Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 21st November 2023
Abbot Paul • November 21, 2023
Today is the feast of the Presentation of Our Lady. It recalls the day when, as a young girl, Mary was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem by her parents Saints Joachim and Anne to receive a special blessing as the firstborn of her parents. This prepared her, as did her Immaculate Conception, to become the Mother of God, when she conceived in her womb the Word made flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a lovely feast that helps us look forward to the light and joy of Christmas.
​Today is also an important anniversary in the life of the English Benedictine Congregation to which Belmont Abbey belongs. We call it our Dies Memorabilis. On this day in the year 1556, Abbot John Feckenham, together with fourteen other Benedictine monks (although one was a Cistercian and had been Abbot of Abbey Dore, just down the road from Belmont), took up residence at Westminster Abbey, restored by Queen Mary Tudor. On the same date in 1607, Dom Sigebert Buckley, the last surviving monk of Westminster, who had spent 40 years in prison, clothed and professed two novices, Robert Sadler and Edward Maihew, in the habit of the Congregation and affiliated them to Westminster, thus making them the direct successors of the old English Congregation, formed in 1216. It’s a day to give thanks to God that we are still here and to ask his blessing for the future under the protection of Our Lady and St Benedict.
​The Gospel of the feast is taken from Matthew (Mt 12: 46-50) and recounts the visit made by Our Lady to Capernaum together with other members of the family to meet with Jesus. “Jesus was speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’” On the one hand, his family is anxious to speak with him; on the other, Jesus delays in order to teach an important truth to his followers. You could think that his response was impolite, even offensive to his mother and other family members. Their reaction isn’t recorded, but we soon learn the mind of Jesus. “And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’” In the community that Jesus is forming, it is not blood relationships that count. Rather, in his Church, true relationships are established in faith and through fidelity to the word of God, the Gospel. We know that the very model for this new family, founded on obedience to the will of God, is Mary, his mother, she who said Yes to God and so conceived in her womb Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Saviour of the world. Let us pray today for the grace to follow her example in doing the will of God, the Father of Jesus. Amen.
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.
