Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 17th December 2022
Abbot Paul • December 17, 2022
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other mightily,
and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Today we embark on the second part of our Advent journey, the days marked by the great O Antiphons, after which each day is named. The antiphon is sung with the Alleluia before the Gospel at Mass and with the Magnificat at Vespers. Each one begins with a Messianic title of Jesus, the Christ, taken from the prophecies of the Old Testament, emphasising the meaning of the title and then asks Jesus to come and fulfil anew what that title reveals of his mission. Today, recalling that Jesus is Divine Wisdom, we ask that he come and teach us something of his wisdom and holy prudence. The antiphons were probably composed in the 5th century and spread rapidly throughout the Western Church and are still sung today.
Our Gospel reading today is the genealogy of Jesus according to Matthew, (Mt 1: 1-17). Matthew, unlike Luke, who goes back to creation, Adam and Eve, begins with the history of Israel, and with Abraham, our faither in faith. He begins by saying: “A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.” To get a flavour of how it works, let’s read the first section of three, the fourteen generations from Abraham to David. Notice the women who are mentioned.
“Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,
Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,
Obed was the father of Jesse;
and Jesse was the father of King David.”
Matthew brings his genealogy to an end, writing;
“And Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.”
Matthew is careful to tell us that although Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is the Christ, and that Joseph was her husband, nevertheless Joseph was not the father of Jesus. Following on from the genealogy, Matthew’s infancy narrative begins with the annunciation of the angel to Joseph, where all is made clear. Let us pray today that people throughout the world, who are preparing to celebrate Christmas, will come to recognise and know that the Babe in the manger is indeed God incarnate, our Saviour and our Lord. Amen.
Pictures of the pond in the grounds of Belmont Abbey
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.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
