Bishop Joseph at the Monastery; Novices/Junior Monks

Bishop Joseph is 90 years old. He was bishop of Portland, Maine, from 1989 until 2004, after which he returned to the monastery, where he is now the second oldest monk. Father Cecil, also 90, is a couple of months older. When I visited last summer they were celebrating the 70th anniversary of their taking their first vows.

Here is a picture of Fr. Cecil, l., and Bishop Joseph, r., at a lunch in honor of the new novice last summer.

When I visited in 2014, I learned that Bishop Joseph  was master of novices, which I thought was wonderful, both because he was still capable of doing the job of training the newest members of the community and because they would be learning from the depth of tradition there. (A couple of years later Father Peter, who has been around since 1959, took over, and last year, Father Anselm, who joined in 1998 became both prior and novice master.)

Bishop Joseph has been slowing up over the past few years. Father Cecil can still walk unaided but uses a device he can sit on to go more than short distances, and has done so for several years. Bishop Joseph walked with a cane for the past several years, but now he uses a walker. This presents a problem in the refectory, where the food is served buffet style. It would not be possible for him to carry dishes while holding on to the walker. But the problem was easily solved, as I saw at dinner the first evening of my visit this month. Brother Titus, one of the two men who became novices last January, takes a plate and accompanies him along the buffet line, putting what he wants on the plate. When the bishop is seated with his food at the abbot's table, Brother Titus goes back and gets his own food.

Brother Titus is at the far left in this photo. The others, from left, are brothers Aloysius, who had taken first vows a few days earlier, Basil, who had become a novice that morning, Francis, in vows for three years, and Dunstan, who had become a novice with Titus six months earlier.

Titus, far right at haustus. The others are, l.-r., a guest, Brother Basil, and Abbot Mark.

At other times I noticed Brother Titus accompanying the bishop as he was walking. At breakfast, brother Titus arrived with Bishop Joseph and helped him get his meal as usual, but he finished and left before the bishop had finished. The custom at breakfast is that the monks carry their dishes back to the kitchen when they are finished. (At lunch and dinner, they move them to the edge of the table for the kitchen staff to remove after the meal.) Since bishop Joseph wouldn't be able to bus his dishes, when other monks were finished, they would go and get any dishes he was finished with and take them, along with their own, to the kitchen. On my second and third mornings there, I was pleased to be able to perform this service when I had finished my breakfast.

It is an example of true brotherhood that the monks support one another in this way.


I'm sure I've mentioned my icon giving before. It began with my visit in June 2014, when I learned that then-brother, now Father, Stephen would take his final vows in July, and the novices Paul and Ignatius would take simple vows then. I managed to get icons of their three patron saints and bring them to the vow taking. Subsequently, I gave icons to brothers Francis (2015) and Aloysius (2017) when they took their first vows. In anticipation of Titus and Duncan's taking vows in January, I ordered an icon for each of them. The icon of St. Titus was delivered on December 10, the day before my visit, and the one of St. Dunstan is now in the hands of USPS, who promise delivery by 8:00 p.m., December 24. When I got to the monastery there was a note on the bulletin board (soon removed) congratulating the two novices on their acceptance into vows, which they would take on January 15. I'm not planning to trek up there for the event, but I have plenty of time to mail the icons.


As always, click the photos to enlarge.

A Visit to the Monastery in Advent

I thought it would be interesting to see what things were like during Advent, so I scheduled a three-day visit — from the afternoon of Tuesday, December 11 through the afternoon of Friday, the 14th.
Things were not very different from the way they were during previous visits. Of course, it was colder than during visits during other seasons, but the biggest difference wasn't because it was Advent, but because the college was in session.

When the college is not in session — as was the case during most of my visits — on weekdays the community Mass is at 8:30 a.m. and Vespers is in the late afternoon, followed by dinner and recreation, with Compline at 7:30. But when the college is in session — as was the case this time — Mass is in the late afternoon, with Vespers at 7:05, following dinner and recreation. Compline is prayed privately. This schedule accommodates monks who have jobs in the college as well as students who would find the afternoon a more convenient time for Mass that the morning. But I'm sorry to be unable to pray Compline in choir with the community.

There were two things that were different specifically because it was Advent: there were some special antiphons, hymns, and prayers for the Advent season; and there was an Advent wreath in the refectory in front of the Abbot's table.

(My place at table is visible between the two candles on the left. The abbot's table is offscreen to the right, at right angle to the tables pictured here.)

(Looking from my place toward refectory door. Abbot's table to the left. The retired abbot, the prior, and the subprior also sit there.)

Apart from those differences, the routine was indistinguishable from how it had been during my earlier visits.

Alumni Hall, the oldest, and iconic, building, had window candles and a lighted wreath.

On Thursday, five students from the college came for an overnight visit. I would have liked to meet them during recreation, but the abbot thought that I wanted to play bridge with the old monks and insisted that I take his place at that table.

I had brought several books: among others Jan Sobieski: The King Who Saved Europe, by Miltiades Varvounis, on my Kindle reader; Wrestling with God, by Richard Rolheiser; and most importantly The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity, by Matthew Kelly. If I read the first chapter of the Kelly book on Tuesday evening, five chapters on Wednesday and another five on Thursday, there would be four left for Friday. It was a very good book and it was easy to follow that program. On Friday morning it occurred to me (or as the Evangelicals would say, "The Lord told me") that I should share the book with the students. So while we were waiting for Midday Prayer to begin, I gave it to one of the students and asked him to share it with the others.

I had already read more than half of the book on Jan Sobieski, and I finished it during my time there. But I only read one chapter of the book by Rolheiser.

When I wasn't praying, reading, eating, or recreating, I had time to take pictures, to stroll around, and to visit the campus bookstore, and to drive to a nearby Market Basket and get a couple of gift cards which had been requested for my parish's giving tree. Here are a couple of photos of the campus flags (U.S., N.H., and college) at half mast, presumably in honor of President Bush.

 (Alumni Hall in background.)

(Library in background.)

I had brought my private signal with me,

(The swan and crescent and the colors black and white come from a family coat of arms, the fouled anchor represents race committee, and the "gout de sang" (red drop) is from the St. Anselm coat of arms.)

 and at recreation on Tuesday evening I showed it it Brother Ignatius — who took final vows last summer — and to several of the older monks. Father Peter was especially intrigued.

When I was almost ready to leave, after lunch on Friday, I had a conversation with Brother Ignatius. I told him what I had done during this visit, and we looked forward to seeing each other on my next visit, probably next summer.

I recommend clicking on the pictures to enlarge them.