Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 14th September 2023
Abbot Paul • September 13, 2023
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Precious and Life-giving Cross. We commemorate the finding of the True Cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine. In the twentieth year of his reign (326), Constantine sent his mother to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places and to find the site of the Holy Sepulchre and of the Crucifixion. Relying on the oral tradition of the faithful, Helena found the precious Cross together with the crosses of the two thieves. However, she had no way of telling which was the Cross of Christ. With the healing of a dying woman who touched one of the crosses, Patriarch Makarios of Jerusalem identified the True Cross of Christ. Helena and her court venerated the Precious and Life-Giving Cross along with other pilgrims who had come to see the instrument of our Redemption. This became the occasion of the institution of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, not only in memory of the event of the finding of the Cross, but also to celebrate how an instrument of shame was used to overcome death and bring salvation and eternal life to all creation. The Feast is an opportunity, outside the observances of Holy Week and Easter, to celebrate the full significance of the victory of the Cross over sin and death, and the triumph of the wisdom of God over the wisdom of the world. This Feast gives the Church an opportunity to bathe in the glory of the Cross as a source of light, hope and victory for Christ's people. It is also a time to recognise the universality of the work of redemption accomplished through the Cross: the entire universe is seen through the light of the Cross, the new Tree of Life, which provides nourishment for those who have been redeemed in Christ.
Today’s Gospel is taken from John, (Jn 3: 13-17), and is part of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, who came to see him by night. Let us hear what Jesus had to tell him, one of the most beautiful and reassuring passages in the New Testament:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven;
and the Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.”
Just as Moses raised on high the serpent of bronze during the Exodus, when the people of Israel were being attacked by snakes, so will Jesus, the Son of Man, who has come down from heaven, be lifted up, exalted on high, on the altar of the Cross. Those who believe in him will be saved and have eternal life. There follows that extraordinary message of God’s love for his creation and for each one of his children. So deep is God’s love for us that he gives his Son in sacrifice for our forgiveness and salvation. God does not condemn the world but desires only our salvation and eternal happiness. This message lies at the very heart of today’s feast, the precious and life-giving Cross as a symbol and instrument of the love of God, revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
We are delighted that the acclaimed Cistercian writer, Fr Michael Casey will be with us in December.
We are pleased to announce our first Advent retreat in our newly opened guesthouse
Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.
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.