Silver Jubilee of Fr Brendan

Belmont Webmaster • September 11, 2018

Feast of the Dedication, September 4th 2018

On the feast of the Dedication of the Abbey Church, 4th September, Fr Brendan celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a priest. It is always such a lovely day in the Church, with the original consecration candles lit around the walls. The Community were joined by friends and family, parishioners and retreatants, but Fr Brendan also remembered those who could not be present including those monks and nuns he had met through his work in Rome.

At the end of Mass Fr Brendan said a few words to those gathered.

"Thank you all for being here today to help me celebrate my Silver Jubilee of Ordination. It means a lot to me that you have come. It is traditional on these occasions to ask someone else to preach, and I thank Fr Michael who was my novice master for doing so. Pray also for Fr Matthew and Fr Martin fellow novices who are having separate celebrations.

My father was an architect, and one of the wonderful things we did when I was a child was to travel and to see places, wonderful cities, cathedrals, churches and works of art. He gave me a love of the beautiful things in the world that the Church has always celebrated, like this beautiful Abbey Church, full of light on the anniversary of its dedication.

I didn’t really know what picture to choose for a card to mark my Silver Jubilee of Ordination, but in the end, I went for two beautiful Madonnas by Duccio of Siena which I saw with my Father many years ago and have used on a number of retreats.

But something wonderful and unexpected happened recently when I went to say Mass in Abergavenny, after I had chosen that card. A lady came up to me and said: “I want to thank you for the retreat you gave on Duccio three years ago. That retreat awakened me to something beautiful and I took the step of going through RCIA and becoming a Catholic.”

If I had not met that lady by chance a few weeks ago I might never have known how it has stirred something up within her.

It is delightful as a priest to unexpectedly discover the way in our ministry we have touched people’s lives and help them grow towards God. That we have been able support and strengthen and encourage one another in the journey of faith. That is what we hope to do as priests. So too as monks, through our prayer in this beautiful church we hope to lift people up to God, the source of all beauty.

We never fully know how much we touch each other in our lives, help them grow in love and be what they were made to be. Today is an opportunity to thank you for how much you have touched me and supported me. I also remember so many that cannot be here, most particularly my mother, family and friends, and especially including the many monks and nuns I have worked with in Rome and abroad who have been a wonderful enriching part of my monastic life. Thank you all for being part of this celebration, and most of all for being part of my life and my service as a priest and as a monk.

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Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
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