Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 18th August 2023
Abbot Paul • August 18, 2023
As ever, it was a great joy to visit my mother yesterday and to have the opportunity of a walk on the beach with Toby. Although the carparks were full and there were long queues waiting patiently for ice cream, there were very few people actually on the beach, apart from dogwalkers. It was warm but windy and the sea as far out as it can go, so we had the vast expanse of sand to ourselves, which is what both of us prefer. It was lovely being with my mum, enjoying good food, admiring the hundreds of birds that come to feed in her garden and talking about everything that comes to mind, yesterday mostly remembering Michael Parkinson. I wish I had my mother’s acute memory and eye for detail.
​Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, (Mt19: 3-12), is about marriage and divorce and I have commented on it a number of times since I began writing these daily messages, so I won’t repeat myself. Instead, I will speak of something else, something more personal. It was five years’ ago that Fr Nicholas, then Prior and Parish Priest of Belmont, was appointed Prior Administrator of Downside Abbey, only be elected Abbot of Downside two years’ later. At the time I had no one to appoint as his replacement on the parish, so I became “caretaker parish priest”. Now that the time has come to hand over this care to someone else, Fr Augustine, who has been my righthand man from the beginning of Covid onwards, I would like to thank all those, lay and monastic, who have made these five years of additional service possible for me. It’s never been a burden, but always a source of great joy and fulfilment. On 1st September, Fr Augustine will become Parish Priest of Belmont, not a caretaker in any way, and I will step down. However, in a way, it will be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, as from 9th September, with the help of the monastic community, I will take on pastoral oversight for the parishes of Leominster and Bromyard. While I am still Abbot of Belmont, this will have to be on a parttime basis, but when I retire as abbot after twenty-four years’ service next Spring, I hope to move to Leominster at the request of the Archbishop and take on the duties fulltime. This is not what I planned or had hoped to do, so it must be God’s will. Please could I ask for your prayers?
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.
