Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 7th October 2022
Abbot Paul • October 7, 2022
Today the Church celebrates the memoria of Our Lady of the Rosary, a feast with a history that goes back to the year 1571, when it was instituted by Pope St Pius V to commemorate a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto, which he attributed to the intercession of Our Lady. The Rosary, of course, is a much older devotional prayer, that in its present form in the Western Church goes back to St Dominic in 13th century. The Rosary is a powerful prayer, which we can use to pray for peace and the victory of justice and truth in our world today. I always pray the Rosary when walking with Toby first thing in the morning, now well before dawn when there are few or no distractions. As we ponder on the mysteries, we get to look deeply into truths of our faith, made manifest in the lives of Our Lord and his Mother and the working of the Holy Spirit in the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
The Gospel reading chosen from today is that of the Annunciation found in Luke, (Lk 1: 26-38), which is used on many of the feasts of Our Lady. It recounts the central mystery of our Christian faith, that of the Incarnation, when God became Man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, when Mary said to the Angel Gabriel, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me.” Let us pray that all men and women everywhere follow the example of Mary, accepting God’s word into their hearts and doing his will.
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.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
