I love being a monk. The organic wholeness of life at Portsmouth Abbey continuously enthralls me.
As a lay person, my life was divided into family and work. I was married for twenty five years and have two daughters: Lisa and Michaela. In 1970, I earned a PhD in Chemistry from Providence College and worked at Ciba-Geigy Corporation, an international chemical/pharmaceutical firm. Over the next twenty years, I held a variety of positions until retirement as a Corporate Director of Environmental Technology in 1991.
I entered the monastery forty minutes after I left work on that last day.
As a monk, life unfolds daily in a natural rhythm beginning with communal prayer, spiritual reading, Mass, and teaching. The best part about being a teacher at Portsmouth Abbey School is that I finally realized my job here is simply to love the students and let them share their joy of discovery of science with me. I love the students like a grandparent; I love to see them come, and I love to see them go… and when they are away, I miss them.
Here are some quotations that best describe my philosophy of life:
“Lord Jesus, call me to your service, and give me the grace to say yes.”
My daily Prayer at the Elevation of the Body and Blood at Mass
“The Audacity of Humility is being the first to say, ‘I Love You’.”
Theophane the Monk, O.C.S.O.
READ ARTICLE by Br. Francis on Faith and Science