Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 8th May
Abbot Paul • May 7, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Sunday, 8th May 2022
To say that yesterday was a busy day would be an understatement, but it was an immensely enjoyable and rewarding day. It began with a good night’s sleep and a lie in, for I woke up around 4.30 BST but didn’t get up until 5 o’clock. I celebrated Mass for the nuns and preached, no short cuts here. The Covid rules are still much stricter in Spain, the celebrant and his assistants having to wear masks from the offertory until after communion. Sadly there are still many cases of Covid throughout the country. In the morning I met with the present abbess and mother general and the former abbess to discuss the situation in Peru concerning our community there and the future of the monastery in which they live, which was built by and is still owned by the Cistercian nuns. It was tiring, but went well. Then in the afternoon, a long meeting with the community, followed by a long tour of the part of the monastery where the nuns live and work. Most of the historic buildings are the patrimony of humanity, belong to the Spanish state and are open to the public. They are of immense cultural and religious interest and I spent a day visiting them on my first visit in 1997. However, the highlight of the day for me was seeing the storks who build their nests on the pinnacles and tower of the church. Sadly, one nest fell, but this evening the firemen arrived to help the couple rebuild their nest, attaching a steel frame base to support the nest. I was both moved and impressed, and the storks truly grateful.
Today is now known as Good Shepherd Sunday because of the Gospel passages from the tenth chapter of John that are read at Mass. In Year C we read verses 27 to 30, a short passage of great importance. Jesus begins by saying, “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.” He has already called himself the good shepherd, as well as the door by which the sheep enter the sheepfold. Little wonder the sheep listen to his voice and follow him, just as you and I do. We trust in him and know that what he teaches us is the truth. Jesus goes on to say, “I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me.” We can never forget that Jesus gives us eternal life. He has come to give us life and not to take it from us. We can never get lost, no matter how hard we might try at times, because Jesus is with us and we belong to him. Jesus reminds us why this is. “The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father. The Father and I are one.” In Jesus we belong to God the Father and no one can steal us from the Father, not even the greatest of evils can steal us from our Father’s arms. The short sentence that ends our reading is the most important concerning the relationship of Jesus with the Father that we find in the New Testament. “The Father and l are one.” In Christ we, too, become one with the Father, hard though it might be to believe. We might be asking ourselves, why would the Father want to be one with me? He made us and he loves us and sent Jesus his Son among us to remind us of this eternal truth, that he wants us for himself and wants to give us all that is good for all eternity. So, let us give thanks today that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we, the sheep of his flock.
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
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.
