Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday - 25th May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 24, 2024
Dear friends, today we keep the feast of St Bede the Venerable, the great English saint, theologian, historian and Benedictine monk. He entered the monastery at Jarrow and Wearmouth at the age of seven and died on this day in the year 735. Although there are special readings selected for his feast, I will simply stick with the Gospel reading of the day. In the Orthodox Church his feast is kept on 27th May. As you know I’m in Greece at the moment visiting friends. Yesterday, with my friend Vasilis, we visited the old city of Thessaloniki and the old market, where we bought incense for our monks in Peru, olives and olive oil, baklava, Greek delight, fruit and cheese. We then had a lazy lunch, washed down with ample amounts of tsipourou, the Greek version of grappa or eau de vie.
Our Gospel passage comes from Mark, (Mk 10: 13-16), and sees Jesus welcoming little children and insisting that his disciples do the same. They are to be cherished and treated with respect. In fact, he recommends that we all become as little children if we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Anyone who does not enter the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” These are powerful words and sum up the life of St Bede. May we follow his example.
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Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.