Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 20th August
Abbot Paul • August 19, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Friday, 19th August 2022
My last visit to Latin America was in February 2020 and it was to our monastery in Peru. Little did we realise then that Covid-19 would shortly be taking over our lives and our world. Before Covid, I travelled regularly throughout the Andean republics, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean as a member of the International Team of AIM (Alliance for International Monasticism), leading workshops, teaching courses, giving retreats and checking up on the many projects we helped finance at monastic foundations. I’m not sure that I have the strength or the will to do this anymore. I’ll leave it to the Lord to work that one out. Nevertheless, I will be visiting our brethren at the monastery in Lurin, where their lives and that of their neighbours continues to be badly affected by the pandemic and chronic misgovernment. If you could help the brethren and their work with the poor and needy in any way, I’d be eternally grateful.
One of the countries I have visited many times, and dearly love, is Nicaragua, where the Church is being sorely tested and persecuted at this very moment by the government. I regularly visited and supported two communities, one Benedictine, the other Cistercian. I ask your prayers for their safety, particularly as they are communities of women. It’s best I say no more, but do look up news online of this beautiful but ruined country and pray for her poor and longsuffering people.
Our short Gospel passage from Matthew, (Mt 22: 24-40), shows us how at this stage of his ministry both Pharisees and Sadducees were out to get him. They longed to trap him and have him put to death. We read, “When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’” The Pharisees always try to trick Jesus into giving unorthodox or false teaching, but how could Jesus do that? It was the Pharisees themselves who taught a wrong interpretation of the Law of God, one that allowed them to dominate the hearts and minds of their hearers. The Father sent his Son into the world not to enslave us, but to set us free to enjoy the freedom of the children of God. Let us enjoy that freedom by remaining always faithful to Jesus and the truth of the Gospel.
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.
