Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 23rd June
Morning roses, taken by Abbot Paul
Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 23rd June 2021
Today and tomorrow the monastic community holds its Annual Conventual Chapter, which is rather like an AGM, where we look closely at every aspect of the life of the Belmont Community. All the solemnly professed monks come together, usually in the Chapter Room, although this year, as in 2020, those living outside the monastery will join the resident community by Zoom. Who could have imagined last year that we would still be doing this in June 2021? Our Auditors, too, will be joining us by Zoom. It’s not the same as being together face to face, but it’s a good second best. We will be taking a close look at all the financial reports and discussing the future viability of our works. There will be reports about the various areas of monastic life, including formation and safeguarding, then from the community in Peru and the parishes we serve. We will discuss the Visitation held earlier this year and General Chapter of the Congregation to take place next year. There will be official business to conclude as Belmont’s two trusts move from being Registered Charities into CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations) on 1st July, in line with other religious orders and many dioceses in England and Wales. All this will be conducted in the peaceful spirit of fraternal charity and in an atmosphere of attentive listening to one another as we discern the will of God. Please pray for us.
Our Gospel passage from Matthew, (Mt 7: 15-20) continues our reading of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus warns his disciples of the presence of “false prophets” in their midst, a warning that is equally valid for the Church today. This is what he says, “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.”
By their fruits you will know them. Those few words of Jesus have become proverbial.
Yes, he is talking about the scribes and Pharisees and about the chief priests of his day, but he is equally aware that in every generation the life of the Church will be marred by the behaviour of false prophets, those who do not teach the faith in all its simplicity and purity. When we read about ravenous wolves disguised as sheep, we might think of the horrific cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and others in the various Churches and in many other institutions that have been left irreparably damaged by such criminal behaviour. Indeed, a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Jesus tells us that the very tree, and not only the fruit, will be cut down and thrown on the fire.
Now it’s easy to point the finger at others, but what about ourselves? There’s a bit of the ravenous wolf in each one of us and there are times when we pretend to be innocent lambs. We can behave hypocritically on occasions, especially when we criticise others for the very things we do ourselves. Lord, make sure by your grace that we grow ever stronger as sound trees that bear good fruit and cast away from us any tendency or temptation to become less wholesome and fruitful than you created us to be. Heal what is diseased within us and strengthen what is good, you who alone are God and for whom nothing is impossible. Amen.
