Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 31st August

Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 31st August 2022

 Today, in England, we keep the feast of St Aidan, an Irish monk, who was invited by King Oswald in the year 633 to come over to Northumbria and set about converting his kingdom to the Christian faith. He was given the island of Lindisfarne to be the centre of his mission and of the bishopric that would be centred on his new monastic foundation. He was able to combine an austere Celtic form of monastic life with that of a travelling missionary and bishop, a rare gift indeed, the fruit of God’s grace and loving kindness.

 We continue our reading of Luke’s Gospel, (Lk 4: 38-44), with Jesus’ healing Simon’s mother-in-law of a high fever and then, at sunset, healing those who were brought to him with various diseases or possessed by some evil spirit. These somehow recognised him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” This is an interesting phenomenon also recorded in the other Gospels, that evil spirits should recognise Jesus as the Son of God whereas his disciples and other folk could not. In fact, Jesus had to rebuke them “for they knew he was the Christ.”

 He appears to have spent the night healing those brought to him by family and friends, but at daybreak he left the house, “and made his way to a lonely place.” It’s clear that he was hoping to spend some quality time, as we say today, in quiet solitude and prayer before moving on to another village. However, the inevitable happens. “The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him, they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.” The crowds, somewhat selfishly, try to stop Jesus leaving, but Jesus reminds them that the Good News of the kingdom of God is not only for them, it has to be preached in all the towns and villages. That is the Father’s will to which Jesus is obedient. Soon he will empower his disciples to share in his saving work, but as yet they are not prepared. We could ask ourselves what the Lord wants us to do today in order the let others know of the coming of the kingdom of God. This is something we should all ask the Lord in prayer. Lord, what do you want me to do to further God’s reign on earth and, more specifically, where I live?