Message of Abbot Paul - Monday - 13th May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 12, 2024
​On this feast of Our Lady of Fatima, we continue to pray for peace with justice between Palestine and Israel and for an end to the destruction and killing. Let us also remember other parts of the world, especially Ukraine and Sudan, where conflict, war and acts of terrorism take place on a daily basis. These areas have dropped out of the headlines, but the suffering and injustice go on unabated and world leaders seem helpless to improve or change the situation. All thousands of children have ever known in their short lives is violence, bloodshed and death. This cannot be right or acceptable.
​According to John, it is at the Last Supper, during his farewell discourse, that the disciples finally proclaim their faith in Jesus and acknowledge him to be the Son of God. This is what we hear in today’s Gospel reading, (Jn 16: 29-33). It is because Jesus is speaking plainly to them and no longer in metaphors that they are able to say, “We believe that you came from God.” He replies:
​​“Do you believe at last?
Listen; the time will come – in fact it has come already –
when you will be scattered,
each going his own way and leaving me alone.
And yet I am not alone,
because the Father is with me.”
We read these words in the context of his Ascension, but they are pronounced on the eve of his Crucifixion and Death. It is true that Jesus foretold perfectly what was to happen when he was arrested and tried by the high priests. The disciples did scatter and leave him alone to face his Passion, yet we know that the Father was always with him. Jesus had told them, “I and the Father are one.” Yet Jesus does not speak harshly, nor does he reprimand them, in fact, quite the opposite.
“I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but be brave: I have conquered the world.”
They are to find peace in his suffering and death, in the shedding of his blood. On Easter Day, when he appeared to his disciples in the upper room, he says, “Peace be with you,” showing them the wounds in his hands and his side. They are to find courage in the fact that he has conquered all that is evil and through his Death and Resurrection vanquished sin and death. May we find that same courage. Amen.
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.
