Message of Abbot Paul - Monday - 8th April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 7, 2024
​Today, although it’s not 25th March, the Church in the West keeps the solemnity of the Annunciation, transferred from the Monday of Holy Week. It marks the day when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that it was God’s desire that his Son should become incarnate in her womb through the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is the day on which she humbly accepted the Father’s will and became the Mother of God, Theotokos in Greek, the one who bore God in her womb and gave birth to him as man. It is the day on which we remember and give thanks for the Incarnation, the day on which God became man, that through his birth, life, death, resurrection and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we might become God, in the words of St Athanasius, the great Doctor of the Church. That might sound outlandish, but it’s not, it is the central dogma of our faith, the deification of Man through the incarnation of God. I use the traditional term Man to denote all human beings. Today’s Gospel passage is the well-known account of the Annunciation from Luke, (Lk 1: 26-38). It begins the Christmas story we love so much.
​“The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’” Luke has the gift of writing beautiful Greek, which translates well into English, and of packing a lot of information into a sentence. Just look at the first one here. In Greek the feast is known as ΕυαγγελισμÏŒς της ΘεοτÏŒκου. You can see the link to evangelisation, the proclamation of the Good News, since it is the angel Gabriel who first announces the Gospel, the Good News, to Mary. ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace’ is the more traditional translation. This term ‘full of grace’ reveals to us Mary’s state of grace, that she is immaculate, and has been designated and prepared from all eternity to be the Virgin Mother of God. Hence, ‘the Lord is with Thee,’ even before he is physically incarnate in her womb.
“She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’“ Gabriel explains God’s plan to her. She is already disturbed by his greeting: we can imagine how confused she becomes by the time he has given his message. But this young girl remains calm and in control. She hasn’t quite understood his message and he hasn’t explained it fully. She brings up an important detail. “Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’” Mary doesn’t object, but asks for further clarification, a wise woman. She reminds us that we can ask questions of God! Then all is revealed, not only the Holy Spirit’s part in the Incarnation, but also extra proof of God’s love and his ability to do what we humans deem impossible. Mary, a young virgin, is to conceive and remain for ever virgin, while her cousin. Elizabeth, whom everyone knows to be barren, has conceived by God’s grace, when even hope had faded.
The account ends with Mary’s famous words. How many times have we heard them? How many times have we repeated them? “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to thy word.” In modern translation we read, “‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.” What can the angel do once Mary has spoken, but leave in respectful silence? We, too, before the mystery of the Incarnation, remain silent in awe and gratitude. It would be good today to spend some time in silence to wonder at the mystery of the Incarnation.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully last night. He served this community well for many years, not least Abbot of the Community and before that Headmaster of the School. He was then asked to serve the wider church as Bishop of Menevia. May he know eternal happiness with God whom he served. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
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.
