Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 7th December 2022
Abbot Paul • December 6, 2022
It’s a great joy for me to be able to write this short message from Kylemore Abbey in Ireland, where I am accompanying the delightful Benedictine nuns in their annual retreat. I arrived on Monday evening after a long, but interesting journey. I particularly enjoyed the comfortable bus ride from Dublin Airport to Galway, which included a wonderful scenic tour through the city of Dublin, such a beautiful, vibrant city. Then, after an excellent late lunch, came the fascinating car ride to Kylemore. On the way, I was taken to visit a hundred year old nun in a nursing home to pray with her and give her a special blessing. Yesterday, after a good night’s sleep, twice the usual length, I was able to admire the dramatic scenery round about, after morning office with the nuns and have a free morning until Mass at midday. The retreat began with the first conference early in the afternoon. I’m so glad I came and feel that this is doing me the world of good. I hope it will prove the same for the sisters.
Our Gospel passage today comes from Matthew, (Mt 11: 28-30), one of the loveliest and most consoling sayings of Jesus. “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Jesus invites all those who need his help and support to come to him. No one is excluded, but must come to him and accept the rest that he can give them. In return for his shouldering our yoke, he offers us his own, a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. Our own burdens are often the result of pride and a sinful desire to dominate others or perhaps go it alone, as though we were self-sufficient. Jesus teaches us to do things differently, in faith, hope and love, and together with others.
Abbot Brendan Reflects on Pope Leo's words to the Benedictines worldwide
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Monday 1st to Thursday 4th December 2025. Our first Advent retreat in our newly opened guesthouse
Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.
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