Message of Abbot Paul - Friday - 26th April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 26, 2024
Yesterday was my last day in Peru and I’m glad to say it went very well. After Terce I had a very productive meeting with the community and reassured them that the new abbot would have as much care and interest for our Peruvian foundation as I had. Lurin is very much part of Belmont and the English Congregation and we all look forward to the day it becomes an independent monastery in its own right. Packing was easy as I had practically nothing to bring back, as I usually go out with vast amounts of luggage for the brethren and come back empty handed other than for a few small presents, I’m sitting in one of the lounges at Lima Airport writing this message and will need to send it off before my flight leaves. A new runway and terminal are almost ready and Lima has become the busiest and most important hub in South America. You can catch a flight here for almost anywhere, apart from London! Let’s not kid ourselves: we’re not as important as we used to be!
Today’s Gospel reading comes from John, (Jn 14: 1-6), one of the best known readings in the Bible. Jesus is speaking with his disciples during the Last Supper. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am now going to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be too. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus wishes to assure his disciples of his love for them and of his desire to have them at his side for all eternity. However, Thomas finds the argument difficult to follow and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” To this Jesus replies, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
This is as simple to understand as it is true. Jesus is the Way in that he teaches by example, but also gives us the means of walking with him on the way of truth that leads to life. Jesus is the Truth in that he teaches God’s truth, showing us the will of God and the commandment of God, the rule of love, but he is also the Truth in that he incarnates the truth he has learned from the Father and passes onto us. Jesus is the Life, for he is the Source of life, the Word through which all things were made and have their being. But, even more, by his Cross and Resurrection, he has restored us to life and opened for us the gates of eternal life. Hence, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still and trust in me.”
We are delighted that the acclaimed Cistercian writer, Fr Michael Casey will be with us in December.
We are pleased to announce 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.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.