Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 16th July
Abbot Paul • July 16, 2022
Today the Church keeps the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a feast that goes back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and the founding of the Carmelite Order. It is a feast and devotion that reminds us constantly of our shared contemplative vocation to union with Jesus in whom we encounter God and learn to love him. We pray for our brother and sister Carmelites throughout the world and for the souls in Purgatory. It was on this day in 1981, while studying Spanish in Cochabamba, Bolivia, that Frs Luke, David and I visited the Carmelite nuns in their ancient monastery there and celebrated Mass with them. I feel they would welcome our prayers today, as would our dear sisters at Dolgellau in Wales. Our General Chapter continues to work hard and today is no exception. Thank God tomorrow we have a rest day.
Our short Gospel reading comes from Matthew, (Mt 12: 14-21), and is mostly a quotation from the Prophet Isaiah. Our evangelist sets out by warning us that the Pharisees have set out to plot against Jesus and are discussing how to destroy him. Why do they hate him so and are so afraid of his popularity? I suspect they fear that the Roman authorities will come down heavily on any national religious figure who looks likely to rock the the boat of civil order and submission to the state, yet it would take a couple of centuries for Christians to pose a threat and become a powerful political and religious presence in the Roman Empire. In fact, Jesus, realising what the Pharisees have in mind, withdraws from the district. Not only that, but he warns those who follow him and are cured by him not to make him known. He is not a political Messiah, as even his disciples seemed to think at times. Consider the two on the road to Emmaus.
It is in this context that Jesus quotes from Isaiah 42: 1-4. Here are just a few lines: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved. I will endow him with my Spirit and he will proclaim true faith to the nations. In his name the nations will put their hope.” Today, Jesus proclaims hope and true faith to the nations through each one of us, his disciples and his people. This is the shared vocation of all Christians, the vocation that you and I share. May we fulfill it with joyful hope in the coming of God’s kingdom.
Abbot Brendan Reflects on Pope Leo's words to the Benedictines worldwide
July and August 2026: 3 workshops let by Fr Alex Echeandia, Prior of the Monastery of Lurin
9th to 11th January 2026 A weekend for young men to experience the monastic life and join in the prayer and life of the community.
28th November at 6.45pm You are welcome to join an informal service for healing prayer on the last Friday of November. No need to book.
Sat 13th December, 10.00am-12.30am We are delighted that the acclaimed Cistercian writer, Fr Michael Casey will be with us in December.
Monday 1st to Thursday 4th December 2025. Our first Advent retreat in our newly opened guesthouse
Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.