Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 23rd December 2022
Abbot Paul • December 22, 2022
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the Desire of all nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
I apologise for the brevity of today’s message, but I have contracted a heavy cold and I’m feeling pretty rotten this evening. An early night with Lemsip is called for. I only hope I can get rid of this inconvenience before Saturday afternoon.
The final O Antiphon focusses on the word Emmanuel, God is with us, for that is who the Messiah is according to the prophet Micah, (Mic 5: 1-5), God who is with us through his Incarnation in every aspect of our lives. This antiphon looks beyond the conception and birth of Christ to his universal mission to save all nations and peoples. He is the one whom all men and women desire, who reconciles the world and all that exists in himself with the Father, as the whole of creation awaits with longing his return in glory. You might be aware of the acrostic,
O Emmanuel
O
Rex
O
Oriens
O
Clavis
O
Radix
O
Adonai
O
Sapientia
Ero cras being the Latin for
Tomorrow I will come. Christians are always looking forward to the coming of Christ. Our life is a permanent vigil of joyful prayer and fasting, of longing for a deeper awareness and experience of Emmanuel, the God who is with us.
Today’s Gospel continues Luke’s Infancy Narrative, (Lk 1: 57-66) with the birth, circumcision and naming of John the Baptist, which prepares us for the birth of Jesus. May John pray for us in the final hours of waiting as we prepare for the birth of the Saviour.
“The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.
Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.”
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.
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