Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 26th July 2023
Abbot Paul • July 26, 2023
The annual Mass in honour of St James, celebrated yesterday at Longworth Chapel, Bartestree, was the most wonderful occasion. The medieval Catholic chapel was filled to overflowing and resonated with joyful singing, as Fr Brendan, our Herefordshire Dean, celebrated the Mass and preached. He was accompanied by Canon Paul Millar and Dom James Norris. The event was organised by Des Keohane and was our first return to Longworth since before the Pandemic.
Deo gratias.
​Today we keep the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and progenitors of Jesus Christ. It’s the day on which we pray especially for our grandparents, both living and dead. Our Gospel passage comes from Matthew, (Mt 13: 16-17). Jesus is speaking with his disciples, “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.” This must be one of the shortest Gospel readings there is. Joachim and Anne, like the Prophets of Israel, lived with faith in the fulfilment of God’s promises, in his own time and in his own way. They trusted that God would bring about the salvation not only of Israel but of the whole world through the birth of the Messiah. They were not to know that the Messiah would be their own grandson, born of their Immaculate Virgin Daughter, Mary our mother in faith. We thank God today for our heavenly grandparents, Saints Joachim and Anne.
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.
