Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 21st June

Message from Fr Paul for Tuesday, 21st June 2022

 Yet again I find myself sitting down late at night to write this daily message and after a very long day. In the morning, I was overjoyed to collect my mother from the nursing home where she had enjoyed three days’ respite care and took her home to continue convalescing in the peace and quiet of her own home and garden. I hope and pray that she won’t be tempted to overdo things too soon. The next week is so busy that I can’t see myself being free to visit her. Still help is at hand should she need it, but for that she will have to lay aside some of her pride and independent spirit, not an easy task.

 After a simple lunch, I drove back to Belmont just in time to change and collect a few things from the sacristy to set off, driven this time by one of the brethren, to Kidderminster to preside at a Mass of Thanksgiving for the 40th anniversary of the priestly ordination of the parish priest, Fr Douglas Lamb, a friend of Belmont. It was a wonderful celebration, the church was packed, there were many concelebrants, the singing was beautiful and a sumptuous buffet followed. We then drove back via Tenbury Wells and Bromyard and arrived at Belmont at 10.30, still enjoying the warm light of the longest evening of the year.

 Our short Gospel passage for today still finds us with Matthew, (Mt 7: 6, 12-14), in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus speaks to his disciples about the treatment of others. “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.” His words speak for themselves and need no explanation. Our prayer is that we be given the grace always to do what he asks of us, to treat others with the greatest respect in a spirit of charity, rectitude and truthfulness. He continues by saying, “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Whereas the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious and so easily found and taken, the road that leads to life, to God himself, is hard and narrow and demands an exhaustive search in order to be found. Few bother looking for it and so fail to find it, having no alternative than to take the other road, that leads sadly to perdition. We are invited by Jesus to search for God, as St Benedict describes the very purpose of life. That is why we are here, why we have been given the gift of live, to search for God and, by his mercy and love, to find him and, in him, to find life.