Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday - 21st January 2024
Abbot Paul • January 20, 2024
​Today is the Sunday within the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, so we know that Masses, Liturgies and Services will be held in churches and chapels all over the world for this intention, and Belmont is no exception. We are all praying for unity, just as we long for it and work seriously towards it, even if at times it seems an impossible task. One of the positive things we can do is to thank God for the unity we already share in Christ and for the many things we now do together which we once did apart. When I was a boy, we weren’t even allowed to say the Lord’s Prayer with Protestants, treating them as though they were pagans or worse. We have moved on leaps and bounds since then, due in great part to the Week of Prayer. We continue to pray that God will help us to undo those divisions in his Church which are the result of human pride and self-will. May the Lord grant us the courage to bring about that unity for which Christ prayed at the Last Supper, that in the Spirit his followers might be one as he and the Father are one.
​Today’s Gospel reading takes us back to the beginning of Mark (Mk 1: 14-20), bearing in mind that on weekdays we are already coming to the end of Chapter 3.
Here we meet Jesus at the very beginning of his ministry. John the Baptist has been arrested and Jesus has returned to Galilee, where he was brought up. “There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’” He seems to take over where John has left off and the message that he preaches is almost the same. At first sight, there are just subtle differences, but in fact they are fundamental. To begin with, the Good News is not a message but a person, Jesus himself: he is the Good News from God. Secondly, the time has come, the Messiah is here, there will be no more waiting. Thirdly, the kingdom of God is closer than his hearers realise, for where Jesus is, there is the kingdom of God: in Jesus the kingdom is present among us. Finally, that “repent and believe the Good News” is an invitation to believe in Jesus, to follow him as disciples and to accept him as Lord and Saviour. Whereas John pointed towards Jesus, the one who was to come, Jesus invites people to “come unto me” for healing, forgiveness and salvation.
​Our passage continues, “As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him. Going on a little further, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.” What strikes us first of all is the filmset quality of the scene. What a vivid picture Mark paints in so few words. Then we have the radicality of the invitation, “Follow me!” and the immediacy of the response. Those fishermen simply leave their nets, their boats and their father. Jesus comes first and he will make them “fishers of men.” The great thing about the Gospel is that it invites each one of us to be part of the story. In fact, the Gospel is unfinished and is still being written today, in our own lives.
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.
Archbishop Mark O'Toole, of Cardiff-Menevia presided at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Mark, while Abbot Brendan conducted his burial. Cardinal Vincent Nichols preached a homily full of warmth and affection for Bishop Mark which is reproduced below.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
Our brethren in Peru were delighted with the election of Pope Leo.
