Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 2nd August
Abbot Paul • August 1, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Tuesday, 2nd August 2022
It was a great joy to welcome Cardinal Vincent Nichols to Belmont yesterday. He came to visit his old friend, Bishop Mark, and joined the community for midday prayer, lunch and recreation. It was also a real pleasure to meet Sr Carmel, who came with him. Welcoming guests is an important part of the monastic tradition, as we read in the Rule of St Benedict, and Belmont is renowned for the warm, friendly welcome we give to all those who come to visit or stay with us.
Our reading from Matthew today, (Mt 14: 22-36), recounts the episode of Jesus walking on the water, which takes place following on from the feeding of the five thousand. “Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray.” At last, Jesus has some time to himself in quiet, with not even his disciples to interrupt him. Moments of solitude and silent reflection are good for all of us. Jesus shows us how necessary they are. Life cannot be all activity and noise. Jesus had this predilection for going up into the hills. While he was at prayer, not all was well with the disciples. “When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind.” Although no more than a large lake, nevertheless the water can get very rough on the Sea of Tiberius. “In the fourth watch of the night, he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear.” The fourth was the last watch of the night, from 3am onwards, and the most frightening. It was believed that demons were abroad, returning to their homes after a night’s activities. This explains the fear of the disciples on seeing Jesus come towards them, walking on the sea, and crying out, believing him to be a ghost. Even today we talk about the darkest hour being just before dawn. If I’m not mistaken, it was at the fourth hour that the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea at the Exodus.
Once the voice of Jesus is heard, fear evaporates, but then the strangest thing happens, something quite unexpected. “But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus.” Peter was prone to speaking without thinking and often came out with the strangest occurrences. Why did he want to walk on the water? To be more like his master? To be truly sure that this was Jesus? To put Jesus to the test, or to test his own faith? Either way, Jesus invites him to step forward. “Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’”
While he fixed his gaze on Jesus, Peter waked tranquilly on the water, but once he began to think about himself and his own safety, he began to sink and screamed out for help. To be a person of “little faith” we have only to stop looking to Jesus and start looking instead to our own strength and ability. Yet there are times when we think more of ourselves than we do of Jesus, and that’s when things begin to go wrong. “And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’” What Jesus has done causes the men in the boat, both disciples and crew, to recognise that Jesus is “truly the Son of God.”
No sooner than they land that crowds once more gather with their sick, begging that he heal them. Just as we hear repeated the phrase, “Truly, you are the Son of God,” so too the knowledge that healing comes from simply touching his garments: “they begged him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.” Thinking back to my days in Peru, one of the most moving scenes was to see people rubbing their heads and their children’s heads and limbs with the tabernacle veil or with my chasuble, or simply touching me and then crossing themselves. It happened constantly and always brought tears to my eyes. I must confess to having witnessed many miracles.
Our brethren in Peru were delighted with the election of Pope Leo.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Condolences came from Pope Leo XIV:
A homily by Abbot Brendan at a special Easter Mass for Pope Francis, attended by Catholics from across the Deanery.
Pope Francis RIP Pope 2013-2025 Born 1936, Died 2025 We are deeply saddened at the passing of Pope Francis. As the successor of St Peter he has been a spiritual father and shepherd to the church in our day, challenging us, and calling as to reach out to those on the peripheries. He was the first Jesuit Pope, but took the name Francis after the Poor Man of Assisi who modelled for him a closeness to the poor, a concern for those on the margins of society and a care for all of creation In his preaching Pope Francis always spoke of the joy of the Gospel and encouraged us to reflect the joy of our faith in our lives. He showed the compassion of Jesus to everyone. He worked tirelessly for the unity of the church and travelled even to non-Christian countries promoting a message of peace. He has left a great legacy. With the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio with the community over Easter we were able to express our closeness to the Holy Father in his final suffering. There will be a special Mass at Belmont this Thursday 24th April at 11am to pray for Pope Francis as he makes his final journey to the house of the Father. On the day of his funeral, the Office of the Dead will be sung, and Mass that day will be a Requiem. May the angels lead him into paradise; may the martyrs receive him at his arrival and lead him to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive him and with Lazarus, the poor man grant him eternal rest." (The In Paradisum, words from the Funeral Liturgy)
We were were honoured and delighted to be joined by the Apostolic Nuncio to celebrate Easter. His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía is the representative of the Holy See in Great Britain, and therefore of the Holy Father. His presence on Easter Sunday morning brought us more consciously in communion with Pope Francis, the successor of St Peter, as we heard the Gospel story of Peter running to the tomb. His patron saint is St Michael, so afterwards, at a festive lunch we were able to present him with some Belmont cufflinks with the monastery coat of arms - very similar to his as Archbishop. We were able to pray for him and his work in this country.