Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 30th June 2023
Abbot Paul • June 29, 2023
Almost without realising it, we have come to the end of June and, with it, we conclude the first half of 2023 and come to the threshold of the second half. At this rate, it won’t be long before we’re celebrating New Year’s Eve and beginning 2024. Time flies, and at the moment it seems to be flying quicker than ever. This is not a complaint, just an observation.
​We have come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount and we find Jesus back down on the plain followed by a large crowd. Matthew writes, (Mt 8: 1-4), “After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’” His first encounter is with a man suffering from leprosy or some similar aliment. In the ancient world to call someone a leper didn’t necessarily mean that the person was actually suffering from leprosy. Think of Naaman the Syrian. It would have been one of several ailments of the flesh. We note that it is the leper who takes the initiative. He comes before Jesus and asks to be healed. He is polite and doesn’t demand healing, rather he is willing to accept the will of Jesus. He also recognises Jesus’ holiness and authority by bowing before him. It’s important to note that Jesus stretches out his hand and touches him. Technically, Jesus himself becomes unclean, and yet his is a healing touch. Jesus’ words are almost an order, “Be cured!” We are not told that the man is healed, but the very fact that Jesus sends him to the priest to make the appropriate offering in thanksgiving for healing, tells us that he is cured.
​What does this miracle of healing teach us if not that we should never be afraid to ask Jesus for the gift of healing? No matter how severe our ailment or that of others, Jesus is there for us, and he wants to cure us, he wants to see us whole again.
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.
