Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday - 4th January 2024
Abbot Paul • January 3, 2024
​Although we always acknowledge Peter to be the first among the Apostles, Primus inter Pares (the First among Equals), it is, in fact, his brother Andrew who glories in the title, The First Called, ΠρωτÏŒκλητος in Greek. You can understand why from today’s Gospel passage taken from John, (Jn: 1: 35-42). It’s also a passage that gives an alternative version of the call of his disciples by Jesus. It’s a beautiful, moving story. “As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.” It would appear, then, that the first group of disciples to be called by Jesus were, at first, followers or disciples of John the Baptist and that it was John who pointed them in the direction of Jesus, declaring him to be the ‘Lamb of God,’ the one who would sacrifice his life in order to bring salvation to those who repent and believe. When Jesus asks them, “What do you want?” as they follow him, taken off guard, they reply. “Where do you live?” which is a loaded question, meaning who are you? Jesus’ reply, “Come and see,” is an open invitation to each one of us every day: Come and see where I live; come and know who I am; in discovering me, you will discover yourself; in knowing me, you will know yourself as God knows you.
​The paragraph that follows tells us that one of the two was called Andrew and that he was the brother of Simon Peter. “One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.” It is Andrew, who informs Peter, “We have found the Messiah.” It is Andrew, the First Called, who takes Peter to Jesus. We often need someone, a friend, a relative or even a stranger, to take us to Jesus and there are times when it is our turn to take someone to Jesus. How aware are we of that, as we go about our daily lives? Jesus looks into Peter’s heart and says to him, “You are to be called Cephas, the Rock,” and it is on the rock of Peter’s faith that Jesus will build his Church. We, too, are called to be rocks on which the Church is built, rocks if not like Peter, at least like Andrew and his unnamed companion. Lord, may I bring others to you today and never forget that I was created to bring others to you for healing, grace and salvation. Amen.
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.
