Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 25th March 2023

Yesterday, it was a great joy to visit my mother after more than a month’s absence due to my trip to Peru and commitments here at Belmont. I must organise my time better so as to enable me to see her more often. It’s not easy being an only child, especially when a parent gets to an advanced age and you’re not far behind yourself! The journey down was a joy, the journey back a nightmare of closed roads and endless diversions. Toby and I were able to go down to the beach for a couple of hours, good for his arthritis and excellent for my hay fever. It was heaven on earth.

 

​Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which is a feast both of Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the feast of the Incarnation, celebrating the day that the Angel Gabriel came to Mary with the Good News that she had been chosen by the Father to bear his incarnate Son, to whom she would give the name Jesus, he who saves. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.” These words, this text and this feast are fundamental to our Christian faith. Let us with Mary always say to God, “I am the servant of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me.” Like her, may we always do God’s will.