Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 5th November 2022
Abbot Paul • November 5, 2022
When I was a boy, Guy Fawkes Night was such an important celebration and for weeks before we would go round the streets, especially on a Saturday when people were doing their shopping, or of an early evening going from door to door, begging, “A penny for the guy.” We’d proudly carry around with us a guy we had made at home with the help of our parents. The objective was to save up enough money to buy a box of fireworks to use on 5th November. Usually, a group of friends would band together to have a better display. Life was much simpler then, no rules and regulations to restrict us and I suppose, looking back, most of us were quite poor, so we shared what we had. Sadly, I get the impression that life is very different now. I can’t remember the last time I saw a homemade guy or was asked by a child for “A penny for the guy.” Fireworks have become ubiquitous, unbelievably expensive and used at all the wrong times: New Year’s Eve, birthdays, weddings and celebrations in general. The magic has gone out of life. I hope you disagree!
Our Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 16: 9-15), continues on from yesterday’s reading on the general theme of money and how is can become enslaving and corrupting. Jesus is speaking with his disciples, “I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?” Money has its uses but should be treated with care. It’s dangerous when used and loved for its own sake. It is a tainted thing. In the midst of this outcry from Jesus there’s a little gem of a proverb – “The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great.” Let us take heed and practise this in our daily lives. Jesus then goes on to speak of those with a divided heart. “No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.” Again, we pray that we might not have a divided heart. Wealth can become an obsession, for poor as well as for rich, perhaps even more for those who have less and struggle to survive. “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.’” The Pharisees might laugh at Jesus, but we do not, we listen carefully and follow his teaching. God alone knows what is in our hearts
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
