Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 14th January 2023
Abbot Paul • January 14, 2023
I am not sure how and when this message will get to you as our Internet system has gone down again, although it might miraculously return by the time I finish! St Benedict proposes “prayer with tears” during Lent. I find they always work. What a day this has been. About midday, I set out for my osteopath at Letton, little imagining that I would never get there. I thought I’d take my usual route via Madley and Bridge Sollars. And I did, ignoring the various Road Closed signs, as the sun was shining and a number of cars were coming in the opposite direction and I had another on my tail. I made it, but not without fear and trepidation, but I knew that if I drove slowly, we could “walk on water.” I had a lot of experience of this in Peru. Then on the A road, just 4 miles before my destination, there was a diversion that took me close to Weobley and by a roundabout route, I was on my way to Letton again. You can imagine my disappointment, when just a mile and half before my destination, the road was closed, this time with barriers to prevent people driving through. There was nothing for it but to turn around and return to Belmont. The whole journey took two and a half hours. Much of the countryside was under water and the Wye had burst its banks in several places. Let’s spare a prayer for all those whose lives are severely affected by flooding in many parts of the country.
​Our Gospel passage from Mark today, (Mk 2: 13-17), sees Jesus taking a walk along the lakeshore and calling Levi, the tax-collector, usually called Matthew. The call is radical, as is the response. “Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.” Jesus is then invited to a meal at Levi’s House, which leads to an argument between Jesus and the scribes of the Pharisee party. “When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’” We know the story well and have read it in the different versions in which it has come down to us. The fact that Jesus mixes with men and women regarded as sinners by the religious authorities and even eats with them and relaxes in their company becomes a reason to criticise him and ultimately seek his arrest. The reply of Jesus is constant and it’s deeply consoling and enriching for us even today. “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” We are the sinners whom Jesus came to call. Thanks be to God!
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.
