Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday - 12th May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 11, 2024
​Today’s Gospel reading is taken from Chapter 17 of John, (Jn 17: 11-19), and is part of the concluding words of Jesus spoken at the Last Supper, part of what is known as his High Priestly Prayer. Jesus raises his eyes to heaven and prays to his heavenly father for his disciples, that they remain faithful and united to each other and to the Father in and through Jesus.
“Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.”
Jesus sees his disciples as a gift given him by his heavenly Father. He has kept them true to his name and prays that they will remain ever thus, that they might be united to one another as Jesus is to the Father. This is a prayer for unity as well for fidelity.
​Jesus, however, is now leaving his disciples to return to the Father from whence he came. He has taught his disciples, that his joy might be in them.
“But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.”
Jesus longs for the joy of the Spirit to fill the hearts of his disciples and transform their lives, even in suffering and persecution. He knows that if the world (those who reject God and his Anointed One) has hated him, whom the Father has sent into the world that the world might be saved, then it will also hate his disciples.
“I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.”
Jesus prays that they be protected from all that is evil, beginning with the very source and spirit of evil. For this he asks the Father to consecrate them in the truth of his word. “Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”
Jesus consecrates himself that they might be consecrated in him, for he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. They will be strengthened and sanctified by the power and purity of his word, the word of truth.
​Lord, we pray today that we, like the first disciples and apostles, might be consecrated in the truth by Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. We pray earnestly for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that our lives might be transformed in such a way that we become icons of the Risen Christ wherever we may be. Amen.
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.
