Message of Abbot Paul - Easter Sunday - 31st March 2024
Abbot Paul • March 30, 2024
​A very happy and blessed Easter to all who happen to read this message today, the day of Our Lord’s Resurrection. But before I begin, I would like to tell you of an unexpected experience I had on Good Friday evening. After the celebration of the Lord’s Passion at Leominster, such a powerfully prayerful service, I was driving to Bromyard to have a light supper with friends, when by mistake I tuned into Radio 2. The most amazing programme was on the air, At the Foot of the Cross. I thought there must be some mistake, as it sounded like a Christian radio station. Had the Chinese been messing around with the BBC? But no, it was the Rev Kate Bottley, and what a wonderful programme it was. I recommend you listen to it.
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“Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and he believed.” What did he see and what did he believe? He saw nothing but an empty tomb with the linen cloths lying on the ground. At the end of the gospel, we are told what he believed, “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” and that we have life in his Name. On that first Easter Day, John has the Beloved Disciple come to faith in the risen Lord on the evidence of an empty tomb alone. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
​The joy and beauty of our Easter celebrations cannot alter the fact that the true significance of this day is far harder for us to appreciate than the meaning of Christmas or Good Friday. We believe that God stepped into our world at Bethlehem to become part of human history and this causes a ray of light to fall even on those who do not have faith. Passion and death also reflect the world in which we live and our own experience of suffering. Much as we try to avoid the thought, we know that death awaits us all and that one day we will give in to a force far greater than ourselves. We celebrate Holy Week, grateful that God has shared with us the anguish and pain of suffering and death. But Easter is different. In his resurrection, Jesus has not entered into the ordinary life of human beings; rather he has broken through its limitations and entered a new realm beyond our understanding. This is unknown territory for us all. God leads us into a vast, uncharted expanse and encourages us to follow him. Since we are only acquainted with things on this side of the grave, there is nothing in our experience that connects us with the news that Jesus is risen from the dead.
​Easter centres on something unimaginable and, in human thought and language, inexplicable and indescribable. The doubts of the disciples and their confusion cry out to us from every page of the resurrection accounts, culminating in the words of Thomas, “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.” Then, like Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus, there is their inability to recognise Jesus. Only when he was at table with them, were their eyes opened as they recognised him in the breaking of bread. One of the strangest features of the resurrection narratives is his unrecognizability. For most of the disciples, an encounter with the risen Christ begins as a meeting with a stranger and Jesus often condemns the inadequacy of their earlier understanding. Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener. Rowan Williams writes, “Jesus is not what they have thought him to be, and thus they must ‘learn’ him afresh, as if from the beginning. Once again, John crystallises this most powerfully by presenting the disciples in their fishing boats, as if they had never known Jesus: they must begin again.”
Neither the disciples nor the evangelists, nor has the Church ever tried to iron out the discrepancies between the various accounts of the Resurrection. The risen Christ was not a projection of the hopes of the first Christian community. The Resurrection of Jesus remains the greatest of all mysteries and yet it lies at the very heart of the Christian faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” The Church has always translated the Easter message into symbols, which point to things that words cannot express. The Paschal fire and the Paschal candle, for wherever light conquers darkness, something of the Resurrection takes place. Water, which can be both lifegiving and life-threatening, is blessed for baptism so that we might die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. We bless people and things with holy water in order to establish oases of life and hope in the desert places of our world. With the constant singing of Alleluia, we join in the song of the angels in heaven, where every tear shall be wiped away and every sorrow and lament be ended.
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​Like the beloved disciple, we have seen and we believe. We do not ask to see more than an empty tomb and we must be content to recognise Jesus in the breaking of bread and to hear his voice as he explains the Scriptures to us. Every day, encouraged by the celebration of the Easter mystery, we learn anew what it means to be a disciple of the Risen Saviour as we walk in faith. Faith is the greatest adventure there is, an invitation to go much further than we had anticipated or foreseen. It is a window that opens out onto eternal life. Jesus asks us not to be afraid, but to trust in him and follow him through darkness into light and from death to life. To Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, be glory and praise for ever. Alleluia. Amen.
God from God, Light from Light: A Service to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed. Thursday 12th June at 5.30pm at Hereford Cathedral.
Archbishop Mark O'Toole, of Cardiff-Menevia presided at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Mark, while Abbot Brendan conducted his burial. Cardinal Vincent Nichols preached a homily full of warmth and affection for Bishop Mark which is reproduced below.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
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:
