Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 3rd September
Abbot Paul • September 2, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 3rd September 2022
Today, the Roman Church keeps the feast of Pope St Gregory the Great, a feast originally kept on 12th March. He was born around the year 540 and died on 12th March 604. He is one of the most important and influential saints in the history of the Church, recognised as such by all the Churches. He was proclaimed a saint by popular acclaim shortly after his death. He was elected Bishop of Rome on this day in the year 590. Previously he had been Papal ambassador to the Imperial Court at Constantinople. Together with St Augustine of Canterbury, Gregory, who sent him to England, is regarded as the Apostle of the English People. For us Benedictines, he is important for the Life of St Benedict we find in the Second Book of the Dialogues. The Downside community live under his patronage and protection, so today we pray especially for Abbot Nicholas and the Community of St Gregory the Great.
The Gospel for the feast is taken from Matthew, (Mt 16: 13-19), Caesarea Philippi and that pivotal moment in the Gospel narrative which is Peter’s declaration of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This prompts Jesus to reply, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” Peter, of course, is speaking in the name of the Twelve and, through them, of their successors as well as his and, indeed, for the whole Church. Peter speaks for us all when he declares Jesus to be, “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the faith in which Gregory believed, the faith he taught and the faith he sent Augustine and his companions to preach in England. It was the faith he shared with the Church of Constantinople and that we share with the Orthodox and all Byzantine Christians today. We ask St Gregory to pray for us, that we might remain faithful to the legacy of faith he has given us and all Christians.
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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.