Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 8th October 2022

When Fr Luke, Fr David and I settled in Tambogrande, northern Peru, in 1981, with the intention of founding a monastery, one of the many fascinating customs we found was associated with birthdays. Apart from the fact that these were celebrated in grand style, often over several days, an important aspect, perhaps the most important, was to congratulate the mother of the person celebrating their birthday, as it was she who had given the gift of life to her son or daughter. We were struck by the beauty of this custom. This is also one of the main reasons why devotion to Our Lady is so strong in Peru: it was Mary who conceived and bore a son, Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Mary always leads us to Jesus.

 In today’s brief Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 11: 27-28), we discover something very similar in Jewish society at the time of Jesus. “As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!” What a charming vignette this is. While Jesus is speaking, a woman in the crowd raises her voice to bless his mother, Mary. “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that suckled you.” Indeed, they were truly blessed, but Jesus tells us why they were so blessed: the very fact that Mary heard the word of God and obeyed it. The Incarnation is the result of Mary’s obedience to God’s word. Jesus wants us all to follow his Mother’s example. Let us pray for the grace to do that always.