Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 19th January 2023
Abbot Paul • January 19, 2023
We are in the Week or Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, which began yesterday. Even if you are unable to take part in an ecumenical prayer service in a local church, please do pray at home for this intention for which Christ himself prayed at the Last Supper, when he asked his Heavenly Father, speaking of his disciples, “Father, that they may be one as you and I are one,” such was the strength of the unity he wanted his disciples to share and build upon.
Today is the feast of St Wulstan, the 11th century Benedictine monk and Bishop of Worcester, a truly great Englishman and one of whom we can be proud as Catholics. He was brave enough to stand up to the Norman conquerors and denounce their barbarous customs such as slavery and their gross injustices towards the country they had conquered. He refused to give up his see in favour of a Norman protégé of the King and remained in post until his death on this day in the year 1095.
Today we continue reading from Mark, (Mk 3: 7-12), in which Jesus seeks a moment’s solitude, retiring with his disciples to the lakeside, but huge crowds follow him, not only from Galilee, but from almost every part of Israel. In order to save them from being crushed by the crowds, he asks his disciples to prepare a boat, so that they can distance themselves a little. More and more were coming to be healed and they all wanted to touch him. Unclean spirits would cry out, “You are the Son of God.” He rebuked them, as that was not the way he wanted to be known. Jesus still walks among us today and he wants to heal those who are sick. Let us not run away from him ourselves or discourage others from seeking his presence in their lives.
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.
