Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 29th April 2023
Abbot Paul • April 29, 2023
Today is the feast day of St Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Italian mystic, activist, writer and theologian, Patron of Europe and Doctor of the Church, who died on this day in the year 1380, just a month after her 33rd birthday. Apart from Our Lady, no other woman at any time has exerted so great an influence in so many spheres of international life as Catherine Benincasa. Her influence on Italian language and literature alone is inestimable. Although the feast day Mass has special readings, I propose sticking with John, the reading for the feria, as it brings with it the conclusion to chapter 6, the discourse on the bread of life (Jn 6: 60-69). Yesterday we heard Jesus say, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Jn 6: 51) The Jews argue among themselves as to what this could possibly mean, which leads Jesus to go even further and say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” This is where we pick up the story.
​Many of his followers are shocked by his words and perturbed by their meaning. They call it, “Intolerable language.” They find the words of Jesus quite unacceptable. Jesus knew that they were thinking like this and he says, “Does this upset you? 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.”
Jesus knows our innermost thoughts. He knows what is in our minds and in our hearts. He also knows who would betray him. John comments that, “After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.” Rather like Caesarea Philippi in the Synoptics, this is the pivotal moment in John, when his disciples have to decide whether to go on with Jesus or not. It should also be a moment of decision for us, his disciples today. Jesus asks the Twelve, as he asks you and me, “What about you, do you want to go away too?” It is Simon Peter who answers for us, “Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” I can’t remember the number of times I’ve said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Who else is there? You, and you alone have the word of eternal life.”
A homily by Abbot Brendan at a special Easter Mass for Pope Francis, attended by Catholics from across the Deanery.
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.
