Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 16th November 2023
Abbot Paul • November 15, 2023
Yesterday was an extremely busy day for those of us taking part in the Benedictine superiors’ meeting at Ampleforth. I was up well before 5 o’clock although the monastic timetable only begins at 6am with Vigils. The sessions have been intense and demanding, with just a short break after lunch. Today we will have the same exhaustive timetable, which I hope will be as rewarding as yesterday. Tomorrow, the meeting ends and I will be driving back to Belmont. I pray the weather is kind.
In today’s Gospel from Luke, (Lk 17: 20-25), the Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God is going to come. They fail to grasp the meaning of his reply that it’s not a question of looking to the future, for, in fact, the kingdom is already among them, for where Jesus is, there is the kingdom. “For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.” Speaking with his disciples, he says that before the end of the world takes place with all its attendant signs, the Son of Man “must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.” First must come his Passion, Death and Resurrection. Only then will the time be ready for the end and kingdom to come.
Belmont Abbey Organ is the second largest organ in the County of Herefordshire. It has 3 manuals (keyboards) and 54 stops and is second only to the organ of Hereford Cathedral (4 Manuals and 67 stops) - Belmont has the largest organ in our Catholic Diocese.
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