Message of Abbot Paul - Trinity Sunday - 26th May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 25, 2024
Yesterday I went to the local Saturday market in Thermi, twenty minutes away from Panorama, where my friends live, with Vasili, who bought vast quantities of fruit, vegetables and meat. I’m not quite sure who’s going to eat it all, but we’ve certainly made a start. As everyone knows him, whatever he buys is taken immediately to his car. No need to lock cars in Greece! As he’d forgotten his stick, we walked hand in hand through the open air market, crossing roads without looking out for traffic. Everything stops for Vasili, even now that he’s retired, just as it did when he was Greece’s top urologist/oncologist. It was he and his team who saved my life fifteen years’ ago when I had major surgery for cancer in Thessaloniki. Today I can say that I’ve never felt better in my life and I owe that in great part to him.
Today we keep the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, an unusual feast as it celebrates a theological truth rather than an event like Christmas, Epiphany, Easter or Pentecost. Our Gospel passage is taken from Matthew, (Mt 28: 16-20), where Jesus meets the Eleven in Galilee after his Resurrection. We see the uncertainty of the disciples, some clearly recognising him to be Jesus, their risen Lord and God, while others are unsure. He says to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commandments I gave you.” So they are to baptise and teach, not simply to baptise. It’s important to remember that catechesis and sacraments must go hand in hand. We cannot and should never have one without the other. Finally, he promises them, “Know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.”
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.
