Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday - 17th April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 16, 2024
As you read this message, I will probably be snoozing on the plane flying me down from Paris to Lima or, if you’re an early bird, from Birmingham to Paris. I ask for your prayers as I visit our brethren at the monastery in Lurin, less than an hour south of Lima. I will endeavour to keep in touch each day and share with you some of the things I’ll be doing, including on 23rd April, the First Profession of Br Miguel Rimarachin, whom some of you might have met at Belmont recently. Needless to say, I will be keeping you all in my prayers. When I pray for people I know, I invariably see their faces before me. For others, I usually see the image of a saint or an angel.
Our Gospel reading from John, (Jn 6: 35-40), is the continuation of yesterday’s passage, the famous Discourse on the Bread of Life. We begin where we left off, with Jesus saying to the crowd:
“I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never hunger;
he who believes in me will never thirst.”
Jesus is struck by the fact that, although they can see him and have seen the works he does, yet they still fail to believe in him and ask for further signs.
​ ​​ “All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.”
Jesus talks of his relationship with the Father and of how he has come from God in order to do the Father’s will, that none of those given to him should be lost. In fact, whoever comes to him will not be turned away. Not only will no one who comes to him be turned away, but he will raise them up on the last day. This is what he means when he says that he is the bread of life, who takes hunger and thirst away from those who come to him and believe in him.
​ “Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.”
To be raised up on the last day is the final stage of eternal life. God’s deepest desire is that each one of his sons and daughters should have eternal life, but that life comes through seeing and knowing the Son and believing in him. That is the very touchstone of salvation and receiving the gift of eternal life, God’s own life, that begins not with death but at the very moment when we come to know and love Jesus as Son of God, for he is the Bread of Life who gives life to the world. The discourse will continue tomorrow and we look forward to that.
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.
