Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 24th July
Abbot Paul • July 23, 2022
'Our Father' doors, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Message from Fr Paul for Sunday, 24th July 2022
Central to all faiths is prayer, communion with God. This can be intercessory prayer, praise and thanksgiving, a response to sacred scripture or the prayer of silent contemplation or prayer of the heart. It’s clear from the Gospels that Jesus was deep into the art of prayer, he prayed at all times and in all places, his life was pure prayer which he lived in communion with his heavenly Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. You can see that this was the area of his life that fascinated his disciples most. They were more than curious; they wanted to be able to do what Jesus did, spend nights in prayer in the solitude of the heart.
In our Gospel today, Luke (Lk 11: 1-13) recounts an occasion when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, because John the Baptist had taught his disciples. Now we don’t know what John taught them, but we do know and base our lives on what Jesus taught his. First of all, he gave them a little prayer they could memorise, not that prayer was to be something recited by memory at speed. Hence the brevity of the Lord’s Prayer, particularly the version we find in Luke. He tells them to say this when they pray:
“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”
We are to call God our Father and acknowledge his holiness. We long for the coming of his kingdom, that God might be all in all. As for our needs and those of others, we pray for what is essential and for what God wants to give us. Aware of our fragility and sinfulness, we ask for forgiveness, promising to forgive those who have offended us. We recognise that forgiveness must be reciprocal. There are times when the struggles of life are too much for us to bear and we give in before them. We ask that when that happens, we will remain strong before the power of evil.
In addition to praying the very words of Jesus, he also gives his disciples some examples and advice. To begin with there’s a sort of parable on persistence or perseverance in prayer. We must never give up, for God listens even when we think he doesn’t. Then comes the assurance that God always listens and gives us what is best for us. Ultimately, God wants to give us the Holy Spirit, his most precious and perfect gift. What is more, he knows our needs and fulfils every one of them. Let us thank God, today, for his goodness and incomparable generosity to us in Christ.
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.
