Tag: Portsmouth Abbey

Portsmouth monks talk about their Lourdes Grotto

Portsmouth CofA.jpegThe month of October is devoted to the theme of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The Rosary is the official prayer for the Year of Faith. As Pope Benedict recently said, “I would like to suggest to everyone to renew the prayer of the Rosary in the upcoming Year of Faith. With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ.”

On May 4, 2012, Abbot Caedmon, the religious superior and chancellor of Portsmouth Abbey and Portsmouth Abbey School dedicated the new shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. I wrote a post on it, “Portsmouth Abbey Monks Dedicate Lourdes Grotto.”
The Portsmouth Abbey folks have finally produced a beautiful background video on the meaning of the Grotto for the monastic community, the school and the greater Catholic community. “The Grotto at Portsmouth Abbey” may be watched here. The video is the fruit of Jamie Macguire with the assistance of several monks. It’s well done, and informative.
This is the first of many good things to come from Portsmouth Abbey and School in light of the Year of Faith.
May Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of the Rosary, pray for Portsmouth Abbey and for us.

Modern Science, Ancient Faith: Portsmouth Institute set

pi-2011-logo.jpgThe Portsmouth Institute is set to begin its third year of work from June 22-24, 2012, with the theme of “Modern Science, Ancient Faith.” The Institute is located at Portsmouth Abbey and School (Portsmouth, RI).

The speakers include Rt. Rev. Dom James Wiseman (St. Anselm’s Abbey, Washington, DC), R. Dom Paschal Scotti (Portsmouth Abbey), William Dembski, John Haught, Kenneth Miller, B. Joseph Semmes, Michael Ruse, Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP.
Prayer, fraternity and time to think are hallmarks of the Portsmouth Institute. Situated at the beautiful Portsmouth Abbey on the Narrangansett Bay, who could not love expanding one’s thinking on faith and science.
Visit the website noted above for more information of the conference, the Abbey and School.
Previous Institutes:
2009 The Catholic William F. Buckley, Jr.
2010 Newman & the Intellectual Tradition
2011 The Catholic Shakespeare?
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Portsmouth Abbey monks dedicate Lourdes Grotto

Magnificat, anima mea Dominum!

Caedmon Holmes blesses Grotto.jpg

Earlier today my friend Peter and I journeyed to Portsmouth Abbey and School for the blessing of the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto.  An outdoor shrine to dedicated to the Virgin Mary who appeared in Lourdes France in the 19th century. Abbot Caedmon led the blessing and School choir sang the traditional hymns to Our Lady.
Abbot Caedmon drew our attention to the humility of Mary appearing to Saint Bernadette asking her to tell the world of the need for prayer and penance. A message clearly consistent with the Gospel of Christ. It is Mary, the Mother of God, Mother of the Church who calls us to greater fidelity to her Son and Our Savior, Jesus. And so the Gospel and Our Lady of Lourdes, so with us today.
The Grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes on the west side of the Portsmouth Abbey campus is the generous gift of an anonymous former student and benefactor of Portsmouth. The generosity of this man is borne of his desire to make the Virgin Mary of Lourdes known and to inspire among those connected with Portsmouth the enduring commitment of faith, reason and service for one’s salvation and the salvation of the world. A significant example of this witness is that the Abbey School, for the last 34 years, has joined with the Ampleforth Abbey Pilgrimage (England) for a service to trip to assist the sick on pilgrimage seeking a divine healing and cure at the great Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France in July.
The stone for the Grotto was harvested from the Abbey property (as was the stone used for the Abbey Church) and a local landscaping crew did the labor. Benedictine Brother Joseph contributed his expertise to the project.

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Saint John the Evangelist

St John on Pathmos ACano.jpgToday, the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of the Beloved disciple, Saint John the Evangelist. As you know, John is the great theologian, perhaps you might say after Saint Paul, of Jesus. His Gospel is a superb love story.

At dinner tonight Abbot Caedmon of Portsmouth Abbey blessed wine. It was a wonderful experience to hear the prayers used and a churchman pointing to a significant Catholic sacramentality that’s not often seen today.

Saint Gregory the Great

Gregory the Great Matthew Aldreman.jpgFor Gregory the Great, a hinge figure between the ancient world — the Senate of Rome last met while Gregory was the city’s bishop — a hinge between the ancient world and the grand experiment called Christendom, for Gregory this awareness that to look upon the face of Christ brought knowledge of God inspired an extensive exploration of Scripture to discern how God would have us live, how the Church and its leaders could best serve those seeking to know Christ Jesus and the Father. Since rightful authority comes from God, Gregory reasoned, its exercise must ever include a pastoral intent.

 

 

Father James Flint, OSB

Saint Procopius Abbey

3 September 2011

 

 

 

 

Let us pray for the Benedictine monks of Portsmouth Abbey, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on this their abbey’s patronal feast day. May God prosper the work of their hands!

 

You may also be interested in the 2010 blog post that has a hymn to Saint Gregory the Great by J. Michael Thompson. 

Portsmouth Abbey Monks face future with internet help

Portsmouth Monks 2011.jpgBenedictine monasticism has a beautiful way of adapting, in a sensitive and intelligent way, to the times. Being contemporaneous doesn’t mean trendy. It means, in my mind, taking seriously the fact of the Incarnation: that in all things God may be glorified. Pope Benedict has been advocating the prudent use of social media, a point for this blog!

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Visiting Portsmouth Abbey

Abbey church & lawn.JPGThis past week I spent it visiting friends at Portsmouth Abbey. Savoring the graces of Easter was an important part of my desire to be away from that which is “normal”  plus visiting friends who I haven’t seen in a while was refreshing. There are 13 monks resident.

Portsmouth is a monastery of Benedictine monks under the patronage of Saint Gregory the Great. The abbey has been in Portsmouth, Rhode Island since 1926 located 7 miles north of Newport and 20 minutes south of Fall River on Narragansett Bay. The location is beautiful and for me, quintessentially “New England.” Among many things the abbey is famous for historically being populated by monks who converted to Catholicism and for the school the monks run, Portsmouth Abbey School.

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The Portsmouth Institute announces inaugural conference “The Catholic William F. Buckley Jr.”

On the feast of Saint Scholastica (February 10th), The Portsmouth Institute was launched.

 

“The Portsmouth Institute is a summer conference, study, recreation and retreat center for Catholic intellectuals, scholars and all those who are interested in questions pertaining to Catholic leadership, life and service in the 21st century.”

 


Portsmouth abbey school.jpgWhat is labeled as “America‘s Premiere Catholic Boarding School” a center for summer study has been founded to explore the relevant matters pertaining to Catholic life in 21st century. Akin to what Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Msgr. Luigi Giussani and Pope Benedict XVI and other like-minded intellectuals would say: faith broadens reason. This Institute envisions a comprehensive look at Catholicism from many vantage points that will appeal to scholars interested in Catholic faith and life. As you would expect, the Institute will engage faith and reason by engaging experts in the fields of spirituality, theology, history, science, the arts, politics, sociology as well as other aspects of contemporary society.

 


Portsmouth Abbey.jpgThe Institute’s webpage indicates that

 

Initial funding for The Portsmouth Institute has been established with generous contributions from National Review Institute, the William E. Simon Foundation, the Healey Family Foundation and other generous alumni and friends.  Accepting the role of director is Jamie MacGuire, Senior Development Officer of the Portsmouth Abbey School and 1970 graduate of The Portsmouth Abbey School.

 

The Portsmouth Institute will feature leadership and participation by Portsmouth Abbey’s resident Benedictine monks and faculty of the Portsmouth Abbey School. Institute programs are designed to offer attendees frequent opportunities for informal discussion, as well as access to recreational opportunities on the School’s campus at Carnegie Abbey, and in nearby Newport.  In keeping with its mission, the Institute’s yearly sessions will also provide opportunities for attendance at Mass, the Divine Office and “mini-Retreat” sessions centered around the Abbey’s landmark Church of St. Gregory the Great.

 

The Institute’s inaugural conference will be “The Catholic William F. Buckley Jr.: In Gratitude” June 18-21, 2009 at the Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth, Rhode Island.