Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 29th January

Abbot Paul • January 28, 2022

Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 29th January 2022

 One of the disadvantages of not going for longer walks with Toby is that we no longer get to see much of the monastery garden, let alone the cemetery, the woods or our playing fields. On Thursday, however, I did take a short walk into the cemetery as one of our parishioners was being buried there. What a joy to see so many snowdrops, a veritable carpet of them, the first signs of hope that Spring, Easter and the glory of the Resurrection lie ahead of us as we journey with Jesus through this New Year. 

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 Our Gospel reading today sees Jesus and his disciples take a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee after a period of teaching, using parables to instruct the large crowds that followed them around. We continue our journey through Mark, (Mk 4: 35-41). Jesus had already boarded one of the boats, so that he could preach more easily to the crowds without them pressing around him. The acoustic, too, would have been better with the sounding board of the water around the boat. Let’s read what Mark writes. “With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’”

 It is already evening when Jesus invites the disciples to go with him to the other side of the sea. Jesus goes as a passenger and there appears to be a small flotilla with him. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a storm breaks out and, in no time at all, the situation becomes threatening. The boat takes in so much water that it could go under at any moment, yet Jesus is asleep, his head on a pillow, oblivious to what’s going on around him and the fear of the disciples. They wake him up, crying, “Do you not care? We are sinking.” These are the cries of the People of Israel so many times in their history. Just think of the Psalms. It is a cry repeated in so many ways in the midst of the terrors and distresses of our world today. If God is so great and powerful a creator, if God really cares about this world, then why do events in the world and in my life go so badly. The ready response: either God has no power, or God does not care for us or creation, or he does not exist. The cry is a prayer for deliverance. Jesus wakes, rebukes the wind and calms the sea. Peace returns and all is quiet once more. Jesus does not speak sternly to the disciples, nor does he criticise their fears. He simply asks them why they were so frightened, why did they lose faith? Faith is the remedy to fear. Faith would remind them that God is with them and will always be with them in any situation. They might not have shown much faith other than to wake Jesus, but they are filled with awe. If the wind and the sea obey him, then this must be a new creation and Jesus can only be the Son of God, the Messiah, Emmanuel, God-with-us.

 Let us pray today for the faith not just to turn to Jesus when the going gets hard and life is difficult, but to know that he is always with us, that he has not forgotten or abandoned us and that we need not despair. Perhaps a quiet prayer of thanksgiving rather than a cry for help might be better.

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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Reception of Body and Mass of Remembrance Friday 30th May, 11am, St Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Swansea Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
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