Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday - 16th January 2024
Abbot Paul • January 15, 2024
​It seems hard to believe that we’re already in the second half of January. How this year to going fast. It will soon be Lent. And how the days are lengthening, with the occasional glorious sunset, as last night. I pray that the good Lord will bring peace to our troubled world and that all people will long for and work for peace with justice and respect for all.​
In his book Gospel of Mark, William Barclay wrote, ‘The best way to worship God is to help men.’ We might think that loving God and loving our neighbour are two different things, but they’re not, they are the two faces of the same coin. Our love for God is expressed in how we treat others. St John makes this clear in his First Letter, ‘Whoever does not love the brother, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.’ (1Jn 4: 20) I write these words by introduction to today’s Gospel reading from Mark, (Mk 2: 23-28). “One sabbath day, Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to pick ears of corn as they went along.” Doesn’t this remind you of your childhood, those carefree days when it was always Summer? Feasting from nature’s bounty: how good God is! But it’s the sabbath and the Pharisees are on the lookout for something with which to criticise and condemn Jesus and his disciples. “The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’“ In his reply, Jesus has recourse to Scripture as he did when tempted by Satan after his forty day fast in the wilderness. “Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?” These loaves of offering, twelve of them, were placed on the golden table outside the most holy place in the tent of meeting. They were sacred to God and set out fresh every Sabbath. They could be eaten only by the high priest and his sons, (Leviticus 24: 5-9) However, in the absence of any other food, David and his men ate them. (! Samuel 21: 1-6)
Jesus concludes by saying, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.” He cites the incident of David and his men as an example of how rules, even God-given ones, are not intended to take precedence over human need. In this way, Jesus tells us something important about divine rules, in other words, the Law: God made the Law to serve humans and not to rule them. What, then, is more important, to feed the hungry or to meticulously observe a commandment or rather an overstrict interpretation of that commandment? For Jesus, charity and the genuine needs of the poor, the sick and the sinner always take precedence over a rigorist interpretation of the Law, as was the custom with the scribes and Pharisees. He is giving us an important lesson for today as well. Charity comes first.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully last night. He served this community well for many years, not least Abbot of the Community and before that Headmaster of the School. He was then asked to serve the wider church as Bishop of Menevia. May he know eternal happiness with God whom he served. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
A homily by Abbot Brendan at a special Easter Mass for Pope Francis, attended by Catholics from across the Deanery.
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.
