Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 20th September 2023
Abbot Paul • September 19, 2023
Just a short message today as yesterday was a busy working day for A.I.M in Paris, meeting from 8am to 6pm with just a short break for lunch. When you read this, I will be on my way back to Belmont. I’ve been warned that the weather is windy and wet and to take special care driving. It’s interesting to see that the French are being a little more careful about Covid, with sanitising liquid to be seen in restaurants and churches, masks more frequently worn and Holy Communion being given in only one kind at Mass. I’ll add some photos of the three images of Our Lady in the Monastery of St Bathilde at Vanves, where A.I,M. has its offices and a short clip from Vespers.
Today’s Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 7: 31-35), records Jesus’ frustration with the attitude of people towards him. He compares them with children in the marketplace, playing games and singing rhymes. He even quotes one of the rhymes they sing. Then he says, “For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say he is possessed; the Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say he is a glutton and a drunkard, the friend of tax-collectors and sinners.” Nothing satisfies them and they find fault everywhere. I wonder if anything has changed. What do people make of Jesus today? Are we still like children in the marketplace?
On the Commemoration of All Souls, Abbot Brendan reflects on the experience of death within a monastic community, the meaning of Purgatory, and St Benedict’s invitation never to lose hope in the mercy of God.
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.”
