begun to grow rapidly, as witnessed in the burgeoning “Lectio Parties,” and the increasingly well-attended retreats. “It reminds me of First Corinthians, where Paul speaks of the treasure in earthen vessels. We did not see clearly what we had,” Alvaro notes. But the growth comes from God: “It was not a well-formulated strategic plan,” he demurs. This March, seven of the student leaders will join the new faculty leaders of lectio, the Fishers and the McQuillans, on a trip to the Manquehue San José community in Patagonia, Chile, to further support this spiritual practice. “I think lectio has become important for many students now,” Alvaro says. “It provides them with an important space that they need. There is a clear openness to God that it reveals.” He and Cata have simply supplied the “perseverance” and “just being there,” two critical ingredients in enabling this initiative to take root and grow. They see other places in student life where lectio and tutoria, a critical element in Manquehue community life that involves mentoring and accompaniment, can flourish – such as with prefects and other leadership roles, to foster relationships rooted in the gospel.
- The monastery has remained the core feature in Cata and Alvaro’s experience of faith and of community here. “Everything comes from there, really,” Alvaro remarks. “We pray the Divine Office and join for Mass, and also say the office in our own house; we join them each week for Sunday dinner: they have truly made us part of their community.” Father Michael Brunner’s arrival was particularly important for the Chilean community, as he is so familiar with Manquehue and its culture. Fr. Francis and Br. Sixtus as well have a lengthy history of involvement with Manquehue programs, both within the Priory School and through visits to Chile. Alvaro notes that the two have been here in what has been a sensitive and vulnerable time for the monastic community, with a transition in leadership, the arrival of St. Louis monks, and the uncertainties of the future. “Today, we feel like the monastery is family. We have felt privileged to be present, to witness how God is working in this community.”
  
  What is next for the two? They remain open to filling in the details of their respective assignments back home, though it seems clear that they will be situated in Santiago, in one of the three Manquehue schools. And their departure is not the only one we will have to face, as we will soon have additional turnover in our Manquehue presence. Antonia Lopez Valdes, who has been with us for most of the fall, sharing in Alvaro and Cata’s work, will depart soon. She has quickly become a popular presence with our students, even helping to lead a Zumba class on the weekends. She has helped to share with the growing numbers of students involved in lectio and other spiritual life programs. While we sadly say farewell to Antonia, we will also see the arrival of new members, with the injection of a fresh group of young men for the remainder of the School’s winter term. Returning this week are Matías Echeverría and Raimundo Zunino, who were in residence in 2016 and 2015, respectively. They will lead the group which will arrive in full at the beginning of January. The Portsmouth community looks forward to this new group, while lamenting the departure of our special friends – in hope and in prayer that the fellowship that has so greatly deepened over the past two years will only continue to flourish.
- Lectio party!