Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 17th November 2022
Abbot Paul • November 17, 2022
Today we keep the feast of St Hugh of Lincoln, an exceptional saint, as he was a Carthusian monk when appointed to the largest diocese in England in the year 1186. Before he became a Carthusian, the strictest of all religious orders, Hugh was a Benedictine. So famous was his renowned holiness that he was canonised in 1220, just 20 years after his death. In art he is often shown with his pet swan.
Today’s Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 19: 41-44), describes Jesus weep over the city of Jerusalem, longing as he did for its conversion and salvation.
“As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the city, he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God offered it!’”
We pray that, through the intercession of St Hugh, we might hear the voice of Jesus call to us and respond with repentance and conversion.
At a solemn Mass, the feast of St Basil and St Gregory, Br Alban makes his promises as a claustral oblate.
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.