Yesterday was my last day in Peru and I’m glad to say it went very well. After Terce I had a very productive meeting with the community and reassured them that the new abbot would have as much care and interest for our Peruvian foundation as I had. Lurin is very much part of Belmont and the English Congregation and we all look forward to the day it becomes an independent monastery in its own right. Packing was easy as I had practically nothing to bring back, as I usually go out with vast amounts of luggage for the brethren and come back empty handed other than for a few small presents, I’m sitting in one of the lounges at Lima Airport writing this message and will need to send it off before my flight leaves. A new runway and terminal are almost ready and Lima has become the busiest and most important hub in South America. You can catch a flight here for almost anywhere, apart from London! Let’s not kid ourselves: we’re not as important as we used to be! Today’s Gospel reading comes from John, (Jn 14: 1-6), one of the best known readings in the Bible. Jesus is speaking with his disciples during the Last Supper. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am now going to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be too. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus wishes to assure his disciples of his love for them and of his desire to have them at his side for all eternity. However, Thomas finds the argument difficult to follow and says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” To this Jesus replies, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” This is as simple to understand as it is true. Jesus is the Way in that he teaches by example, but also gives us the means of walking with him on the way of truth that leads to life. Jesus is the Truth in that he teaches God’s truth, showing us the will of God and the commandment of God, the rule of love, but he is also the Truth in that he incarnates the truth he has learned from the Father and passes onto us. Jesus is the Life, for he is the Source of life, the Word through which all things were made and have their being. But, even more, by his Cross and Resurrection, he has restored us to life and opened for us the gates of eternal life. Hence, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still and trust in me.”
Yesterday was my last full day in Peru and what a day it was. In addition to all the usual things we do every day in a monastery, the services and periods of reading and prayer, a full programme had been arranged for me. In the morning after Mass, a 20 minute car trip along the PanAmerican Highway to Punta Hermosa, an exclusive beach resort, which many people have now made their permanent home, to have breakfast with a dear friend of the monastic community and of the Cistercian nuns before us. Apart from the wonderful company of a deeply religious lady and retired diplomat, I have never been served such a splendid breakfast in my entire life. It was quite spectacular and included everything you could think of, yet all beautifully understated in its presentation. All this on a balcony overlooking the beach and ocean. In the afternoon I had the visit of a dear friend for a heart to heart. I served him lunch, but couldn’t bring myself to eat anymore after the breakfast I’d had. The monks had arranged early Vespers, so that a party could take place in my honour. This also involved our oblates and friends of the community, a professional singer with two guitarists and two young professional dancers. There was the most amazing programme of Peruvian music and dancing, plus songs and poems by the monks. As always in Peru, the noise was well above safety levels and my ears are still ringing. Will I ever hear properly again? There were speeches, food and drink in abundance and general dancing of the traditional Peruvian huayno from the Andes. So it’s really very late indeed as I sit to write these few words. I shall leave the Gospel commentary for today, if you don’t mind, as I need to get to bed. Tomorrow, i.e. today is going to be a very long day indeed.
Although yesterday began all cloudy and grey, with a touch of dampness in the air, it ended in glorious sunshine and blue skies. At 11 o’clock we had the solemn Mass for the First Profession of Br Miguel Rimarachin Pinedo, with a large number of guests: Br Miguel’s family from Cutervo, Cajamarca, oblates, friends of the monastery and people devoted to St Benedict. This was followed by the most delicious lunch prepared in our kitchens, served with chicha morada, a drink made with purple maize. There was a lot of animated conversation as old friendships were renewed and new friends made. I sat at a table with a very old friend, who many years’ ago had been the Peruvian Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Celebrating these important events and preaching, and simply being the host, I still find to be really exhausting if exhilarating, even after being Abbot for so long! An interesting fact, I am half way through my 24th year as Abbot, and Br Miguel recently celebrated his 24th birthday. One of the particular joys of this visit has been meeting up with my old servers from the parish of Tambogrande, where I served as parish priest from 1981 to 1986, probably, until now, the happiest years of my life. They are all now in their late 50s and early 60s, yet have retained my most incredible affection and respect for Fr Luke, Fr David and myself. They’re talking about organising a reunion next year. That would be amazing. Today is my last full day in Peru. How the days have flown by! Our Gospel passage comes from John, (Jn 12: 44-50), in which Jesus speaks openly of his relationship with the Father and of how his word ultimately derives from the Father. “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me.” In other words, to believe in Jesus is to believe in God and to look upon Jesus and truly see him is the see and know God the Father, for Christ and the Father are One, the one true God in the unity of the Holy Spirit. He continues, “I who am the light have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me need stay in the dark no longer.” To walk with Jesus is to walk in and with the light of grace, the dawn of salvation, the new life of the resurrection, the glorious beauty of the truth. Jesus then goes on to repeat the words he spoke to Nicodemus, “I have come not to condemn the world, but to save the world.” This means that anyone who rejects Jesus and the word of life he speaks, that comes from the Father, will be judged by the very word that is rejected. Nevertheless, the hope and prayer of Jesus is that all people will receive and believe in the word with open hearts, for it’s the word that leads to eternal life.
Today we keep the feast of St George, the warrior saint, who shed his blood for Christ, patron saint of England and of many other countries, towns, villages and churches throughout the Christian world, including in Peru. Today we will celebrate the First Profession of Br Miguel Rimarachin Pinedo, so a day of rejoicing for the monastic community in Lurin. Yesterday, among many other things, I visited our bishop, Mgr. Carlos Garcia Camader. We spent a couple of hours together talking about many aspects of Church life in Peru and England, sharing experiences and looking with hope to the future. Mgr. Carlos has been a great supporter of the monastery and holds the monks in high esteem. This is a very lively diocese, with an amazing pastoral and social outreach on a grand scale. It also has a thriving seminary with many good vocations. Mgr. Carlos asks for your prayers and ours. I’m running late today (Monday) and am feeling very tired, with a big day to get through, rejoicing I hasten to add, tomorrow (Tuesday). I’ll be very brief in looking at the Gospel reading from John, (Jn 10: 22-30). Jesus is in Jerusalem for the festival of Dedication and he’s walking up and down in the Portico of Solomon in the Temple. People are wondering aloud whether he is the Messiah or not. “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly,” they say. He replies that he has told them and has also given them many signs. What is lacking? They might not know him, but his sheep do and he gives them eternal life. This is the Father’s will. He ends by saying, “The Father and I are one.” What more can he say? If he and the Father are one, then who is he?
Yesterday, being Sunday, was a very busy day, which left me so exhausted that I fell asleep during Vespers. Don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful day in so many ways, but there was no free moment just to put my feet up from getting up at 3am until now that I’ve sat down in an armchair just before supper to jot these words down. What were the highlights? Well, during the Conventual Mass, a husband and wife became oblate novices, while our organist made his promises as a fully fledged oblate. Oblates are lay associates of a monastery and live in the world following the Rule of St Benedict. A number of my old servers from Tambogrande were also at the Mass, so it was a delight to speak with them afterwards and catch up with all the news. One of them, son of the mayor of Tambogrande who welcomed Fr Luke, Fr David and myself in August 1981, I’d not seen for over 30 years, but the warmth and the love were stronger than ever. Sadly, both his parents have passed away. Then at lunchtime, another old friend, Lima born and bred, came to have lunch with me and then go for a long walk together in the heat of the afternoon, as we shared our experiences of life, faith, politics, our respective governments and our hopes for a better world. As Christians, we can only live in hope. We returned just before Vespers and Adoration, at which I presided and fell asleep. All the same, it really has been a wonderful day. Our Gospel reading finds us at the beginning of John, chapter 10, the parable of the Gate of the Sheepfold. In comparison with thieves and brigands, who do not enter the sheepfold by the gate, “the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out.” He then goes ahead of his flock and his sheep follow him, “because they know his voice.” Sheep run away from strangers, as they don’t recognise their voice. Jesus, of course, lived in a very different world to the one we now live in. Flocks were small and cared for individually by their own shepherd. I can remember so well seeing this in northern Greece when I was a student there in the mid 60s and in northern Peru, when l first went out there in the late 70s. As they failed to understand the parable, Jesus had another go, saying, “I am the gate of the sheepfold.” He repeats himself saying, “l am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe; he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture.” He concludes with one of his most famous and important sayings, “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full,” meaning more abundantly. We have no less than four important uses of the name of God in this section of John, three I AMs and a simple I to conclude with, “I have come that…..” God himself in Christ is the gate of the sheepfold, who comes to bring us eternal life, more abundant life, life in the Spirit.
Yesterday was a busy day, beginning at 3am, when I got up to get my personal prayer and reading done before Vigils at 4.30, just as at Belmont I usually get up about two hours before Morning Office at 6.30. At Belmont I include a quick walk, sadly now without Toby whom I miss terribly, it hurts each time l think of him or see a photograph. After Vigils, there’s further time for lectio before Lauds and then the Conventual Mass with time for thanksgiving before breakfast at 8am. I find the five hours between getting up and having my first cup of coffee and a bite to eat a bit difficult, but that’s how it is here. Staying overnight was one of my old altar servers from Tambogrande, now approaching sixty, who runs a website on the history of the town and district. He came to see and collect the hundreds of photographs and negatives I had accumulated over twenty years, many of them of great interest. Mid morning I went by car to visit Fr Luis at Santa Anita, one of the poorest sectors of Lima. Fr Luis, our first vocation, is now a diocesan priest, though he remains a monk at heart. He has the most wicked sense of humour and it very entertaining as well as highly intelligent. It’s always a joy to visit him and his family of cats and now a beautiful dog he has adopted, a stray who is now loved and cherished. After this, I had lunch in town, at a Chifa, a Chinese restaurant, with Br Wilmer, which was great fun, as we watched the world go by. I forgot to mention that after Terce at 8.45, the Community met in the Chapter Room for the Second Perseverance of Br Saul, the junior member of the monastic family. Peruvians are a very loving people, and throughout the day, whatever I was doing, wherever I was and with whoever I was with, the love, respect and joy were tangible. Lest I forget, I also chatted with my mother on FaceTime, corresponded with beloved friends in England, France and Spain and finished reading my latest novel. Some people think I’m out here having a rest and, to tell the truth, I am and enjoying every minute of it! Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, because we read a Gospel passage taken from Chapter 10 of John, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd is the one who lays down his life for his sheep.” This is in contrast to the hired man, who runs away and abandons the sheep when he sees the wolf coming to attack and scatter the sheep. Jesus cares for his sheep, loves his disciples and all those who follow him faithfully. He comments, “I know my own and my own know me, just as I know the Father and the Father knows me, and I lay down my life for my sheep.” This, of course, is the very opposite to how the Pharisees look after their sheep. Jesus also talks of other sheep that are not of this fold, that he also has to take care of and lead to salvation. No one is excluded from the loving care of Jesus the good shepherd. All God’s children are deserving of his love and sacrifice. Ultimately, there will be but one flock and one shepherd. Our sad divisions and our inability to love and respect others do not reach to heaven: they will die right here on earth. How consoling these words of Jesus are to us today. Jesus alone is the Good Shepherd and he loves and cares for us dearly.
Today we are all such agile users of smartphones that it’s easy to forget how it was 47 years’ ago when I first went out to Peru and during the 20 years that I lived there from August 1981 to December 2000. I spent most of yesterday trying to sort out the thousands of photographs I took while I was there, of church, village, country and family life, as well as of my favourite flower, the wild orchid, of which there are many species to be admired all over the country. An old friend of mine has come down from Tambogrande to see them and, I hope, take them back with him to use on his blog about the history of the area we served. Among the countless packets of photos and negatives, there were some of Belmont and of family and friends, some whose names I can’t now remember. Who is the saint l should be turning to for help? Even if the names have faded, the memories are still vivid and happy. I never stop thanking God for the gift of friendship and for the love we give and receive each day that uplifts us, sustains us and enables us to be the person God created us to be. We continue our reading of John chapter 6, (vv. 60-69), the conclusion. John speaks of Jesus’ doctrine and the reaction of his hearers. “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” Jesus is aware of this and replies, “What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” The Lord’s words are indeed spirit and life, creative, redemptive and loving. However, it appears that this wasn’t enough for most of his disciples and one by one they walk away, leaving Jesus alone with the Twelve. He asks them, “What about you? Do you want to go away as well?” I must confess that whenever I have been tempted to give up the faith, or the priesthood, or the monastic life, this is the scene that comes so vividly to mind, and the words of Peter in answer to Jesus on behalf of the Twelve. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” Who else is there but Jesus who can reconcile and unite us with the Father in the joy of the Holy Spirit? Going back to what I wrote about friendship above, Jesus called his disciples friends. It’s friendship that gives us the deepest happiness, for ultimately it comes from God as God’s gift to us in Jesus and returns to God in the power and love of the Holy Spirit. In friendship we discover and experience eternal life.
I apologise for the brevity of today’s message, but I know you will understand. The journey door to door, including long car rides both ends, waiting at airports and changing planes in Paris, takes around 24 hours, so I spent part of Thursday resting, reading, chatting with the brethren, as well as meeting with the officials of the television company that’s going to film the Profession of Br Miguel this coming Tuesday. Then there were emails and messages from home, some urgent, some not, and a long conversation with my mother on FaceTime. It was also a great joy to speak with a dear friend just before lunch. It’s really warm here still, as it’s coming to the end of Summer, so sleep is easiest just lying on top of the bed. In England the days are lengthening, but here near Lima it remains roughly 12 hours of day and 12 of night. Our Gospel today continues with the Discourse on the Bread of Life, (Jn 6: 33-39). His hearers begin to argue amongst themselves about what Jesus has just said. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” To this Jesus replies, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.” His words are clear, indeed as clear as can be, and he is not speaking figuratively. He says what he means and he means what he says. He goes onto say, “Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.” So our resurrection on the last day is dependent on our eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He emphasises this point by saying, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.” So again, we can only live in Christ and he live in us if we eat and drink his flesh and blood. He goes on to say that this is the way in which we draw life from him, as he draws life from the Father. Those who ate manna in the desert died, but those who eat of this bread, feed on him and draw life from him. They will live for ever, as he lives for ever in the Father. Eternal life, then, is bound up with feeding on Christ, the Bread of Life.
​I wrote this at Belmont before leaving for Peru, as I thought it might be a bit complicated, what with a six-hour time change and having to cope with many differences in timetable and flying all day, to get a message written and sent for today. I am presuming on God’s mercy that all has gone well and that tomorrow you will receive something fresh from the horse’s mouth! At least the weather here is stable and warm, a constant 25C during the day and sunny. Today we continue our reading of the Discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of John, (Jn 6: 44-51). Jesus is speaking with the crowds at Capernaum following the miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish the previous day. John calls the few miracles he describes in detail in his Gospel signs, for they point clearly to the divinity of Jesus, that he is truly the Messiah and Son of God. He has told the people that he is the Bread of Life, sent down from heaven by the Father to give life to the world, by which he means those who accept him and believe in him. He continues by saying: “No one can come to me​​​​​​​​ unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Everything must be done according to God’s will, and his will is that all should be saved and come to eternal life, that no one should be lost. So it is God himself who leads us to his Son, that we might come to the knowledge of the truth. ​​​ ​ “It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father.” The word of Jesus is God’s word and his revelation is God’s teaching. Only Jesus who has come down from heaven and has been sent by the Father knows God fully and the mind of God. This knowledge he shares with those who come to him. He feeds them spiritually, for eternal life is to know and love God. He continues: ​​​​“I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; ​​​​​ but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” Jesus is the living bread of life, and to know him and believe in him is to have eternal life, for his life, God’s life, will be in us. Until the very last verse we read today, it all seems very simple and easy to follow, even for his listeners. They ask no questions. The word bread is not being used literally, but figuratively. Then in that last verse Jesus goes a step further when he says, “the bread I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” We are used to worship and liturgy centred on the Eucharist, the Mass, but this is not the case with his listeners, the crowd fed when he multiplied the loaves and fish. They will fail to understand, and express shock, disgust even, at his words. Not only is this bread on which he will feed them his flesh, but he is also giving it for the life, the salvation of the world. Trouble is in store, as we shall find out tomorrow.
As you read this message, I will probably be snoozing on the plane flying me down from Paris to Lima or, if you’re an early bird, from Birmingham to Paris. I ask for your prayers as I visit our brethren at the monastery in Lurin, less than an hour south of Lima. I will endeavour to keep in touch each day and share with you some of the things I’ll be doing, including on 23rd April, the First Profession of Br Miguel Rimarachin, whom some of you might have met at Belmont recently. Needless to say, I will be keeping you all in my prayers. When I pray for people I know, I invariably see their faces before me. For others, I usually see the image of a saint or an angel. Our Gospel reading from John, (Jn 6: 35-40), is the continuation of yesterday’s passage, the famous Discourse on the Bread of Life. We begin where we left off, with Jesus saying to the crowd: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger; he who believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus is struck by the fact that, although they can see him and have seen the works he does, yet they still fail to believe in him and ask for further signs. ​ ​​ “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away; because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me.” Jesus talks of his relationship with the Father and of how he has come from God in order to do the Father’s will, that none of those given to him should be lost. In fact, whoever comes to him will not be turned away. Not only will no one who comes to him be turned away, but he will raise them up on the last day. This is what he means when he says that he is the bread of life, who takes hunger and thirst away from those who come to him and believe in him. ​ “Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day. Yes, it is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day.” To be raised up on the last day is the final stage of eternal life. God’s deepest desire is that each one of his sons and daughters should have eternal life, but that life comes through seeing and knowing the Son and believing in him. That is the very touchstone of salvation and receiving the gift of eternal life, God’s own life, that begins not with death but at the very moment when we come to know and love Jesus as Son of God, for he is the Bread of Life who gives life to the world. The discourse will continue tomorrow and we look forward to that.