Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday - 20th April 2024

Today we are all such agile users of smartphones that it’s easy to forget how it was 47 years’ ago when I first went out to Peru and during the 20 years that I lived there from August 1981 to December 2000. I spent most of yesterday trying to sort out the thousands of photographs I took while I was there, of church, village, country and family life, as well as of my favourite flower, the wild orchid, of which there are many species to be admired all over the country. An old friend of mine has come down from Tambogrande to see them and, I hope, take them back with him to use on his blog about the history of the area we served. Among the countless packets of photos and negatives, there were some of Belmont and of family and friends, some whose names I can’t now remember. Who is the saint l should be turning to for help? Even if the names have faded, the memories are still vivid and happy. I never stop thanking God for the gift of friendship and for the love we give and receive each day that uplifts us, sustains us and enables us to be the person God created us to be.

We continue our reading of John chapter 6, (vv. 60-69), the conclusion. John speaks of Jesus’ doctrine and the reaction of his hearers. “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” Jesus is aware of this and replies, “What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” The Lord’s words are indeed spirit and life, creative, redemptive and loving. However, it appears that this wasn’t enough for most of his disciples and one by one they walk away, leaving Jesus alone with the Twelve. He asks them, “What about you? Do you want to go away as well?” I must confess that whenever I have been tempted to give up the faith, or the priesthood, or the monastic life, this is the scene that comes so vividly to mind, and the words of Peter in answer to Jesus on behalf of the Twelve. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” Who else is there but Jesus who can reconcile and unite us with the Father in the joy of the Holy Spirit? Going back to what I wrote about friendship above, Jesus called his disciples friends. It’s friendship that gives us the deepest happiness, for ultimately it comes from God as God’s gift to us in Jesus and returns to God in the power and love of the Holy Spirit. In friendship we discover and experience eternal life.