Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 30th November 2022
Abbot Paul • November 29, 2022
Today we celebrate the feast of St Andrew, patron saint not only of Scotland but of many countries, cities, parishes and Christians. He is, undoubtedly, one of the most popular of all the saints. Interestingly, there are two accounts of the call of Andrew in the Gospels. In the Synoptic tradition, and today at Mass we read Matthew’s version, (Mt 4: 18-22), he was a fisherman on the sea of Galilee and was with his brother Simon Peter and their friends, the brothers James and John, when he was called by Jesus, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” All four responded immediately the call of Jesus and downed their nets, left their work and their families and followed Jesus. However, after the resurrection of Jesus, we find them once more fishing on the Sea of Galilee, so that the initial leaving all things to follow Jesus might not have been quite as radical as at first it appeared to be.
​In John, (Jn 1: 35-42), we find a very different account of the calling of the first disciples of Jesus. Here it is.
“The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).”
​It appears, then, that the disciples were originally followers of John the Baptist and that they shifted their allegiance to Jesus at the instigation of John. We also discover that Andrew was the first to follow after Jesus. So convinced was he that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, that he rushed to introduce Peter his brother to him. This is why Andrew has always been known as the “First Called” or in Greek
ΠρωτÏŒκλητος. His name was Greek and not Hebrew or Aramaic, but it was quite common at the time for Jewish children to be given foreign names. ἈνδρÎá¾±ς means manly or brave. The life of St Andrew and his subsequent popularity gave rise to many customs and devotions. Let us simply ask his intercession to be faithful disciples in the world in which we live today
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.
