Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 7th February

Abbot Paul • February 6, 2022

Message from Fr Paul for Monday, 7th February 2022

 I should apologise for the quality of the live-streaming we are sending out at the moment. Our system has been down for about two weeks, with our WiFi people and our Telephone people blaming each other and yet unwilling to confront or collaborate with each other to discover what is really wrong. To try and resolve the problem in the meantime, Fr Augustine has simply been using his mobile phone, but Herefordshire, like so much of the UK, is sadly lacking in an adequate mobile signal. My mobile provider is desperate to sell me the latest model with 5G, when all I want is a signal good enough to call my mother from my room at Belmont. I just hope that something can be done this week to sort out the problem, and it’s not only live-streaming that’s affected, but also our email system. If you’re expecting an email from me, it’s probably blocked somewhere from here to eternity.

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 Forgive my frustration! Today’s short Gospel passage from Mark, (Mk 6: 53-56), sees Jesus cross over the sea of Galilee again. He is making for Capernaum, but comes to land about three miles south at Gennesaret for no apparent reason. Could he have been blown off course or did Jesus not want to draw attention himself at Capernaum? We don’t know, but what we do know is that wherever Jesus went the crowds were always there. Let us read what Mark has to say. “Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.” The crowds knew that Jesus had great power to heal, bless, and deliver from Satan. They swarmed him. They always anticipated his next move. They dogged his steps. They brought their sick to him. It was enough just to touch his clothing. Jesus had the power, and they knew it. The real question for us today is whether we know it. Do we trust he has the power to help us in our time of need? Do we believe that his power is real, or is it just a figment of an overactive religious imagination? My experience, as well as my faith, suggests to me that his power and grace are real, alive and active and when we trust in him then nothing is impossible, for indeed “nothing is impossible for God.”

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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Condolences came from Pope Leo XIV:
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