Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 21st March

Abbot Paul • March 20, 2022

Message from Fr Paul for Monday, 21st March 2022

 On this day, in the year 560, St Benedict passed to his eternal reward in his monastery at Monte Cassino, some 150km south of Rome and 120km south of Subiaco, where his first monastery was situated. By the time he died at the age of 80, he had written his Rule for Monks and founded several monasteries. His twin sister, St Scholastica, died before him, having had a marked influence on her brother. It’s interesting to detect the mind of a woman in several chapters of the Rule. For us Benedictines and Cistercians, today is the main feast of St Benedict and the original one, as saints are always remembered on the day that they left this life and entered Paradise. Today is also, traditionally, the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere and in many parts of Europe there are ancient traditions connected with this day and the feast of St Benedict. Today let us pray for monastic communities throughout the world that live according to the Rule of St Benedict and let us pray for all those who are spiritually connected with our monasteries: oblates, parishioners, students, relatives, benefactors, friends, tourists and casual visitors. No one comes to a monastery in vain. Guests are welcomed as Christ.

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 As this feast is now found only in the calendars of the monastic orders and in the dioceses of central Italy, I’ll just say a few words about the Gospel passage for Monday of the Third Week of Lent, which is taken from Luke, (Lk 4: 24-30). Jesus comes to Nazareth, where he was brought up, and as he speaks in the synagogue, he senses a certain spirit of rejection on the part of the congregation, so he says to them, “I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.” He then gives two similar examples from Old Testament times, that of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath and that of Elisha, his disciple, and Naaman, the Syrian. Neither Elijah nor Elisha worked miracles for the people of Israel, but for foreigners, for Gentiles. Jesus’ words infuriated his hearers. “When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.” Even from the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus is rejected by his own, indeed, they weren’t far off lynching him for the things he said. From the beginning of his preaching, Good Friday and his Passion and Cross pervade the Gospel narrative. Let us not forget that at Vicovaro, the monks were ready to kill St Benedict in his first experience of coenobitic life, as they felt he was being too strict with them.

 Let us ask St Benedict, Patron of Europe, to pray for an end to the savage war in Ukraine. Yesterday I was speaking with a Romanian driver, who was telling me that his fellow countrymen and women fear that Putin might well have his eyes set on their country next, for “a madman is capable of anything.” Let us pray that he be stopped before he gets that far, that he be stopped now.

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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
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