Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 16th November 2022
Abbot Paul • November 15, 2022
You will be pleased to hear that our retreat is going well. I just wish we could switch off our computers and mobile phones for the week and be allowed a real retreat in peace and quiet. Perhaps, that’s too much to hope for. Today we keep the feast of St Gertrude the Great, born on the feast of the Epiphany in 1256. She entered the monastery school at Helfta in Germany at the age of four and joined the monastic community at the age of ten. She received a thorough education and it was only at the age of 25 that she started receiving visions. She became one of the great mystics of the 13th century, dying in the year 1302. She produced numerous writings, not all of which survive, but she is a true teacher of the art of contemplative prayer and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to this day. We ask for her prayers as we, too, walk the path of Christian discipleship.
The Belmont community visit Dowlais, and remember the Benedictine Mission to South Wales as the country remembers the Aberfan disaster.
We welcomed the Knights and Dames from the Midlands and South Wales and thanked God for their mission and service.
A double celebration on the feast of St Michael and All Angels
A School of Love by the Wye: Abbot Brendan on the Cistercians on the Feast of the Holy Cross.
The Blessing of new Icons for the Churches in Stratford-upon-Avon, with inspiring talks by the Abbot Primate and Dr Rowan Williams.
“O Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory abides.”
Nothing that is precious and dear to God is simply discarded: homily by Abbot Brendan.