Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 17th January 2023
Abbot Paul • January 16, 2023
Just a short message today to let you know that yesterday I arrived as planned at Prinknash Abbey just in time for the opening of the Visitation, which is always a moment of grace for a monastic community. We then worked all day, stopping only for the Divine Office, a half hour of mental prayer together in choir and simple meals. Today we continue after the early morning offices, breakfast, Terce and the Conventual Mass. I ask for your prayers.
Today we celebrate the father of monastic life, St Antony of Egypt, who was born in the year 251, and was among the first to hear the call of Jesus to follow him in the monastic life, albeit as a hermit. Many disciples soon flocked to follow his example and teaching, as a result monastic communities came into existence. We ask his intercession today for monasteries of monks and nuns throughout the world, but especially in Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity, where Christians live under persecution, causing many to migrate as refugees. May the Lord look on them with his loving mercy and may we receive them with generosity and kindness.
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