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.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully last night. He served this community well for many years, not least Abbot of the Community and before that Headmaster of the School. He was then asked to serve the wider church as Bishop of Menevia. May he know eternal happiness with God whom he served. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
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.
