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.
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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Condolences came from Pope Leo XIV:
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