Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 15th July
Message from Fr Paul for Thursday, 15th July 2021
Yesterday I was blessed to have a cell day or dies non, a “day off” for those in the world, the first one in sixteen months, but I was reaching breaking point and needed to unwind. Obviously, Toby had to be taken out for his walks, which are a blessing for me as well, otherwise I was free to sleep, rest, pray, and reminisce. As I sat and remembered old friends, I thought of the many films I saw in Roman cinemas when I was a Theology student in the 1970s. One which left an indelible mark on my heart and mind was Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel according to Matthew, made in 1964, shot in black and white and, as often with Pasolini, with no professional actors, just local people. The only dialogue are the words of the Gospel unadulterated, emphasising the teaching of Jesus. Although he was an atheist and a Marxist, Pasolini was gripped by the words of Jesus and their power to touch the human heart. We pray that Jesus will touch our hearts as each day we read Matthew’s Gospel and transform them according to his Father’s will.
So we come to today’s Gospel passage from Mathew, (Mt 11: 28-30). “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” We all experience weariness in many different ways and for many different reasons. Sometimes we know the reason or reasons, sometimes we don’t. What is sure is that we struggle and feel overburdened. Then the slightest thing can bring us down. We talk about the straw that broke the camel’s back. When we reach breaking point, it takes nothing to push us over the edge. Most of us have been there and some of us are constantly looking into the precipice. Jesus would also have been referring to the pressures put on his contemporaries by the scribes and Pharisees in their interpretation of the Law. Simplistic platitudes, however well meaning, just add to our inner weariness and despair. Unique to anyone else in human history, Jesus offers himself as the universal solution to all that burdens us. His simple promise is audacious as it is unique, “Come to me.” His words imply a divine power that alone can lift us up and relieve us of our burdens, whatever they may be. He invites us to trust in him and to hope. Jesus know that he is our only salvation and that in him alone will our souls find rest. All that is required of us is to put our hope and our trust in him.
