Ampleforth Abbey Church

During this last week, we have had our Summer (August) Chapter meeting for all the monks of Ampleforth Abbey. Chapter is a time when the brethren come together to discuss important business considerations of the monastery and in St. Benedict’s Holy Rule there is provision for such meetings. Bear in mind, St. Benedict lived from about 480AD to 547AD, so the Rule of St. Benedict is very ancient. It is still read every day in monastic houses – we read it each day, here in Leyland – and, with the help of the Holy Spirit in all Religious Life, including Benedictine monasteries like Ampleforth, we are formed into a family of God where we pray, and where we hope, God is always present.

Of calling the Brethren to Council – Chapter 3 of the Rule of St. Benedict.

As often as any important business has to be done in the monastery, let the abbot call together the whole community and himself set forth the matter. And, having heard the advice of the brethren, let him take counsel with himself and then do what he shall judge to be most expedient. Now the reason we have said that all should be called to council, is that God often reveals what is better to the younger. Let the brethren give their advice with all deference and humility, nor venture to defend their opinions obstinately; but let the decision depend rather on the abbot’s judgement, so that when he has decided what is the better course, all may obey. However, just as it is proper for disciples to obey their master, so it is becoming that he on his part should dispose all things with prudence and justice.

In all things, therefore, let all follow the Rule as master, nor let anyone rashly depart from it.

Monks in Choir praying

What this says is that everyone is ‘under’ the Rule, and we should realise that, for St. Benedict (as for all founders of Religious Life, in any form), the Gospel is what they must follow. In the prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict it is stated: “Let us, therefore, gird our loins with faith and the performance of good works, and following the guidance of the Gospel walk in his paths.”  Essentially, this precept means that everyone should live and work according to the Word of God  - and here the word ‘everyone’ includes the Abbot and all the monks, and all the important and less important people in the monastery. This guiding principle is the same for any Christian association, such as a school. Not only are the students under the Word of God, but so is the head-teacher, staff and everyone. It is the same with a parish: the Priests, (the monks in our case), are as much under the Word of God as the parishioners.

This is the context for our Chapter meetings which, of course, are now arranged according to our present-day culture, some fifteen hundred years after St. Benedict was alive. Invariably, it is a time when many people have many things to say; the Abbot will also put forward his views, and all try to listen to each other. Nowadays, we often break up into smaller groups, so that each person will really have the chance to say what he wants to say, in an ‘easy’ and ‘comfortable’ atmosphere; ultimately, all the group discussions – the differing points and opinions – are reported back to the whole community.

For us monks, one of the highlights of the Chapter is the celebration, each year, of jubilees. Readers of this blog might like to know that, in fact, monks are very restrained when it comes to the celebration of jubilees – at least in our Abbey. All that happens is the enjoyment of a glass of wine for the monks and  an introduction by the Abbot, followed by a short speech by the jubilarian, and a formal – though poignant – song in Latin, “Ad moltos annos vivat, plurimosque annos vivat”, (May he live for many years and many more years). This year, for the first time, all was combined with a good meal, during which we had our celebratory glass of wine, and between courses, the speeches were made. It was organised in this way to save time, largely because, this year, there was a ‘bumper crop’ of ten jubilarians.

(In passing, we had the privilege of two Tanzanian monks staying with us in Ampleforth, this year, and I asked one of them, Brother Alphonse – who will be in Leyland for three weeks, in September – what they did in their big monastery for jubilees? He described how they have a big feast, speeches are made and then the younger monks would sing joyful African songs for the older ones.  Exuberant Africans do things in a different way! It is also usual in England for diocesan priests to have ‘big’ celebrations for their silver, ruby and golden jubilees of priesthood.)

In our monastery, this is not our tradition and I wonder if this is because of our ‘English culture’, as our monastery is very ‘English’ in its ‘tone’. I remember my novice master, an Irishman, Fr. Bruno Donovan from Galway, speaking to us on this very point. He actually made a huge contribution to the spiritual welfare of many monks in our abbey, and was much loved. Rather surprisingly, he also shared with us novices, something of his sufferings, brought about by living as an Irishman in an English culture.  You may wonder, but it took him a long time to come to terms with his ‘lot’. Perhaps it was this sense of an Irishman, lost in a sea of the English, in part, that made him such an empathetic person, and such a good friend to so many people! True empathy can be an especially wonderful gift and he certainly had it in abundance. On this particular ‘Irish Question’, I remember that it was only when I came to work on the parishes that I heard, for the first time, the hymn ‘Hail Glorious St. Patrick’.  This occurred at Warrington, St. Mary’s Parish and the very ‘English’ Parish Priest there was Fr. Gabriel Gilbey. Fr. Gabriel always flew the flag of St. George on the flag-pole, 23rd April – his Feast Day – but would not fly the Irish ‘Tricolour’ on St. Patrick ’s Day, much to the annoyance of many Irish parishioners. Parishioners tend to be far less restrained than the monks, within the monastery, when it comes to celebrating jubilees or birthdays – very much a tradition in our Benedictine parishes, and to prove the point, witness Bishop Ambrose’s 80th birthday, my 50th birthday and Fr. Martin’s Golden jubilee of priesthood, here in Leyland, among others I could mention.

Abbot Patrick Barry our oldest Jubilarian

As I noted a little earlier, this year there were ten such jubilarians to celebrate – quite a number! The names included several monks that people from our Parish, would know as old friends. Abbot Patrick Barry celebrated 75 years of his clothing as a monk, (1935), and 65 years of priesthood, (1945) – almost two life-times of service; he quite often visited Leyland as our Abbot. Fr. Martin Haigh and Fr. Theodore Young celebrated 70 years of clothing (1940).  Our ‘slightly more youthful’ Bishop Ambrose, Fr. David O’Brien (now at Bamber Bridge – but often supplying for us at week-day Mass) and Fr. Rupert Everest, all celebrated 60 years of clothing as monks (1950), and Fr. Alberic Stacpoole, (who, some years ago, spent a year in Leyland), celebrated 50 years of clothing (1960). It is very encouraging, enlightening and also moving for a ‘slip-of-a-lad’ (like myself), to see the continuing enthusiasm, joy and sense of humour in these wonderful men, as they each shared, briefly, something of their experiences of monastic life – experiences, it must be said, of God working in their lives. They are like our “Granddads”, and just as often in families, we venerate and love our grandparents, so it is the same in monastic life.

Psalm 93 talks about the youthfulness of those who love God – a quality borne out by these jubilarians – and something very much attested to by our celebrations:

“The just will flourish like a palm-tree

That grows like a Lebanon cedar;

Planted in the house of the Lord

They will flourish in the courts of our God,

Still bearing fruit when they are old,

Still full of sap still green,

To proclaim that the Lord is just,

In him, my rock, there is no wrong.”

(Psalm 91: 13-16)

At this Chapter we also renew our vows – vows that we have taken for life – at the Mass on the last day. This took place on Wednesday 18 August and, collectively and for each individual, it was very much a joyful act of Faith, as who knows what each New Year will bring? Again, everyone, including the Abbot renews their vows, even though most of us have, of course, made our monastic vows a life-long commitment.

To conclude, and to underline all that has gone before, Chapter is always a moment to stand before God, and to face him – taking in all the challenge and loneliness that can entail – but then, the reward, potentially, is something wonderful to behold. St Benedict in his rule put it like this:

“As we progress in our monastic life and in faith, our hearts shall be enlarged, and we shall run with unspeakable sweetness of live in the way of God’s commandments”. (Prologue to the Rule)