Belmont Abbey

I have to go grovelling on my knees in apology for any I may have offended with my last post!

What horror; what can this be; who could have made such a gaff, I hear you cry out.

Well, it appears I made a comment which may, in some quarters, have been taken in the vein other than it was meant. I said the community of Worth Abbey were "possibly the friendliest community of Benedictines in the country" and I stand by this statement wholeheartedly.

My dear, dear friends at Belmont may, perhaps, have succumbed to either the sin of pride or the sin of jealousy or indeed any number of those pesky deadly seven sins. I ought to clarify - Belmont is my second home and of course they ARE the friendliest of all monks and, therefore, I was only able to say of Worth that they are possibly the friendliest.

So, if you meet any monks of Belmont these coming days, do reassure them that I remain their greatest fan and never tire of bigging them up! Tell them they are wonderful and funny and warm and inviting and great. To whom else would I run when in need, but to Belmont. Tell them I love them!

So, humble apologies, and long may I be invited to the home of the Bastions of Bonhomie at Belmont!

Dom Andrew strikes again.

It is third time lucky for our Brother Andrew, as he makes it to his third blog entry on this site. I don't believe I have written about anyone else quite so often.

It appears that Andrew is the new darling of the media, with his latest entry appearing in the Hereford Times. They have a short video, under seven minutes, of Dom Andrew's Solemn Profession. It really is worth a look, not least as you get to hear the voice of an angel. Andrew sings, too!

Do make sure to look soon, as I don't know how long it will appear as their headline video.

You also get to see many of the community of Oscott too, including me.

Look out during the singing of the Suicipe. An interesting choice of background. Am I mistaken or do we see the first station of the cross as Pilate washes his hands of the matter? Is this some sort of message, brother, as you sing: “Accept me Lord, as you have promised, and I shall truly live!” What could this mean?

Well done Brother, and watch out Dominic (who I notices manages a cameo role in the production). Surely our local hero will be on the national news soon enough.

We are all so proud of you, Brother.

Belmont Abbey on the BBC One Show

Hardeep Singh Kohli interviewed three of the monks of Belmont Abbey, including our Br Andrew of the solemn profession fame, for the BBC One Show.

The programme was aired on Thursday evening and you can follow a link to the BBC iplayer show here (NB This link has now been removed, since it was only valid for seven days - Ed). The actual footage runs between 09:38 minutes and 14:21 minutes, if you don't want to watch the whole show. It was an impressive and positive view of the monastery.

Well done to the BBC. It's not often I congratulate the BBC, but I am impressed with the iplayer in general. I heartily recommend it to you.

Solemn Profession at Belmont Abbey

Congratulations to Dom Andrew Berry OSB on making his Solemn Profession at Belmont Abbey on Wednesday.

Abbot Paul gave an excellent homily, sharing an insightful view of Hope. We stand, as Christians, at the bus stop patiently waiting for the bus to come whilst all rush by going about their busy lives. We wait, knowing that Christ will come, and in so doing we give witness to those around us. Mostly, however, I like the notion that Br Andrew could be described as the seventh proof of the existence of God. Thank you Abbot Paul and all the monks of Belmont for a most warm welcome to your home.

Read the full report, including Abbot Paul's homily here.