Message of Abbot Paul - Monday - 12th February 2024
Abbot Paul • February 11, 2024
Yesterday I was richly blessed by the Lord, being given the grace to celebrate Mass at Leominster and Bromyard, as I do now every Sunday and on certain weekdays. What a joy and a privilege it is to serve as a priest, and how I am growing to love the parishioners in these two very different but wonderful parishes. I was also greatly blessed in spending precious time with dear friends, feeling at home, relaxing, talking about the love of God, coming to know Jesus and walking through life guided by the Holy Spirit, all powerfully uplifting. Friendship must be truly one of God’s greatest gifts to all his creatures.
There are just two days to go before Ash Wednesday, so no doubt, like me, you’re wondering what best to do to keep a good Lent this year. St Benedict says in his Rule that the life of a monk should be like a permanent Lent. I wonder if my life is like that! A valuable Lenten exercise could be to meditate on how the present state of the world and of our own country has affected our faith and our view of life. Let us ask the Lord to lighten the darkness of our hearts and minds and to transform our knowledge into wisdom by his love for us made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
In today’s short Gospel passage from Mark, (Mk 8: 11-13), we find the Pharisees trying to start an argument with Jesus and asking for a sign. “The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him.” We have reached that stage in the Gospel narrative, where the Pharisees are constantly following Jesus, questioning him and trying to set him a trap, so as to get him arrested. They find his presence among the people a threat to their own authority and privilege. On this occasion they ask for a sign from heaven, as though the miracles they have witnessed or the teaching they have heard are not enough. “And with a sigh that came straight from the heart, Jesus said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.” Jesus is getting worn down by the Pharisees and their negative attitude towards him. They show no sign of repentance or desire for conversion. All Jesus can do in response is sigh from the heart and tell them that there are to be no signs for them, nothing that they would recognise as a sign, as their hearts are closed to the wisdom and love of God. Let us pray earnestly this coming Lent that our hearts may never be closed to God’s invitation in Christ to repentance and forgiveness and to a new life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.