St Michael & All Angels

Abbot Paul Stonham • September 29, 2018

The angels teach us to sing and to pray

The community celebrated its patronal feast on 29th September, and a good congregation joined us for Mass. Abbot Paul gave a short homily:

We don’t often talk about angels, unless when showing visitors around the Abbey. Even devout Catholics today think of angels as part of Christian mythology and don’t quite know what to make of them. That’s strange, considering that magic and witchcraft are now such lucrative para-religious enterprises and that in the fast changing world of cyberspace everything lives on clouds, even our archives and photograph albums.

St Paul says that the angels are “all ministering spirits, sent out in the divine service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” The prayers and preface of today’s Mass take up that theme. The angels, who worship before God’s throne, are also his messengers and servants. Not only do they worship God, but they also help us to praise him by the holiness of our lives. In heaven they lead the laus perennis of which our Opus Dei is an echo here on earth.

There’s hardly a page of Scripture where the angels of God are not present. If anything, it’s the angels who give cohesion to the Bible, binding the History of Salvation together. They are the ones who constantly reveal God’s will to Man. In the Old Testament, they represent God before patriarchs, prophets and kings, whilst in the New Testament they are the prime movers in the Gospels, Acts and Book of Revelation.

Can you imagine the Annunciation without Gabriel or the Nativity without angels? Indeed, it is they who teach us to pray, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and to sing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Think of the forty days in the wilderness and the angels who ministered to Jesus in his temptations. Think of Gethsemane and the Angel of the Passion, or of the empty tomb and the message of the Easter Angel, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” What would we have made of the Ascension had the Angel not told the disciples, “Men of Galilee, why stand there looking at the sky? He will come again just as you have seen him go to heaven.” In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, Paul and the others are guided by angels in their mission, set free from prison and protected as they fearlessly set about preaching the Gospel.

Finally, what would we make of our own lives and of this present uncertain moment in world history without that powerful chapter in the Apocalypse where the archangel Michael does battle with Satan? Nothing we do can change the past, but what we do now can change the future. Today, more than ever, the world needs the guidance and protection of St Michael and the Holy Angels. Today, we need to pray, “Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle.”

May Christ, the King of Angels, grant peace and unity to his Church, the world in which we live and the whole of creation through the ministry of the Holy Angels. Amen.

By Abbot Brendan Thomas May 17, 2025
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Reception of Body and Mass of Remembrance Friday 30th May, 11am, St Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Swansea Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Please pray for the eternal happiness of Rt. Rev. Dom Mark Jabalé 10th Bishop of Menevia 10th Abbot of Belmont who died 9th May 2025 in the 92nd year of his age, the 73rd year of his monastic life and the 67th year of his priesthood. May he rest in peace
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