Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 10th August 2023
Abbot Paul • August 9, 2023
Message from Fr Paul for Thursday, 10th August 2023
August 10th is the feast of St Lawrence, martyred in Rome on this day in the year 258 when he was just 32 years’ old. Ordained a deacon by Pope St Sixtus II, he was made first among the seven deacons serving the Church of Rome. Sixtus was Greek, while Lawrence was from Valencia. The Pope and his other six deacons were put to death by the Emperor Valerian on 7th August, as they had been discovered celebrating Mass in the catacombs of St Calixtus the previous day. Lawrence’s task as a deacon was to collect and distribute alms for the poor. When the Emperor ordered him to hand over the wealth of the Church, Lawrence pointed to the poor and said, “Behold, in these you will find the riches of the Church.” Like the Pope and his fellow deacons, he was probably beheaded, but a possible misreading of the Acts of his death led to the popular tradition of his being grilled slowly to death on a gridiron. All frescos and paintings show us rather graphic versions of his death. One thing is certain, that among the early martyrs of the Church, he became a great favourite, with many churches dedicated to his honour. Together with Saints Peter and Paul, he is the patron saint of Rome. Can you count the number of medieval churches dedicated to St Lawrence in your area? There are at least six in Herefordshire and, in Ludlow, the magnificent parish church. The nearest to Belmont is the parish church of Preston on Wye. Yesterday, the vigil of his feast, I visited the church of St Lawrence at Canon Pyon, an interesting, if cold church, in a beautiful setting.
Our short Gospel passage for the feast comes from John (Jn 12: 24-26). Jesus is speaking with his disciples, where he says, “I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” He is, of course, speaking about himself and preparing them for his passion and death. He compares himself to a wheat grain, which, buried in the earth, has to die to what it was in order to live a new life as what it will become. So it is with Jesus; so it is with each one of us. The rich harvest is the Church and within the Church, which is the Body of Christ, the martyrs have a special place as they have followed Christ even to the shedding of their blood. How far would I be prepared to go? A difficult question that, but one that at times we have to answer.
Jesus continues, “Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.” This is a recurring theme in the teaching of Jesus: dying to self in order to live for him in God. This doesn’t necessarily mean a physical or a painful martyr’s death, but dying daily to ourselves and our self-centredness so as to live for others, thereby following the example of Jesus. John’s language always has several layers of meaning, so you have to dig beneath the surface of what he writes. Learning to do that with John helps us to understand the other Gospels better. We can only serve the Lord by following him and being with him wherever he wants us to be. This means going through the gateway of death into the garden of everlasting life, where the Father will honour us as we have honoured him in Christ with the Spirit’s help in this life. Let us pray today for the grace to bear witness to Christ by the quality and integrity of our lives, as we seek to follow him every day.
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.
