Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 14th February 2023
Abbot Paul • February 14, 2023
Today’s a very special day, as 96 years’ ago in the city of Perugia in Central Italy, ancient archenemy of Assisi, my mother was born in the former Augustinian Monastery of San Tommaso, then the family home, just opposite the former Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria Nuova in Via Pinturicchio on the feast of St Valentine. My aunt Rossana was born on the same day, but 12 years earlier. Toby and I will be going home to my mum’s to celebrate her birthday. We’ve been given strict instructions, and my mother like her mother before her is a woman to be obeyed, not to bring presents or cards or anything that will clutter up her attempts to get rid of all the things she no loner needs. Simplicity, other than where food is concerned, is the order of the day. We look forward to spending the day with her and to taking a walk on the beach as usual. It promises to be a mild, sunny day. St Valentine was, of course, the martyred Bishop of Terni, the second most important city of Umbria, halfway between Perugia and Rome. He was born in Terni, where he served as priest and bishop, in the year 226 and put to death in Rome about the year 269.
In the modern Calendar of the Catholic Church, today was set apart for the celebration of the Greek brothers from Thessaloniki, Saints Cyril and Methodius. I’m not sure why today was chosen for this joint feast as the Roman and Eastern Churches already celebrated them separately on a number of different dates. You can read all about it online. Needless to say, they are important saints in the history of the Church, a united Church, before the tragic split between East and West and the destructive forces of Protestantism swept across Northern Europe. They are also Patrons of Europe.
The Gospel passage for today comes from Luke, (Lk 10: 1-9), and tells how Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples to proclaim the Gospel and heal the sick in preparation for his own mission. On their departure, he said to them, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” These are famous words and as true today as they were when first spoken by Jesus. The disciples are to focus on their mission and their message rather than on personal comfort or interest. “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you.” Their behaviour is to be exemplary and austere. Their task is to bring the peace of God’s kingdom to those who seek the Lord and his gift of forgiveness, healing and salvation. With the coming of Jesus, who is to follow his disciples, they can truthfully say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” Today we ask the Apostles of the Slavic peoples to assure us by their prayers that the kingdom of God is also very near to us.
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