Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 8th February 2023
Abbot Paul • February 7, 2023
It’s impossible to be about our daily work at the moment without thinking of the people affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and the extreme suffering and trauma they are confronting. It’s truly heart-breaking. And that continues to be true of the war in Ukraine, to which I can see no just or peaceful conclusion. Today I also received further news both in the media and personally from friends in Nicaragua of the persecution of the Church in that sad country. I tend not to fall into despair because of my faith in the Resurrection of Jesus and the hope of eternal life, but I do get very sad, very low. I often hear in my head that song that was so popular in the 60s, “Where have all the flowers gone?” and the line, “When will they ever learn?” The words haunted me then and they haunt me now.
​Our Gospel passage carries on from yesterday’s: we’re reading Mark, (Mk 7: 14-23). Jesus wants to go deeper with the crowds into what he was saying to the scribes and Pharisees. “Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’” Jesus points to what is truly unclean, our thoughts and actions, and asks us to think about the source of evil. The Pharisees would have us believe that the keeping of a ritualistic law guarantees purity and goodness, but Jesus says this can’t be so. It’s what goes on in our hearts and minds that cause us to be unclean and impure.
​Later, at home, he explains to his disciples. “Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer? It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.” We know full well that what Jesus says is true and we have experienced it for ourselves. The only remedy is repentance and conversion, baptism, faith and grace. Let us pray today that the Holy Spirit will keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts and, through faith, the presence of Christ in our lives. Lord, only you can purify my soul and cleanse my heart. Make me a temple of the Holy Spirit and a living member of your Body. Amen.
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.
