Message of Abbot Paul - Monday - 29th April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 28, 2024
​Today we celebrate the feast of an extraordinary woman, St Catherine of Siena, who died on this day in the year 1380 aged just 33, exhausted by her vigorous fasting. Although always depicted in a Dominican habit, she wasn’t an enclosed nun but a lay associate of the Order. She was a mystic, a writer and a religious-cum-political activist, if that’s the right term. She was canonised on 29th June 1461 and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St Paul VI in 1970. She is also a Patron of Europe. Catherine is one of the outstanding figures of medieval Catholicism, by the strong influence she had on the history of the papacy and her prolific writing. She was behind the return of the Pope from Avignon to Rome, and then carried out many missions entrusted to her by the Pope, something quite rare for a woman in the Middle Ages. Her Dialogue of Divine Providence, hundreds of letters, and dozens of prayers, also give her a prominent place in the history of spirituality as well as of Italian literature. She led a fascinating life from the moment of her birth until the Lord took her to himself. A good biography and immersion into her writings would be powerfully rewarding. She really is a most attractive figure.
​The short Gospel passage chosen for her feast comes from Matthew, (Mt 11: 25-30), those lovely words of Jesus addressed to his heavenly Father. “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Catherine was a mere child, just five years old, when she had her first mystical experience, a vision of Christ in glory. At the age of seven, she vowed to give her whole life to God. When in her teens, her parents wanted her to marry, but she refused, knowing that her vocation was to go beyond domestic duties and motherhood. Nor did she want to become a nun. She chose instead to live an active and prayerful life outside the convent walls following the model of the Dominicans. Just as the Father entrusted all things to Jesus, so she believed that God had entrusted her with an important mission, that of purifying and uniting the Church, and she wasn’t afraid to stand up and preach to the crowds or even to tell popes and princes what and what not to do.
​Jesus continues with words of encouragement and consolation, words that were the very basis of Catherine’s life of devotion and service. “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Jesus invites us all, as he did his beloved servant Catherine, to come to him for rest and support. We all get tired and overburdened, but Jesus is always with us to support and carry us. Our lives can be fruitful in weakness as well as in strength, but we must learn from Jesus to be both gentle and humble, opening our hearts to him and offering him our lives. Catherine was an exceptional woman, but in many ways, she was also quite ordinary, like you and me. Let us never lose courage or hope and let us ask her to pray for us and our loved ones. Catherine shines brightly among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. She remains a greatly respected figure for her writings and political boldness to "speak truth to power," it being exceptional for a woman, at that time, to have had such influence in politics and on world history. We pray for such women today.
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.
