Br. Benedict Maria

Brother Benedict Maria has requested to make solemn vows with the Portsmouth Abbey monastic community, a request that has been accepted joyfully, with preparations underway. The great Solemnity of All Saints, November 1, 2021, marks the date of his complete entry into monastic life. We joyfully await the occasion: please save the date and keep Brother Benedict and the monastic community in prayer, and please join us for this Mass if you are able.

The Mass of Solemn Profession is a moving liturgy, eliciting the core elements of monastic life. The declarations of the candidate are stark and uncompromising: “I ask for perseverance in God’s service and in this monastic community all the days of my life.” The examination of the candidate by the Superior similarly probes the heart with a direct clarity, asking if the candidate is “resolved to unite yourself to God by the bond of life-long profession,” to “commit yourself to him with all your heart.” The profession of solemn vows expresses a commitment to the “constant search for God in the monastic life, according to the Rule of our Holy Father Benedict.” It demands that the monk “live in obedience, following Christ who came to live in obedience to the Father’s will.” It challenges the candidate to declare his promise, “in the presence of God and his saints” to the three fundamental pillars of Benedictine life: “Stability, Conversatio Morum, and Obedience.”  

The solemnity of the words of the examination and the promise are matched by the solemnity of the actions of the service. The document of profession is read out loud by the candidate, the document is signed by hand and placed on the altar, where it is to remain for the duration of the Mass. The professing monk offers in chant the triple repetition of the verse, “Suscipe me”: “Uphold me, Lord, according to your promise, and I shall live, and do not bring to nothing all my hope.” The monastic community joins him in completing the chant with the doxological “Glory to God.” The liturgy continues beautifully, incorporating an extensive litany as the candidate lies prostrate before the altar, covered in a funeral pall: death to the old self, and the opening of the promise of new life. The appeal for prayers promises yet greater significance on the day on which we remember All Saints. 

The Mass of Solemn Profession will be celebrated on November 1, 2021, at 8:30am, in the Church of St. Gregory the Great, with the whole School and many guests present. It is followed by a reception in the Winter Garden.