Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 25th August 2023
Abbot Paul • August 25, 2023
The Gospels recount how the Pharisees were out to get Jesus, hoping to trap him into saying something against the Law or at least against their rather rigid interpretation of the Law. This, in spite of the fact that many of the early followers of Jesus, followers of the Way, as they are described in the Acts of the Apostles, were Pharisees, St Paul for example. Today’s short Gospel passage from Matthew, (Mt 22: 24-30), deals with one such encounter between Jesus and a group of Pharisees.
“When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’”
It was clear that the Sadducees would find much to disagree on with Jesus, beginning with the very concept of eternal life, however, it could only be jealousy or fear of losing popularity, power and income that could have motivated the Pharisees to oppose Jesus. They always appear to gang up on him with awkward questions, his answer to which couldn’t have differed very much from their own. Jesus was aware of the evil that was in them and of their evil intentions, however, he always took the time to reply to their questions and he did so politely, without antipathy and always seeking their conversion to the way of salvation, but they were proud men and often seemed not to pay attention to what he had to say. I’m not quite sure in this case why asking him which is the greatest commandment of the Law would disconcert him. Jesus replies, quoting the Law of Moses, to love God above all else, but adds a second, which is to love ones neighbour as oneself, not the second of the Ten, but nevertheless part of the tradition and an acceptable answer even for the Pharisees. Jesus sums up by stating that the entire Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, can be summarised in this way. Having silenced the Sadducees, Jesus has now silenced the Pharisees. But has he silenced you and me, and the people of today, that’s the question we need to answer.
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.
