Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 20th June 2023
Abbot Paul • June 20, 2023
I was so pleased to go back to the beach yesterday with Toby, as we set apart a free day in order to visit my mother. Being already the second half of June and considering the long heatwave we’ve been suffering, I was wondering how my beloved wild orchids were faring, the orchids I’ve been so attached to since I was a small boy. I would spent hours in the marshland between the extensive sand dunes and the railway lines, where, with my friends, we’d dodge the trains, especially the fast London to Swansea expresses. Those were the days when children were free to explore and were safe to roam and discover the treasures our world had to offer. Among these treasures was the most amazing collection of plants and flowers, of which my favourites were the local wild orchids. This year, for lack of rain, they were rather small, but nevertheless outstanding for their colour and shape. I know there are similar ones in Herefordshire and have seen them at Ullingswick, for example.
​Our Gospel today continues following the teaching of Jesus to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, (Mt 5: 43-48), where Our Lord expounds on love of neighbour and enemy alike. “You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
​Jesus has said repeatedly, “You have heard it said….but I say….” He wants us to be sure that we know what it means to follow God faithfully and fully. At the end of today’s passage, Jesus drops a bombshell of a statement to describe how we much follow God. How come? Taught by the interpreters of the Law, the people had lost sight of what God originally meant by the command to “Love your neighbour as yourself.” The phrase, “hate your enemy,” is not even in the Old Testament Law. You can look in the teachings of Moses and the Prophets, but you won’t find those words. The experts had changed the teaching of the Law until it got to the point that it was no longer what it had originally meant. This should be a warning to us that we do not take a command of God and change it into something that we want it to be rather than what God really meant. We must be very careful not to distort the word of God. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, seeks to bring clarity to what God meant and show the fuller meaning and the heart of the commandment. Jesus wants us to love all people, friend or foe, good or evil, and he also wants us to pray for them. As the war rages in Ukraine, for example, it is important to pray for both sides, for only through prayer and reconciliation, will true justice and peace come about.
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.
