Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 28th October 2022
Abbot Paul • October 28, 2022
Today we keep the feast of the Apostles Saints Simon and Jude. We read in the Gospels that Simon was known as the Zealot and that Jude or Judas was the son of James, not one of the two other apostles who bore the name James. He is also called Judas Thaddeus. According to tradition, they preached the Good News in Persia, where they were martyred. Perhaps for this reason they disappear into the mists of history, yet are always honoured together. In fact, some of the earliest Christian communities were to be found in Persia and in neighbouring Iraq, a number of which survived and flourished until recent wars drove them to emigrate or face extinction. When monastic life appeared in the primitive Christian world, one of the countries where monastic life flourished was Persia, modern Iran. The disappearance or eradication of Christianity from these countries is an inestimable tragedy for the Body of Christ, the Church. We should pray earnestly for all those communities surviving in the diaspora and support them where and when we can. We should also be praying for the people of Iran, fighting for their civil freedoms and the right to wear what they want. What a sad nation this noble people is being forced to become. News from Ukraine and Russia continues to sadden and horrify us. Whatever happened to the hopes for the new Millennium? Lord, have mercy on your people and protect them from all harm.
​Our Gospel reading for the feast comes from Luke, (Lk 6: 12-19), and tells us how Jesus came to choose his twelve apostles. “Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came, he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.” Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before making the decision to choose twelve apostles from among his many disciples. Other than being the result of prayer, we are not given any reasons why he chose these and not others to be his apostles, those he was to send ahead to prepare the way and ultimately to go in his place once he had ascended into heaven. Twelve, of course, was an important number in the Hebrew scriptures, because of the twelve sons of Jacob, who gave name to and were the fathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. There then follows a summary of what came next, the preaching of Jesus to a large crowd and the healing of the sick. “He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.” To begin with the Apostles accompanied Jesus, but eventually they too would preach and heal the sick. Gradually they would take his place, although they could only carry out their ministry because Jesus was with them. As St Paul wrote, “It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” And that was the work of the Holy Spirit.
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.
