Message of Abbot Paul - 1st January 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 1st January 2022
A new calendar year begins today, so I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May our Guardian Angels watch over us to keep us safe from harm and may the good Lord bless us in every way. As today the Church now celebrates Our Lady, Mother of God, we also ask for Our Lady’s prayers and maternal care for ourselves and all our loved ones. This is also the day when people all over the world pray for peace, an end to wars and terrorist activity, and justice and respect for all peoples and individuals. May we all learn to be more respectful of others and of our planet, too, and of all God’s creatures, that are the object of his love.
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Our Gospel passage comes from Luke, (Lk 2: 16-21), and tells us what happened after the shepherds returned to their flocks and, as it’s the eighth day or Octave of Christmas, of the circumcision and naming of Jesus, a reminder that this was once the feast of the Circumcision, as it still is in the Eastern Churches. Here are Luke’s words.
“The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.”
The shepherds are the first to hear of the birth of the Messiah, a message they receive directly from heaven through the ministry of angels. When they arrive at the stable and see the babe in the manger, they tell Mary and Joseph what they have been told. Their words are those that Mary treasures and ponders in her heart. The shepherds themselves become the very first apostles, proclaiming to all who will listen what they have seen and heard, while praising and glorifying God. Everyone is astonished. Then when the eight day comes, the child is circumcised, as is the Jewish tradition, and named. He is given the name revealed to Mary at the annunciation, the Holy Name that signifies, “he who will save his people from their sins,” in other words, Saviour. Today we praise the glorify God, as the shepherds did, and thank him that the Saviour of the world was conceived in Mary’s womb and that she became for us the Mother of God, the God-bearer.
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For those who have asked for an update, and thank you for your moving messages and prayers, Toby had a good day yesterday, has taken all his medication, rested most of the day and settled into his much-reduced routine. The veterinary surgery has been in touch several times to ask how he’s doing. Patience and prayer now.
