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.
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.
