Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 9th August
Abbot Paul • August 8, 2022
Message from Fr Paul for Tuesday, 9th August 2022
It’s a great joy to have a friend of mine come and stay a few days at Belmont. Sr Mary Kavanagh SND and worked together with me for twenty years in Peru. There’s a lot of news to share and many people to be remembered, both in conversation and in prayer. On 6th August 1981, Fr Luke, Fr David and I arrived in Lima from Cochabamba, Bolivia, where we had spent months perfecting our Spanish at the Maryknoll Institute of Languages. It was not until 20th that we arrived in Tambogrande, where we were to set up our first monastic home, due to all the paperwork that had to be completed before we could settle down as residents in the country. The Sisters of Notre Dame were a great example to us in the thoroughly professional way they set about their missionary, educational and catechetical work and we learned a great deal from them.
Today we keep the feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), the virgin martyr who lost her life together with her sister Rosa on this day in 1942 at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Although born into a Jewish family, she became an agnostic in her teens and dedicated her life to the study of philosophy. Reading the works of St Teresa of Avila and through the power of the Cross of Jesus, she was drawn towards the Catholic faith. Once she became a Catholic, she entered a Carmelite monastery and became a nun, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. All her writings are well worth reading. You might well have read, for example, The Science of the Cross. She is one of the patron saints of Europe and, hopefully, one day will be declared a Doctor of the Church.
The Gospel reading for the feast is taken from Matthew, (Mt 25: 1-13), the famous parable of the Ten Virgins or Bridesmaids, a parable we know well. It’s a memorable tale with a clear message, that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must be awake and prepared. The saddest words in the Bible are those of the bridegroom when the five foolish bridesmaids return to the wedding hall late and crying out, “Lord, Lord, open the door for us.” His reply from within the locked door is, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” Jesus warns us to “stay awake,” or we too will hear the voice of the Lord say the same words to us. The choice is ours. It really is up to us to be ready for the Lord’s coming and the inauguration of his kingdom. We know that St Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa made the right decision and are counted among the wise virgins, but will we be, that’s the question for us today?
Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Honesty and Love Before God: Pharisee and Tax Collector; Pope and King - a homily by Abbot Brendan for the 30th Sunday of the Year.
We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
With honoured guests we were delighted to open our doors again of our new guesthouse and conference centre: The Chapterhouse.
"A hymn to the human body." Abbot Brendan's Homily at the annual Mass celebrated at Rotherwas Chapel in Hereford that dates from the 1580s on the feast of the Assumption.
From Francis to Leo: A special event with Christopher Lamb of CNN in conversation with Austin Ivereigh who commentated for the BBC on the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo.
On 12th June an Ecumenical Service was held at Hereford Cathedral to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.
