Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday - 15th May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 15, 2024
​Tonight, we will be celebrating our Annual Torchlight Procession in honour of Our Lady. I hope you are able to join us. It begins at 9.00pm and ends about 10.30pm. It’s always the most uplifting celebration and for me, this year will be my last May Procession as Abbot. In three weeks’ time, Belmont will have a new Abbot. This year we are a week behind schedule, as Ascension Day fell on the second Thursday of the month.
​​Our Gospel passage today takes us further into our reading of the High Priestly Prayer, that Jesus addressed to his Father in the presence of his disciples at the very end of the Last Supper, before setting off to the Garden of Gethsemane where his Passion would begin. The reading is, in fact, the very same as we heard at Mass on Sunday, (Jn 17: 11-19). If you still have it to hand, you could reread what I wrote then. This intimate prayer of Jesus was meant to be overheard by his disciples and transmitted to the Church and successive generations of disciples, right down to the present day. The words were spoken by Jesus for us. When we hear the Gospel proclaimed at Mass or simply read it at home in our Bibles or Missals, Jesus is addressing us here and now; he is speaking directly to us, for we are the disciples he has called to follow him today. Listening to his voice or hearing of his actions always leads us to question the depth and integrity of our faith. In other words, we are called to conversion and repentance, to return to God and allow him to heal our waywardness and touch our hearts and minds with his redeeming grace, so that we can walk as men and women renewed and transformed. Jesus wishes to share his joy with us to the full and, for this reason, he asks the Father to consecrate us in the truth. Today’s reading ends with these words of Jesus, “for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”​​
​​If we wish to follow in the footsteps of the great saints, then we must allow our heavenly Father to fulfil the prayer of Jesus, that we be consecrated in the truth. Lord, in your mercy, consecrate us today. 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.
