Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 25th April 2023
Abbot Paul • April 24, 2023
Today we keep the feast of St Mark the Evangelist. We don’t really know whether this is the Mark or John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as the companion of Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus. Tradition tells us that he took the Gospel to Egypt and founded the Church of Alexandria. His body is venerated at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. I wonder if the countless tourists to that unique city ever spare a thought or a prayer for the saint who made the city great. St Luke’s body, on the other hand, is venerated not far from Venice, at the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua, another wonderful city.
​The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is made up of the final verses of Mark, (Mk 16: 15-20), the last words of the risen Christ to his disciples, followed by a brief account of the Ascension. “Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them:
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.”
​Jesus sends the Apostles out to the whole world, not simply to all peoples, but to the whole of creation, to proclaim the Good News, that Jesus, who was dead, is risen from the dead and offers to all who believe in him and are baptised the gift of salvation and the forgiveness of their sins. Why would anyone want to refuse this gift, yet many are not interested? Sadly, Christ means nothing to them, even to many who are baptised and once believed. Let’s keep all the lapsed in our prayers and never cease to love them and plead with God for them. The signs associated with believers are not an invitation to try out any of those things. We sometimes hear of people who do, but they don’t live to regret It. Healing the sick is one thing, drinking poison and picking up snakes is another. Even so, one night in Peru, (we had no electricity after 9pm), I stepped on something, cold and slimy, slipped and fell. In the morning, we found an extremely poisonous snake dead on the cloister floor. In the dark, I had stepped barefoot on its head.
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.
