Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 30th May 2023

Abbot Paul • May 29, 2023
It was a great delight yesterday to drive home to Wales to spend the day with my mother. The weather was ideal and the roads were clear: no heavy traffic, in fact, hardly any traffic at all. My mother had prepared a fantastic lunch, which we thoroughly enjoyed, tasty, nourishing and yet as light as a feather. I suffer from indigestion so easily, that I have to take care of what I eat and how it is prepared. I’m always amazed that my mother can still do all she does. Physically, she’s very frail, but she has phenomenal will power. I do admire her and thank God for her. Toby, too, had a wonderful time. We went down to the beach, but all the car parks were full to overflowing and there were mile-long queues for ice cream. We didn’t stop, but drove back to our local cemetery and spent a happy hour together in the shade, Toby sniffing and exploring to his heart’s content, I looking at gravestones, searching for old friends and neighbours and taking a few photographs of Old St Baglan’s church, sadly now abandoned to its fate although it is an important historic building, dating in its present form from the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. What a sight of desolation and neglect! Sadly, a hundred yards’ away, St Catherine’s church, a beautiful grade 1 gothic revival building, with windows designed by William Morris and Burns Jones, is rarely if ever open. It’s well worth a visit and make sure you see the ancient Celtic Brancuff Stone in the vestry.
 
​Our Gospel today comes from Mark, (Mk 10: 28-31), which is preceded by the meeting of Jesus with a man who is unable to give up his riches in order to follow him. He turns his back on Jesus and walks away. Following Jesus does involve making sacrifices and not everyone is willing to do that. This is the context in which Peter addresses his question to Jesus. “What about us? We have left everything and followed you.” Indeed, we are witnesses to the fact that when Jesus called Peter and his companions to be his disciples, saying, “Follow me,” they left everything and simply followed him, trusting in God’s mercy and providence. Jesus replies, saying, “I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.” Jesus is aware of the sacrifices they have made “for the sake of the Gospel,” and promises them more than a just reward, above all, the gift of eternal life.
 
Jesus concludes with the enigmatic proverb, “Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” They should not be taken in by appearances. This teaching of Jesus reminds them of how different the ways of God and His Kingdom are from the ways we see the world. God doesn’t look for those who are rich or powerful or beautiful. He looks for those who are humble and full of faith. Many whom the world sees as first will miss the Kingdom of God, while many who are overlooked by the world will be great in God’s Kingdom.
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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
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