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MICHAELMAS 2018 / CSL/OSB NEWSLETTER 1

MUSINGS OF THE ABBOT

SOME of you know that I am in love with JohnDonne. Well, not with him (he’s been dead 350

years) but his poetry, sermons and prayers. I wasfirst introduced to his writing in 10th grade by mybeloved English teacher, Sr. Mercedes, who nowlives in the back of my brain and is constantly cor-recting my grammar. It was around that same timethat I met George Herbert and Robert Herrick, allof them priest poets, and I first encountered themetaphysical conceit. I was fascinated by how thejuxtaposition of unlikely elements could make ideas

jump out of writings in 17th century English. I continued study in collegewith a gifted professor of 17th century literaturewho assigned us only one paper in the semester – a bibliographical study(a lot of work), in which I studied in detail a relatively minor poem called“The Canonization.” It is one of Donne’s youthful love poems in which hefinds himself and his lover “…canonized by our love.” I was really hooked.

Donne’s poetry of his youth is rich in images of love and physical attrac-tion. His writing of later years, after he became an Anglican priest andDean of St. Paul’s London, takes all the intensity of his love poetry intothe realm of religion and Anglican spirituality, expressing his deep beliefin the centrality of the Incarnation and the personal, communal and recip-rocal love of the God become human. In an attempt to deal with the cur-rent “hurly-burly” of life in our society and in the world of the 21st century,I have begun to use his Holy Sonnets for Lectio. Here’s one of my fa-vorites (spelling and punctuation are original)

Batter my heart, three person’d God; for, youAs yet but knocke, breathe, shine and seeke to mend;That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow mee, and bendYour force, to break, blowe, burn and make me new.I, like a usurpt towne, to another due,Labor to admit you, but Oh, to no end,Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defendBut is captiv’d, and proves weake or untrue.Yet dearely I love you, and would be loved faine.But am betroth’d unto your enemie:Divorce mee, untie, or break that knot againe,Take mee to you, imprison mee, for IExcept you enthrall mee, never shall be free,Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

I took these thoughts to my spiritual director. We discussed how allpervasive in Anglican thought is the Incarnation. We read it intensely in

MICHAELMAS 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

From the Abbot - P. 1

John Donne Tribute - P 2

Bishop Bill’s Letter - P. 3

Chaplain Sid’s Letter - P. 4

Convocation Notes - P. 6

Convocation Photos - P. 7

Convention Reflections - P. 8

Religious LifeConference - P. 10

Companions of Our Ladyand St. Mungo - P. 11

The Angelus - P. 12

Acknowledgements - P. 13

VALUE NOTHING WHATEVER ABOVE CHRIST HIMSELF

CARITAS CHRISTIA Newsletter from the COMPANIONS OF ST. LUKE / ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT

(continued on next page)

2 CSL/OSB NEWSLETTER / MICHAELMAS 2018

Evelyn Underhill’s The School of Charity (which we arereading in my parish at Wednesday Evening Prayer).I asked my S.D. how to integrate these things in myattempts to cope with the inconstancy and upheavalin the public discourse as well as (what seems to bebecoming) life with more actual and threatened vio-lence and hate-filled speech. She suggested that Iturn to include another metaphysical poet, GeorgeHerbert, who gave us Love Bade Me Welcome. Here itis for your consideration.

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slackFrom my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,If I lack’d anything.

A guest, I answered, worthy to be here:Love said, You shall be he.

I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,I cannot look on thee.

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shameGo where it doth deserve.

And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?My dear, then I will serve.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:So I did sit and eat.

Here, then, are two theological walking sticks thatcan help us navigate the current painfully uneventerrain of modern life on a path that , to borrowfrom St. Benedict, seems not just narrow but rocky,and full of spiritual stumbling blocks. Let’s cling tobeauty and truth (as in these two poems) to help usstay on the course we have all undertaken to be onein faith, in love of Christ, and in love of one another.

— Benedicite Dominum,Abbot Basil

Many years ago when I was employed as staff artistfor the Anglican Digest at Hillspeak, Eureka Springs,Arkansas, a project was presented for layout andillustration one day by Fr. Foland, the manager andfounder. It turned out to be a little bookletfeaturing someone I knew little about at the time —John Donne. The project involved layout and illus-trations for an excerpt from Donne’s prayer beforea sermon he preached at the commemoration ofLady Magdalen Denvers on July 1, 1627. Like AbbotBasil, I became a lover also.

Herewith are the booklet’s cover and severalpage spreads.

— Br. Thomas Anthony

PS: You might want to google“setting byDavid Hurd of Love Bade me Welcome.”

(MUSINGS OF THE ABBOT, continued) Another Tribute toJohn Donne


Letter from ourEpiscopal VisitorThe Rt. Rev. William Franklin

Dear Friends,

I write as summer is startingto turn into fall and we awaitthe change of seasons.Change is on my mind thesedays.

Next April, as many of youknow, I will retire after sevenyears as the bishop of theDiocese of Western NewYork. (I will continue to beyour visitor, and I look for-

ward to that as I dream about what “life after being abishop” will look like.)

Ordinarily my diocese would be deep in theprocess of preparing to elect a new bishop: inter-viewing candidates, announcing a slate, conductingquestion-and-answer sessions around the diocese,then the election and consecration. But that’s notwhat is happening now.

Instead, my diocese and our neighboring dioceseof Northwestern Pennsylvania are embarking on afirst-of-its-kind experiment that we hope will be amodel to other dioceses.

Our proposal is that at our joint diocesan conven-tion in October -- itself a first! -- Western New Yorkwill elect the Right Rev. Sean Rowe, bishop of North-western Pennsylvania, as bishop provisional of West-ern New York for five years.

We are taking this unusual step as we try to discernhow a diocese should be organized to do the bestjob of spreading the Good News of Jesus. The onething we do know is that the way we’ve been doingthings isn’t the way we need to do things in the fu-ture. We think we can achieve savings in administra-tive costs and greater impact in mission and ministryas we work together.

For several years now our two dioceses have beensharing some operations and resources. We have ajoint diaconal formation process and a shared boardof examining chaplains. We have just started toshare staff to handle transition ministry and discipli-nary matters.

Our proposal suggests “one bishop for two dioce-ses.” Each diocese will retain its cathedral. BishopRowe will divide his time between the two dioceses(the offices are about 90 minutes apart). We don’tknow where this experiment will end: maybe in themerger of the two dioceses, maybe not, maybe insome other form of cooperation that we can’t imag-ine yet.

Bishop Rowe and I could hardly be more differ-ent. I am 71 years old, the oldest member of theHouse of Bishops, and as you all know, an Anglo-Catholic church historian. Sean is 43, the youngestmember of the House, and a low-church expert inadaptive change. Our unlikely friendship was forgedin 2015 at Kanuga, the Episcopal camp and confer-ence center in Western North Carolina, where webegan to talk about the future of the church. We re-alized that we had a very similar vision. Even thoughI’m a historian, I’m pretty radical about wanting todo different things.

What Bishop Rowe and I are proposing to our twodioceses is a model we hope will be useful to the restof the church. Many dioceses face the same chal-lenges we do.

We’re trying to do church in a way that allows theEpiscopal Church to survive and flourish in a geo-graphic area where we’ve had challenges – demo-graphic and cultural challenges, the loss of heavyindustry, the loss of population, tough economictimes. Just as the City of Buffalo has re-invented it-self as a center of education, medical care and entre-preneurship, so our dioceses need to re-inventourselves to serve the world in new ways that are ap-propriate and sustainable given our resources andour aspirations.

At General Convention last summer, Bishop Rowetold the House of Bishops, “This is not a move tosave an institution. This is not about diocesan viabil-ity. In fact, I don’t like that word. Even the smallestof places might be viable. What this is about is what’sbest for the mission of the church in our region andthe mission of God.”

So it’s a time of change in our two dioceses. Pleasekeep us in your prayers as we approach our jointdiocesan convention. We have had some pushbackand some skeptical questioning. Those are good andhealthy and we’ve encouraged them. We want the

(continued on page 4)


people of both dioceses to make the right decisionfor the future of the mission of the Gospel.

All this talk of change should come as no surpriseto you who are part of the New Monasticism move-ment. Benedict himself might at first be surprised byhow you are living out your commitment: in theworld, not cloistered; in new kinds of communities;as lay persons as well as clergy. Yet you have madedeep commitment to hospitality; engagement withthe poor; faithful, contemplative spiritual lives anddiscipline; and passionate involvement in healingthe broken world we live in. Those are at the heartof Benedictine spirituality.

You share the same goals that we do in Northwest-ern Pennsylvania and Western New York: to find newways to serve God and each other in these times. It’sthe strengths of our past that inspire us to create afuture in which we offer new life and witness in theworld. Let’s keep each other in prayer as we moveinto exciting days of change.

— Bishop Bill

PS: My thanks to Episcopal News Service for material usedin this column.

From our ChaplainThe Rev. Sidney Breese

Our Gospel readings dur-ing the summer have beenfrom John. Week afterweek we have heard Jesusspeak of himself as thebread of life. It all followsthe narrative of the feed-ing of the 5,000. I amsharing a reflection of allof this. It was originally asermon I preached severalyears ago. SSB

Have you ever noticed that wherever food is present,Jesus is there? As often as he was praying, he wassharing food. Late in his ministry, he even identifiedhimself with bread and wine – staples in the Mediter-ranean diet, then as now.

Food: It nourishes, brings pleasure and comfort, fillsus up – sometimes makes us too full.Without food, we are cranky, confused. We mightlose our way, become disoriented, lose balance.Food: It’s basic, necessary, essential. When the Is-raelites wandered in the wilderness, they were givenmanna for food: nothing fancy, just filling. The peo-ple became so bored eating manna day after daythat they complained to God; and yet, they were fed.

Today’s gospel tells another story of food – lots offood. There is so much food, that they have someleft over! This isn’t a banquet like the wedding ofCana story in John’s gospel, but food to tide oneover, food for a journey, simple food: bread and fish.This isn’t even a meal, really. It is food to just get by.The food of our gospel story is basic fill-the-hole-in-your-stomach food, something to take the edge off,something for survival.

The people on that hillside long ago were notfriends and family gathered for an occasion, somuch as people who wandered away from home,seeking Jesus. We know the story as “The Feeding ofthe 5,000,” one of the miracles of Jesus. Those of useither enlightened or listening closely know that itwas actually many more than 5,000: the count wastaken of men, “besides women and children.” Howmany would that be altogether, do you think? So,did it really happen as the Gospels record? Where


(LETTER FROM THE BISHOP continued)


did the food come from? What did they do with the12 baskets of leftovers? Questions like these are sooften the focus of discussion of this story. But is thiseven what the story is about?

There are many ideas about this story, many theoriesabout this, from the conviction that it was an out-right miracle of Jesus producing multiple and more-than-sufficient fishes and loaves, to the idea that thepeople produced the food from their satchels whenprodded to share. There is really no way to know.But this may not be the point of the story. And how-ever it happened, is this really a story about food?

Consider again the story we have of Jesus fromMatthew’s gospel: “Jesus withdrew in a boat to alonely place apart.” What we are told earlier in thereading is that he was in a boat, withdrawing, be-cause he had just learned of John’s death. John, hiscousin, John who had baptized him. It wasn’t thebest of times for Jesus. He was trying to get a mo-ment of peace. And according to the gospel, whenthe crowds heard that he was near, that he was draw-ing apart, “they followed him on foot from thetowns.” So he fed the crowds, and after he dismissedthe people, he again went off by himself. He set outto do one thing: to get some space and some timeaway. This proved to be difficult for him, as we readin the story.

Is this familiar to you? Rest, time apart, a few min-utes alone, a break, some space – it’s something thatwe all seek at the end of a busy day, at the close of atiring week. Jesus was interrupted and responded,and then went on with what he was doing. We allrecognize this dynamic. People with demandingjobs, family obligations, busy retirements, social re-sponsibilities – this dynamic is likely familiar to all ofus. We get involved in what we’re doing, and wedon’t want to be interrupted or distracted, and so weignore what is nudging us for attention.

Several years back there was a series of televisioncommercials sponsored by the Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons. There wasone in particular which showed different scenes ofchildren wanting attention: “Look what I made inschool today!” and “I brought you flowers!” Therewas another one of a dog wanting attention fromfamily members, and people wanting attention andto spend time with others. In each case, people weredistracted, busy, “un-interruptable.” In each in-stance, the one seeking attention and time was

“filled with joy and wonder in all God’s works,” whatwe pray for as a gift for the newly baptized. In eachcase, the one seeking attention is ignored, put off.In each case, it is an opportunity for ministry, forwitness to the loving grace of God, missed. This is,perhaps, one of the most challenging aspects of life:the constant interruptions and inconvenience of an-swering a call and still trying to get anything done.

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I didn’t getanything done today”? Think, though: Didn’t yousee some people, make some phone calls, run an er-rand, send an email? Even within the interruptionsthere can be interruptions: You’re in a hurry to getout of the house, and you can’t find your keys; youfind your keys, lock the door, and the telephonerings; as you’re rushing to your meeting, you realizethat the car is out of gas, and then you rememberthat you have no money because you forgot to stopby the bank. And so it goes. Have you ever had anexperience like that? Such moments leave us vulner-able to a breaking-in of the Holy Spirit. Each point isa chance to find something lost, to greet a stranger,to learn something new. In short, it is an opportu-nity for grace, a chance to bear witness to the Christin our midst, with all that that means.

Jesus withdrew and was constantly interrupted bypeople clamoring for attention: Teach us! Heal us!Give us food! Prove yourself! Lest you be tempted tothink of ministry as limited to ordained ministry;parents with children are used to being asked for at-tention, yes? You might be driving somewhere andstop to loan jumper cables or walking down the aisleat the grocery store you pick up a dropped box ofcereal, return lost coupons or a shopping list. Astranger might ask you for directions as you’reheaded back to your office, or like my recent trip toOregon, the passenger next to me on an airplane isnervous about flying when I had hoped to settle infor a nap. These are the kinds of experiences com-mon to all of us. A compassionate response, a help-ful effort, ministry, happens in the interruptions.

You may like it, you may not – you probably experi-ence a bit of each– but be on the lookout for suchinterruptions, because there may be something im-portant happening. We tend to think of interrup-tions as limited opportunities, small moments, butlike the tiny mustard seed of the parables, suchinterruptions can grow into something we neverimagined.


(CHAPLAIN SID, continued)


The gospel parables – the mustard seed, the pearl ofgreat price, and so on – all these are stories of God’sabundance. So also is this story of feeding many.Jesus sought time apart, time for himself, quiet time.He was interrupted. And his response? With graceand care, he healed the sick, and he somehow foundfood for the hungry. However it happened, all werefed. Five thousand men – not counting women andchildren, of course! The faithful response to inter-ruption models Jesus in a plentitude of grace. Yes,the story is about food. Consider, though: It is alsoabout interruption, about blessing, about goodwill,about possibility. Jesus fed not only their bodies, buttheir spirits.

This is the message of our gospel story: Allow for in-terruptions as opportunities to show Christ in theworld. A joyous and generous response to a bother-some interruption is one of the great challenges –and opportunities – of the Christian life.

— Peace and blessings,Fr. Sid

Spring Convocation Notesby Sr. Martha Lamoy, OSB

ANYONE who has attended May Convocationknows it is usually a packed week. We share

Eucharist, Opus Dei, meals and fellowship. Thisyear we were able to slow things down a bit andhave more time to simply be with each other incommunity.

A key highlight for me is always greeting newmembers and rejoicing with others as they transi-tion, because our growth both in numbers and asmembers progress on their spiritual journeys are asign of the overall positive health of our community.

This year we received 3 new Postulants, clothed 2Novices, witnessed 6 members profess Annual Vowsand 2 profess Life Vows. We were also fortunate tohave our Bishop-Visitor, The Right ReverendWilliam Franklin, officiate and preach during the

Eucharistic celebrations for Profession of SolemnVows and Annual Vows.

As a community we discussed the ongoing chal-lenge of communications in a dispersed environ-ment. While there is no ideal solution that will meetthe needs of every member, some of the ideas andsuggestions that emerged include:

• Use of social media, including our public andprivate Facebook pages

• Use of the list-serve for discussions as well asprayer requests and informational messages

• More exploration of informal regional gatherings,especially connecting members who cannot traveldue to health concerns

• Use of online meeting platforms and toolsuch as Skype or Face Time so we can actually seeeach other

• Live-streaming parts of Convocation, in particularChapter

Formal minutes of Chapter will be distributedsoon, but here are some of the highlights:

• To reduce the number of meetings held duringConvocation and save time at Chapter, it was agreedthat all reports (Minutes/Prior/Treasurer/Finance,etc.) would be submitted 10 days before Convoca-tion with the expectation they will be read in ad-vance. Questions would be addressed at Chapterand the reports submitted for approval.

• 2 workgroups (temporary committees formed fora specific purpose then disbanded when tasks com-plete) are being formed: 1) A Tech workgroup to ex-plore ways to conduct meetings by video; and 2)Library workgroup for donated books, etc.

• Our financial position is strong. We have an in-vestment account with Charles Schwab. Progress isbeing made on the IRS issues. It was learned ouroriginal tax exemption was submitted for the wrongcategory, but we now know what to do to fix it—it just takes time because of IRS workload.

— Peace,Sister Martha

Upcoming Convocation Dates:• October 22 – 27, 2018• May 27 – June 1, 2019• October 21 – 26, 2019

(CHAPLAIN SID, continued from p.5)


A few glimpsesfrom the Spring2018 Convocationat ConceptionAbbey

The service ofSolemn Vows

(above & right)for Sister Kate

and Brother Peter.

Sr. Kate Maxwell, OSB (left) andBr. Peter de Franco, OSB (far right) shortlyafter making their Solemn Vows, joined byAbbot Basil Edwards, OSB (center).

Feeding the body in the Abbey cafeteria, and a gathering outsideSt. Joseph’s Hall before the next event of the day.


Iwas asked to share a few reflections of this year’sGeneral Convention. I felt really honored to rep-

resent the Companions of St Luke and have an op-portunity to tell people about our uniquecommunity. I was also excited to meet other broth-ers and sisters and learn about the different expres-sions of religious life in the Episcopal Church.

I volunteered to help man the NAECC (NationalAssociation of Episcopal Christian Communities)and CAROA (Conference of Anglican ReligiousOrder in the Americas) booth. I learned the com-bined booth was a recent development. I let themknow that I overwhelmingly endorsed that idea andI loved the banner about how religious life is at theheart of the church.

Additionally, I would like to let everyone knowthat even with an emergency delivery from Br.David, our tri-fold brochures ran out before the ex-hibition hall was closed. I noticed that people seemattracted to the idea of living a religious life outsideof a traditional community. I received a lot of headnods when I shared our community model.

Although I had to work during most of the con-vention, I was able to attend a few outside events. Ithink the most moving was the Saturday night Epis-copal Revival Worship. I never thought I would everus the words Episcopal and revival in the same sen-tence but what happened that evening was amazing.Oh, and if video surfaces of a Benedictine sisterdancing in a conga line, well let’s just say I gotcaught up in the moment.

There was also an Episcopal version of an altarcall and the prayer stations that surrounded thearena were a good twenty people deep for thelongest time. I was so moved by Bishop Curry’s ser-mon and the response I saw to his call for us tostand up and be Christians “that look like Jesus ofNazareth.”

As an example of what Bishop Curry was saying inhis sermon, I’d like to share how my church ex-pressed what it means to be a Christian in this age ofhatred and public vitriol. My church, St. David’sEpiscopal Church in downtown Austin, was one of

three places to be visited by the Westboro BaptistChurch on Sunday morning. It appears Westborohas a strong disagreement with what we as a nationalchurch represent and so they decided to protest twochurches and the convention center.

I was very proud to be a member of the EpiscopalChurch when I saw our response to the protestorsthat arrived that morn-ing. They prepared acounter protest whichconsisted of singinghymns and holdingsigns saying “Love isthe Way.”

I believe that forcesfor good were at workwhen the group setupon the corner thatfaces what looks likethe front entrance of the church. In reality, themain entrance is on the opposite side of the build-ing so that none of the parishioners or guests weresubjected to the protesters as they entered and ex-ited services. Thank you for all your prayers. Then,when Westboro moved on to the convention center,I guess they didn’t realize that everyone was scat-tered between churches and immigration centercounter-protests so that no one was actually at the

General Convention Reflections,and More

from Sr. Mary Magdalene Clarke, n/OSB

(continued on page 9


“Love must act as light must shine forth and fire must burn."

convention center when they arrived. When it wasall over, I had to do a quick look upwards and say,“Well played.”

Something I think worth mentioning; we hadsome counter protesters arrive that were not a partof our congregation. They were very vocal and a partof the group were some very vocal Trump supportersthat let the protesters know that their brand of dis-course was not welcome here. We were pleasantlysurprised by their support.

I was also able to attend an impromptu panelgathering to discuss religious life in the currenttimes. It was put together by the Rev. Shannon Pre-ston from The Good Shepard Episcopal Church in

(REFLECTIONS, and More, continued from p.8)

Partnerships for Sustainable Education

The Holy Cross School in South Africa has established a specialeducational program for its students, with the support of many friendsaround the world. The motto and logo were adapted from a quoteby the Order’s founder, Fr. James Otis Sargent Huntington, OHC.

downtown Austin. She is in charge of SpiritualFormation at Good Shepard and I learned from her(and wasn’t too surprised) that there is a lot ofinterest in what options are available for people whoare called to a deeper walk that may not includeHoly Orders. The discussion was open to anyonewho wished to attend and ask questions. I was grate-ful I could participate and share with others our wayof life.

In total, it was exciting to attend the conventionand empowering to see our church in action in theworld, and it was extra special to attend as a memberof this very special community.

— Sister Mary Magdalene


ON a snowy day in April, Abbot Basil, BrotherKenneth and I boarded flights from sepa-rate regions of the country to represent our

community at the 2018 joint *NAECC/CAROA Con-ference in Toronto, Canada. With delayed flights, wearrived too late for dinner and the opening meetingbut were warmly welcomed by our hosts at the Con-vent and Retreat Center for the Sisters of St. Johnthe Divine and graciously ushered to our rooms.Early each morning we met in pre-assigned groupsfor Lectio as we listened for where God was speakingto us in the morning reading. The groups were acombination of members from traditional religiousorders and Christian communities, one of severaloccasions where I witnessed the lessening of thedivide between members of NAECC and CAROA.

The central theme for this year’s conference was“Reclaiming Community and Recovering Presence.” Alter-nating between small and large group sessions weasked and answered questions ranging from the sim-ple “what should we know about your community”to the deeper question; what does it mean to be incommunion with others in an age where peoplechoose Twitter and Instagram and texting over inter-actions that have us sitting down looking another inthe eye to say “I am here for you”? As the pros and

cons of technology to reach a wider audience werediscussed we were asked to think about and discussthe statement “Technology is not the problem perse, the problem is our societal and personal vulnera-bility to it”. In essence, is our way of communicatingin a technological society keeping us from forming adeeper relationship with others?

A recommended book for us all to read was Click 2Save Reboot . Authored by Elizabeth Drescher it is apractical how to guide for leaders bridging digitalsocial media and parish ministry. We discussed theimportance of social media to help dispersed com-munities create and maintain connections amongstmembers who may only see each other once a yearat best, stressing the importance at the same time offostering connections in those spaces where we needto feel a part of something that goes beyond whatcomes across a computer screen or phone.

As we bid our farewells at the end of our time to-gether, we were asked to begin the work for nextyear’s conference which will focus on religious com-munities at the heart of the church. You are the heartof the church. You do this as vulnerable and humble peoplewho are struggling alongside everyone else. Ponder this;how will you witness to the Church about her heart?

— Sr. Susanna

* NAECC - National Association of Episcopal Christian Communities, CAROA - Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas

CONFERENCE OF RELIGIOUS ORDERSby Sr. Susanna Fronzuto,OSB


ings with Bishop Gregor, Bishop of Glasgow and Gal-loway, that we transfer our Vows to him and his suc-cessors. With the blessing of Abbot Basil and BishopBill we began the process here.

The Companions of Our Lady and St Mungo wasfounded on 12 May 2018 at Diocesan Synod and atthe Eucharist we restated our Vows to Bishop Gregorand we were formally accepted into the Companionsof Our Lady and St Mungo as its founders. Our Vowsand Constitution are held by Bishop Gregor and heis our Bishop Visitor. We have co-opted the Provostand Vice Provost of the Cathedral to be externaladvisors.

We have a Facebook page as part of getting knownin the wider community and shortly will also have awebsite. We have generated much interest consider-ing this is a ‘new animal’ for the Scottish EpiscopalChurch, some enquiries, and requests to visit andtalk at parish churches about the community and itsvision. Where all this may lead, who knows? We trustthat God is leading us in the right path, and we ap-preciate the prayers of our Benedictine Brothersand Sisters in CSL.

WE went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and theHoly Land, then we moved to Glasgow!

We had left the desert that is the Church in Englandand found a home in the Scottish Episcopal Churchat St Mary’s Cathedral. The Provost had been pray-ing for Benedictine Nuns and lo, he got what heprayed for!! The congregation were not sure whatto ‘make of us’ until they realised we were mostlynormal and approachable!

During the first year we grew into the cathedralcommunity and led a short course on “A Rule ofLife”. Whilst we were reflecting on content andleading the course we also reflected and discussedhow we wanted to be and how we could incorporateCSL into the Diocese or even Scotland. It becameclear that, as difficult and scary as that seemed, weneeded to found perhaps an offshoot ‘cell’ of CSLor even a new community, particularly since we feltwe needed more frequent contact with new mem-bers in the early stages.

It was agreed by Abbot Basil, Bishop Bill, and BishopGregor after some discussion and letters and meet-

The Companions of Our Lady and St. MungoSubmitted by Sr. Helena Barrett OSB andSr. Alison Joy Whybrow OSB

The Institution ofOur Lady and St. Mungoat Holy Trinity ScottishEpiscopal Church,Kilmarnock, on 12 May 2018.Bishop Gregor Duncan,Bishop of the Diocese ofGlasgow and Galloway,Provost of St. Mary’s EpiscopalCathedral, The Very Revd KelvinHoldsworth at lecturn,Sr Alison Joy Whybrow OSB andSr Helena Barrett OSB


FOR those among us who pray the Daily Officewith the online St. Bede Breviary, the Angelus is

included at the end of some of the liturgies. TheAngelus is a venerable devotional prayer focusing onthe Incarnation. A series of biblical antiphons cele-brate three moments of the Annunciation to theBlessed Virgin Mary with the Hail Mary placed aftereach set of antiphons as a means to meditate on thatverse. Some Anglo-Catholic churches will ring theirbells at 6 AM, 12 noon and 6 PM which are the tradi-tional hours to pray the Angelus. In some Benedic-tine communities, the Angelus is rung afterMorning Prayer, Noonday Prayer and Compline.

The origins of this devotional prayer are lostin history. According to a Wikopedia article, the An-gelus developed from a thirteenth century Francis-can practice of praying three Hail Mary’s atCompline while the bell was tolled. Monasterieswould ring a bell three times at Prime when monksand nuns would pray three Hail Mary’s. The bellwould also be rung at noon on Friday to call thefaithful to remember the Passion. These three timesof praying the Hail Mary became the three occa-sions to pray the Angelus. An earlier version of theprayer included a remembrance of the Resurrectionat dawn, of the Passion at noonday, when our Lordwas raised on the cross, and of the Annunciation atevening. The present focus on the Incarnationprayer seems to date to the 14th century.

When the Oxford Movement in England re-vived many of the pre-Reformation devotional prac-tices into the Anglican communion, the Angelus wasrestored to the devotional lives of many Anglicans.Archibald Campbell Knowles put together a devo-

tional manual in 1908 called The Practice of Reli-gion: A Short Manual of Instructions. He describesthe Angelus as “the memorial of the Incarnation.”He provides a theological reason for this prayer: “Inthe Mystery of the Incarnation we worship andadore Our Lord as God of God, we honour and rev-erence Saint Mary as 'Blessed among women.' In ho-nouring Mary, the Instrument of the Incarnation, wereally honour Christ, Who became Incarnate.”

Charles Gore, Bishop of Worcester, Birming-ham and Oxford and founder of the Community ofthe Resurrection, proposed that the Incarnation isthe identifying mystery which distinguishes the An-glican Church from other Christian churches. Hedevelops his thesis in his book, The Incarnation ofthe Son of God and in Lux Mundi, an edited collec-tion of essays by different authors on the Religion ofthe Incarnation. This theological focus of Anglican-ism on the Incarnation makes the Angelus a suitableprayer for Anglican monastics.

The triple pattern of the prayer can also pro-vide an opportunity to remember and recall thethree monastic vows. At the first antiphon, the refer-ence to the Holy Spirit can recall the vow of Conver-satio Morum. In his book, In the Unity of the HolySpirit, Dom Sighard Kleiner relates the practice ofthe monastic life, the heart of the vow of conversatiomorum, to the Holy Spirit’s impulse and inspiration.When praying Mary’s response to the angel’s greet-ing, the monastic vow of obedience comes to mind.Finally, in celebrating the Word taking on flesh, onecan recall the stability of the Word with creation andof monastic stability in a community. This dailypractice can refresh one’s monastic commitment,ask the Mother of God to pray for us to deepen ourmonastic consecration and root us more deeply inthe Anglican focus on the Incarnation.

Paul VI, Bishop of Rome, in his Apostolic Ex-hortation Marialis Cultus, on the right ordering anddevelopment of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary,encourages the Angelus as a daily reminder not onlyof the Incarnation but of the relationship betweenthe Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery. Throughthis prayer, used by Roman Catholics, Anglicans andLutherans, we can also sense our communion withother parts of the one church of Jesus Christ.

The great monastic tradition invites us to dis-cover the depths of prayer in a variety of forms.

TheAngelusSubmitted byBr. Peter deFranco, OSB



CARITAS CHRISTIPublished periodically by the Companions ofSt.Luke/Order of St. Benedict, a non-residentBenedictine religious community for men andwomen in the Episcopal Church.For more information visit: www.csl-osb.org

AcknowledgementsMany thanks to all who contributed articles,photographs and art for this Michaelmas 2018edition. Without your help it would not havebeen possible. Deo gratias!

—Abbot Basil Edwards OSB andBr. Thomas Anthony Goddard OSB

Note: regarding future photographic contribu-tions to the Newsletter: Please do not attemptto resize or sharpen photos; just send as theycome from the camera. We can make necessaryadjustmests if needed. Thank you.

While the heart of Benedictine prayer lies in theDaily Office and Lectio Divina, devotional prayercan find a place in our lives.

Perhaps the most enduring image of the An-gelus comes from the 19th century French painterJean-Francois Millet where a man and woman stoptheir work, bow their heads and join their hands inprayer. The practice of stopping work, giving prior-ity to prayer, and humbly praying to God provides uswith an image which speaks of the monastic journeyof prayer and work. Our continued prayer with theMother of God can lead us, like her, to deepen ourmonastic call.

Almighty God, of your saving graceyou called Mary of Nazareth to be themother of your only begotten son:Inspire us by the same grace to followher example of bearing God to theworld. We pray through Jesus Christher Son our Savior. Amen.

(Collect of the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

Godbearer, from A Great Cloud of Witnesses)

THE ANGELUS continued)

— Peace,Br. Peter

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