Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 22nd October 2022
Abbot Paul • October 22, 2022
It seems hard to believe, but we’re fast coming to the end of October. With little more than a week to go, we will soon be celebrating All Saints and All Souls and then begin ploughing at breakneck speed through November. It’s barely two months to Christmas, but what sort of Christmas will it be this year? The way the world and this country are going, I’d rather not think about it, other than as it should be, a faith-filled religious festival. I have always loved Advent, Christmas and the Epiphany, especially the Epiphany, and find the over-commercialisation of some aspects and total ignorance and lack of interest in others painful indeed. One of the advantages of monastic life is that we truly celebrate all feasts as religious festivals, but I feel really sorry for those who don’t, can’t or won’t. Rant over for the day!
Our Gospel reading, as we keep the feast of Pope St John Paul II, comes from Luke, (Lk 13: 1-9), and has people coming to Jesus and asking him to explain the significance of recent deaths from persecution and accident. “Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’” Two recent historic events are brought to Jesus’ attention and those asking him want to know how he interprets them in the light of who he is. Jesus does not see God as punishing people for their sins. Nevertheless, God calls them through Jesus to repentance, as indeed he calls us today. To explain what he means, he tells them a parable, that of the fig tree.
“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ’leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’” It’s a lovely parable, beautifully told by Jesus. It explains why the Father sent his Son to earth, to give us all an extra chance to put things right and begin to bear the fruit that God wants to see us bringing forth, just like a fig tree. There is no richer, no more delicious fruit than figs freshly picked from the tree with the morning dew still on them. I have such wonderful memories from Greece and Italy of collecting figs at dawn and enjoying them for breakfast with freshly baked crispy bread: a wonderful symbol of what we could be, humanly speaking, with a little more care and effort combining with God’s grace.
Pope Francis RIP Pope 2013-2025 Born 1936, Died 2025 We are deeply saddened at the passing of Pope Francis. As the successor of St Peter he has been a spiritual father and shepherd to the church in our day, challenging us, and calling as to reach out to those on the peripheries. He was the first Jesuit Pope, but took the name Francis after the Poor Man of Assisi who modelled for him a closeness to the poor, a concern for those on the margins of society and a care for all of creation In his preaching Pope Francis always spoke of the joy of the Gospel and encouraged us to reflect the joy of our faith in our lives. He showed the compassion of Jesus to everyone. He worked tirelessly for the unity of the church and travelled even to non-Christian countries promoting a message of peace. He has left a great legacy. With the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio with the community over Easter we were able to express our closeness to the Holy Father in his final suffering. There will be a special Mass at Belmont this Thursday 24th April at 11am to pray for Pope Francis as he makes his final journey to the house of the Father. On the day of his funeral, the Office of the Dead will be sung, and Mass that day will be a Requiem. May the angels lead him into paradise; may the martyrs receive him at his arrival and lead him to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive him and with Lazarus, the poor man grant him eternal rest." (The In Paradisum, words from the Funeral Liturgy)
We were were honoured and delighted to be joined by the Apostolic Nuncio to celebrate Easter. His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía is the representative of the Holy See in Great Britain, and therefore of the Holy Father. His presence on Easter Sunday morning brought us more consciously in communion with Pope Francis, the successor of St Peter, as we heard the Gospel story of Peter running to the tomb. His patron saint is St Michael, so afterwards, at a festive lunch we were able to present him with some Belmont cufflinks with the monastery coat of arms - very similar to his as Archbishop. We were able to pray for him and his work in this country.
