Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 4th May 2023

Today the Church in England keeps the feast of All the Martyrs of England, referring to the Catholic martyrs of the Reformation. In Wales the feast of the Six Martyrs of Wales and their Companions is kept on 25th October. The Benedictine Calendar, which we keep at Belmont, refers to All the Martyrs of England and Wales. Now these do not include such famous English and Welsh martyrs as Alban, Julius and Aaron, Tydful, Issui, Cadoc, Ethelbert of Hereford, Edmund and so on, but only the martyrs of the Reformation, all of whom also have their own feast day which is kept locally, such as St John Kemble and Blessed Richard Cadwallador in Herefordshire and St David Lewis in Monmouthshire, or St Thomas More and St John Fisher nationally. It strikes me as being rather confusing. Even so, it’s good to celebrate our saints and martyrs and turn to them for their intercession, praying for the grace to follow their example of fidelity to Christ and his Church.

 

​The Gospel passage for today comes from Matthew, (Mt 10: 17-20), where we find Jesus talking with his disciples. “Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” Jesus warned his disciples what would happen were they to remain faithful to him. Throughout the history of the Church and of the Christian faith, disciples faithful to Jesus have been imprisoned, tortured and put to death for their fidelity to Christ. Sadly, at many times in the history of Christianity, one group of Christians has persecuted and put to death other groups, and to some extent the hatred that lies behind persecution remains to some degree even today in our country as in others. This is desperately sad and can hardly be the will of God. Today we should pray for charity and respect among Christians, even if they cannot agree on the various aspects of Theology and interpretation of the Scriptures. A question we should always ask ourselves is, “What would Jesus want me to think and say? How does Jesus want me to do in this circumstance?