Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 17th September 2022

Dear friends,

Sitting at my desk at Belmont to write my daily message now seems a lifetime away. I am sitting in my room in the monastery in Peru, writing these few words on an iPad balanced on my knee, six hours behind Belmont, and although it’s 17C outside, it feels colder. At Lurin, just a ten minute walk from the Pacific Ocean and neighbours to a large factory and a shopping mall, strangely it is much quieter than Belmont, which suffers from the noise of excess traffic both on the A465 and Ruckhall Lane. I took yesterday as a day of rest and relaxation to recover from the long journey out on Thursday, 24 hours door to door. The flights were comfortable, although wearing a face mask on the flight to Lima wasn’t a pleasant experience, but there were angels at both ends of the journey to help me with my 100 kilos of luggage spread over five cases. I haven’t visited our monastery in Peru for almost three years, so there were many requests, especially for the shop here. Later in my trip I’ll take a few photographs to share with you. You’ll be amazed at what the brethren produce for sale and for the consumption of the house. Today’s photograph I took from my small balcony looking at the cloister garden. There is a community of twelve here, so with me that makes thirteen.

Our Gospel today comes from Luke, (Lk 6: 43-49), in which Jesus makes clear to his disciples how essential it is the listen to his voice and follow his teaching. Only that way will they be building on rock rather than on shifting sands. “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them builds his house on rock.” Likewise, they are to transform their own hearts by the goodness that comes from obedience to the will of God, so that they too can “draw what is good from the store of goodness in their hearts.” Today we pray for that grace to be ours, as always on a Saturday through Our Lady’s prayers.