Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 24th April 2023
Abbot Paul • April 23, 2023
In England today we keep the solemnity of our patron saint, St George, who died a martyr’s death on this day at Lydda in the Holy Land in the year 303 at the age of 28. He was a Greek from Cappadocia, a soldier in the Roman army and a member of the Praetorian Guard, sentenced to death for refusing to recant on his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated of all Christian martyrs with churches dedicated to him throughout the Christian world. He is also venerated among Druze and Muslims for his monotheistic faith. St George is the patron saint of many countries and of countless cities, towns and villages. His cross forms the national flag of England. We pray for his powerful intercession today, that we might be always faithful to Christ and never depart from his teaching.
The short Gospel passage for today’s feast comes from John, (Jn 15: 18-21). Jesus is speaking with his disciples.
“If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me before you.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
because my choice withdrew you from the world,
therefore, the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you:
A servant is not greater than his master.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too;
if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.
But it will be on my account that they will do all this,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”
He warns them, in fact, he warns us, that we should not expect to be treated any differently than he was treated. If the world hated Jesus, then it will most surely hate us. For we, like Jesus himself, do not belong to the world. We belong to God and to his kingdom. Not only will the world hate us, but it will also persecute us and believe that it is right and just to do so. We, too, then will be persecuted, just as Jesus was persecuted before us. In very truth, we will be persecuted for Christ is present in our souls and lives in each one of us, for we are the Temple of his Spirit. The world does not know the God who sent Jesus as Messiah into this world, so it won’t recognise us to be his true disciples, so we should rejoice when we are persecuted and even put to death of Jesus’ sake. Would that the English People followed to example of St George today.
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