Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 11th February 2023
Abbot Paul • February 10, 2023
As today we remember Our Lady of Lourdes, we also keep it as a special day of prayer for the sick. For those living in the UK, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to pray especially for the NHS, our hospitals, surgeries, surgeons, doctors, nurses and administrative staff, who have always looked after our health so well and at present are going through a difficult patch. We pray that with the support of our citizens as well as of the government, not only will it survive but go from strength to strength. For my part, I can truthfully say that I have only ever received the very best care, for which I am eternally grateful.
​In our Gospel today we continue reading from Mark, (Mk 8: 1-10), where the evangelist recounts one of the episodes where Jesus feeds a vast crowd of people, in this case four thousand. Mark’s introduction is brief in the extreme and no reason is given for the crowds being there with Jesus and his disciples. “A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat.” We have to wait for Jesus to speak before we discover that the crowd has been with him for three days. “I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry, they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.” We note the compassion of Jesus and his fear of the consequences should the crowd begin to walk home without having eaten. The disciples realise that it’s their responsibility to take care of logistics. “Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?” they ask Jesus. All they have left are seven loaves, but that’s all Jesus needs.
“Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven baskets, full of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people.” It strikes me that the scene is as apocalyptic as it is eucharistic. It is a vision of heaven. It also reminds us of the Exodus, Moses and the manna. The crowd eats as much as it needs of the bread and fish and there’s an abundance of scraps left over. Is this for the journey home? We are not told what happens to the scraps. The story ends as abruptly as it began. “Jesus sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.” This is the only occasion this place is mentioned in the Bible. Matthew has a similar story, but tells us that Jesus landed at a town called Magadan. Theories are far too complicated to go into here. There is much in the Bible, even in the New Testament, still for us to discover. But that’s true of life in general.
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.
