Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 19th July 2023
Abbot Paul • July 18, 2023
Today I will be visiting the parish of Our Lady and St Michael at Abergavenny to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the parish school together with pupils, parents and staff, led by Fr Matthew, the parish priest. It’s a very important landmark in the history of Catholic education in Wales, so as we give thanks for a century and a half of unstinting service to children and young people, I ask you to pray for the school in the years ahead. I wonder what the celebrations of the 300th anniversary will be like when the time comes, as we hope it will.
​Our Gospel passage today is brief, just three short verses, (Mt 11: 25-27), in which Jesus addresses his heavenly Father. This is what he exclaims. “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” It’s a short prayer of thanksgiving in which Jesus blesses his Father, “Lord of heaven and earth”, hiding the mysteries of the kingdom from the learned and the wise, at least from those who consider themselves to be learned and wise, such as the scribes and Pharisees, while he reveals them to the simple, to mere children in learning and knowledge, his disciples. Jesus realises that this is the Father’s will. Everything that has been entrusted to him by the Father, Jesus will share with his disciples and, through them, with us, his followers in the world today. Jesus has called us to be his friends and disciples and for that, like Jesus, we give thanks to God our Father.
A homily by Abbot Brendan at a special Easter Mass for Pope Francis, attended by Catholics from across the Deanery.
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.
