Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 4th November 2022
Abbot Paul • November 4, 2022
The Synod that’s taking place in the Catholic Church throughout the world is a truly exciting initiative for all Catholics as Pope Francis has invited us all to take part. No one should be excluded, even those who feel it’s of no interest to them. How could it not be? Surely the salvation of all peoples depends on our desire to share our faith with them, and so to make our faith palpable, transparent and attractive? If we lived in a truly Christian way, who would not want to know Jesus and follow him as we do? The latest documents from the Synod will be available on our parish website from tomorrow for everyone to read. There will also be links from our Facebook page. I really encourage you to read these and then think seriously of taking part in the next round of discussions and prayer.
​Today’s Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 16: 1-8), makes for interesting reading. It’s the parable of the dishonest steward which Jesus tells his disciples.
“There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.’ Then the steward said to himself, ‘Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.’
Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘One hundred measures of oil’ was the reply. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.’ To another he said, ‘And you, sir, how much do you owe?’ ‘One hundred measures of wheat’ was the reply. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond and write eighty.’
The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.”
​As I’ve mentioned before, in the parables Jesus doesn’t fight shy of casting himself as an outsider, such as a Samaritan, or as here, someone who is dishonest. What the steward does in this parable is what Jesus does for us before the Father in his Passion and Cross: he takes away our sins and pays the price of our redemption. Now this gift of God’s loving mercy, although completely free and of God’s desiring, nevertheless demands a response on our part, which consists of repentance for sins and errors past, a firm proposition of amendment and the return of love for love. For this we need God’s help and that too is given us by Jesus, our loving Saviour. Let’s not forget thank him today.
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.
