Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday - 21st April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 21, 2024
Yesterday was a busy day, beginning at 3am, when I got up to get my personal prayer and reading done before Vigils at 4.30, just as at Belmont I usually get up about two hours before Morning Office at 6.30. At Belmont I include a quick walk, sadly now without Toby whom I miss terribly, it hurts each time l think of him or see a photograph. After Vigils, there’s further time for lectio before Lauds and then the Conventual Mass with time for thanksgiving before breakfast at 8am. I find the five hours between getting up and having my first cup of coffee and a bite to eat a bit difficult, but that’s how it is here. Staying overnight was one of my old altar servers from Tambogrande, now approaching sixty, who runs a website on the history of the town and district. He came to see and collect the hundreds of photographs and negatives I had accumulated over twenty years, many of them of great interest. Mid morning I went by car to visit Fr Luis at Santa Anita, one of the poorest sectors of Lima. Fr Luis, our first vocation, is now a diocesan priest, though he remains a monk at heart. He has the most wicked sense of humour and it very entertaining as well as highly intelligent. It’s always a joy to visit him and his family of cats and now a beautiful dog he has adopted, a stray who is now loved and cherished. After this, I had lunch in town, at a Chifa, a Chinese restaurant, with Br Wilmer, which was great fun, as we watched the world go by. I forgot to mention that after Terce at 8.45, the Community met in the Chapter Room for the Second Perseverance of Br Saul, the junior member of the monastic family. Peruvians are a very loving people, and throughout the day, whatever I was doing, wherever I was and with whoever I was with, the love, respect and joy were tangible. Lest I forget, I also chatted with my mother on FaceTime, corresponded with beloved friends in England, France and Spain and finished reading my latest novel. Some people think I’m out here having a rest and, to tell the truth, I am and enjoying every minute of it!
Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, because we read a Gospel passage taken from Chapter 10 of John, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd is the one who lays down his life for his sheep.” This is in contrast to the hired man, who runs away and abandons the sheep when he sees the wolf coming to attack and scatter the sheep. Jesus cares for his sheep, loves his disciples and all those who follow him faithfully. He comments, “I know my own and my own know me, just as I know the Father and the Father knows me, and I lay down my life for my sheep.” This, of course, is the very opposite to how the Pharisees look after their sheep. Jesus also talks of other sheep that are not of this fold, that he also has to take care of and lead to salvation. No one is excluded from the loving care of Jesus the good shepherd. All God’s children are deserving of his love and sacrifice. Ultimately, there will be but one flock and one shepherd. Our sad divisions and our inability to love and respect others do not reach to heaven: they will die right here on earth. How consoling these words of Jesus are to us today. Jesus alone is the Good Shepherd and he loves and cares for us dearly.
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.
