Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 26th September 2022
Abbot Paul • September 26, 2022
Although it was Sunday, yesterday was a very busy day, what with a number of visits from friends and an oblate meeting in the morning as well as the usual Sunday Masses. It all sounds very much like Belmont, which to some extent it is. The afternoon was dedicated to Visitation interviews. The highlight for me was lunch, yes, I am a glutton! Today it was prepared by a young monk who hails from Cajamarca in the northern sierra of Peru. It was the second capital of the Inca Empire after Cusco.
A delicious chicken broth called “chochoca” made of maize and the livers, gizzards, feet and other interesting parts of the chicken, our own free range chickens fed on grains, but was originally made with bull’s hooves. This was followed by “seco de pollo”, a chicken stew with potatoes and vegetables, accompanied as always by the best rice in the world, and then a homemade flan with prunes, to die for. It was Sunday, after all, so pudding was included. Normally they begin with a salad or soup and then have the main dish. I’ll add some photographs.
Today we remember Saints Cosmas and Damian, patron saints of doctors, and so pray for all those in the medical profession, especially our GPs. They worked as a team and died together for their fidelity to Christ. In our Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 9: 46-50), we hear Jesus teaching his disciples to be humble and not to complete and argue with each other over which of them is the greatest or most important. He calls a small child forward as a living parable, saying, “Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.” Such wonderfully profound words. He then goes on to say, when John tells him of a incident that took place when the disciples were casting out devils. They met someone who wasn’t one of their own group doing the same and so tried to stop him. Jesus replied, “Anyone who is not against you is for you.” These are words full of meaning for our lives today. How do you interpret them and put them into effect in your life?
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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.
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