Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 12th August
Abbot Paul • August 11, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Friday, 12th August 2022
At Belmont we have about ten weddings a year, although the couple are rarely local and come from other parts of the country and even of the world. So it’s unusual for them to sign up to a local marriage preparation course. When I was parish priest of Tambogrande, Peru, in the 1980s, we’d have six or seven hundred weddings a year. Can you imagine the amount of paperwork, which was much more thorough than we have in this country, and the marriage preparation courses? We had two teams of five couples, who spent an evening or afternoon instructing the twice monthly groups of betrothed. We would also organise group marriages in the distant villages, where as many as fifty or more couples would get married at a communal celebration. It was another world, of course, but a world I dearly loved and still sorely miss. All this to introduce today’s Gospel from Matthew, (Mt 19: 3-12), in which Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees on his ideas concerning marriage and divorce. Were they actually interested in what he had to say, or did they just want to catch him out? Matthew tells us that their main intention was to test him. “Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?” To this question, Jesus replied, “Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.”
Jesus does not depart from traditional Jewish teaching based on Scripture, his reply beginning with God’s intention on creating man and woman, that the two should become one for they have been united by God. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of being even stricter than Moses, who did allow divorce in certain circumstances. Jesus gives as the reason for this that they were unteachable, “but it was not like this from the beginning.” This was not God’s intention when Man was created. For Jesus, divorce and remarriage was another form of adultery. This sounds harsh indeed, for, as we know all too well, marriages do go wrong, for any number of reasons, fall apart and collapse. This teaching of Jesus is why the Catholic Church has never sanctioned divorce, but then the word refers to the separation of a married couple united by God. What if this were not the case from the start? An important question, as most marriages that end in divorce were probably not really marriages from the theological and canonical (legal)point of view from the very start. I’ll explain the Church’s practice, though very briefly. Let’s go back to Peru.
Coming in from another continent and practically from another Church, we couldn’t help but notice that most couples in Peru seemed to be on their second or even third marriage. It was our archbishop, Mons. Oscar Cantuarias, who said at a meeting of his mostly foreign clergy, “Fathers, remember that in Peru it’s usually the second or even third marriage that is the real one. We don’t have a system yet for granting annulments, but if we could, then most of these couples would be validly married in the eyes of the Church.” Archbishop Oscar was no liberal, but he was a realist and explained that most first marriages were not really valid as the couples had been forced into the marriage by their parents or the customs of society, many did not understand the vows they were taking, as they had received inadequate catechesis, whereas some had simply lied about their intentions or freedom to marry. I realise now, after being back in this country twenty two years, that the situation is no different. Marriages that were not marriages to start with can be annulled and that is what the Church can do for her children. Now, I’m not expecting a run on annulments, as often a couple will stay together for the sake of the children or from a growing realisation that God’s grace is causing their love for each other to grow and take root in their hearts. Each one of us is a mystery that God loves and respects. We, too, must learn to love and respect one another.
’
Abbot Brendan Reflects on Pope Leo's words to the Benedictines worldwide
July and August 2026: 3 workshops let by Fr Alex Echeandia, Prior of the Monastery of Lurin
9th to 11th January 2026 A weekend for young men to experience the monastic life and join in the prayer and life of the community.
28th November at 6.45pm You are welcome to join an informal service for healing prayer on the last Friday of November. No need to book.
Sat 13th December, 10.00am-12.30am We are delighted that the acclaimed Cistercian writer, Fr Michael Casey will be with us in December.
Monday 1st to Thursday 4th December 2025. Our first Advent retreat in our newly opened guesthouse
Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.