Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 9th July 2023
Abbot Paul • July 9, 2023
Early yesterday morning Toby and I came across a bush of ripe blackberries and, although it was only 8th July, I ate my first wild blackberries this year. Earlier in the week, we came across delicious wild strawberries in a wood not far from here and had our fill. I can’t help thinking how blessed we are to receive God’s gifts day after day through sight, smell and taste. The foraging season has most definitely begun. I always remember fondly how my grandmother and aunts in Italy would find the most delicious and nutritious food in the woods behind her house: fruits and berries of all sorts, nuts, salads leaves, asparagus, fungi, thistles, grasses and so on. How we would banquet all summer long and well into autumn and winter. My Welsh grandmother, too, was an old hand at foraging and, living near the sea, an expert user of the shrimp net. Do young people today live so close to nature and enjoy such healthy meals? I hope so, for there’s nothing like food found fresh in woods, hedgerows, dunes and beaches. One of my favourite little books, always at my bedside, is FOOD FOR FREE: THE FORAGER’S GUIDE by Richard Mabey. It’s well worth reading. Get a copy!
​Our Gospel passage today comes from Matthew, (Mt 11: 25-30). Here Jesus prays to his heavenly Father in the presence of his hearers and then invites them to come to him, that he might lighten their burdens and forgive their sins, as well as reveal the Father’s face to them. He exclaims, “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” As he prays, Jesus teaches us that he has come to reveal the Father to his disciples, to those who are humble and open their hearts to him, not to the learned and the clever, but to mere children. In and through Jesus, we can come to know the Father.
​Jesus then invites us to come to him and exchange our burdens, the wounds of life and our sins, with his lighter yoke. If we are overburdened, which we probably are, then he will take our burdens and carry them for us. He invites us to offload our burdens onto him, for he will bear them for us as he bore the cross for us and shed his blood for us. In return he will give us his yoke which is easy and his burden which is light. What an exchange of gifts this is. God truly loves us.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully last night. He served this community well for many years, not least Abbot of the Community and before that Headmaster of the School. He was then asked to serve the wider church as Bishop of Menevia. May he know eternal happiness with God whom he served. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
A homily by Abbot Brendan at a special Easter Mass for Pope Francis, attended by Catholics from across the Deanery.
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.
