Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 28th December 2023
Abbot Paul • December 27, 2023
​Yesterday I had the great joy of visiting my mother together with Toby, my faithful companion. The journey down was a journey in hell, the winds were ferocious and the rains torrential. We appeared to cross endless rivers in spate, dark with mud and stones, over the ten miles where the A465 is being rebuilt as a dual carriageway. However, in the course of the afternoon, the rains stopped and the winds calmed down a little, so Toby and I were able to spend an hour or so on the beach. It was heavenly. My mum, of course, excelled herself in the kitchen. Where does she get all that energy from? I hope some of it rubs off on me!
​The feast celebrated today is that of the Holy Innocents, of whom we read in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 2:13-18). The events described are related to the coming of the Wise Men, who believing the child, whose star they are following, to be the son of a king, call by Jerusalem to ask King Herod, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?” Herod calls his advisers together, then asks the Wise Men to continue their journey until they find the new born babe and return to let him know that he, too, might visit and pay homage. The Wise Men sense that something is wrong and decide to go home without returning by way of Herod’s palace. This is the point at which we take up today’s Gospel passage. “After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So, Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt.” This is the story of the flight into Egypt. Jesus, Mary and Joseph become refugees. migrants, escaping persecution and certain death and seeking protection and the freedom to live in a foreign country. We think of the millions of refugees who, down the ages, have made long, perilous journeys, many of them parents with babies and small children, some born on the road or in small boats, in order to find a safe haven and a better future. Little wonder Pope Francis introduced into the Litany of Our Lady that lovely invocation, Mary, Solace of Migrants. God always reveals his will to Joseph by an angel in a dream. Joseph’s obedience is immediate, his only interest being the safety of his wife and child. As always, Matthew links what is happening to a prophecy from the Old Testament, in this case Hosea (Hos 11:1).
​Sadly, when Herod realises that the Wise Men have tricked him, he turns nasty in the most barbaric way. We read: “Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more.” Once again, Matthew relates this directly to the words of prophet Jeremiah (Jer 31: 15), who uses Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, sons of Jacob, as a symbol at the time of the deportation of the Israelites to Babylon. There is no worse crime than the abuse and murder of a child and, in this case, they were babes in arms. One can’t help but think of the infants killed in Gaza and of those struggling to survive, hungry and without medication or even fresh water. We are reminded of the Book of Exodus and the order from the Pharaoh that all males born to the Hebrew people should be killed. Moses escapes as he is found by Pharaoh’s daughter. Only tyrants can fear innocent children in this way. Why did God allow the Holy Innocents to die and why does he allow children to suffer? The truth is that God is not responsible for the actions of evil men, but sadly history does repeat itself and children are suffering for many reasons in our world today, due directly to the actions of evil men, their lust for power, their greed and utter selfishness. What can we do to alleviate that suffering? We can’t shrug our shoulders and say there’s nothing we can do. The Holy Innocents, of course, are in the glory of their Father in heaven, as indeed are all innocent children who have been deprived of the gift of life, and that includes children who have been the victims of abortion. Lord, convert the hearts of all those who cause suffering and pain, especially to the unborn, to babies and to young children and their parents. Grant them the gift of repentance and a new heart to do things differently in future. O Child of Bethlehem, born to die for our sins, take with you to heaven all those who have died in their childhood innocence. Amen.
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.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
Archbishop Mark O'Toole, of Cardiff-Menevia presided at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Mark, while Abbot Brendan conducted his burial. Cardinal Vincent Nichols preached a homily full of warmth and affection for Bishop Mark which is reproduced below.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
Our brethren in Peru were delighted with the election of Pope Leo.
