Mark Caira Blessing 6

Few Words from the Abbot These are the few words that every abbot is called to give at his Blessing. Oops! I have just been informed that the caterers have asked to keep you here as long as possible…. Well, Sometime ago Fr Raymond and I were talking about the Abbatial Blessing. He said I’d have to say something near the end. ‘But’, he said,’ that’s easy: all you have to say is h-e-l-p!!’ — I wonder was he talking from experience? At the time of his Blessing, six years ago, Mgr Grady the former VG of the archdiocese was getting more and more frail. He came all the same and took part in the concelebration. But he had to sit all the time and was seated away from the other priests. He received the consecrated host like everyone else but he couldn’t come forward for the chalice and, between the coming and going, he was overlooked. Someone sitting next to him came up and told me he hadn’t received the chalice. So I went to the altar where there were three chalices. All of them were empty. I believe that day I witnessed a small miracle. I was at a loss to know what to do. In a kind of desperation I took up one chalice and turned it upside down over the second and waited a little. Then I did the same with the third chalice. When I looked into the first chalice there was just about enough wine to give the Mgr a sip. With some relief I went over and presented the chalice to him. He took it thankfully. But before he drank it he looked up at me and asked, ‘Is there anyone else to receive? I’ve never forgotten that remark. Others have told me that Mgr Grady was a man of some learning, consideration and refinement. That day I saw he was truly an educated man. The goodness that had grown in him was drawn out by the thought that there might be others beside him. He just didn’t ‘dive in’ and think only of himself. That, to me, says a lot about real living, whether you are a priest, a single or married person, a monk or nun, and certainly about an abbot living in his community. Life is not just about me. Each of us must take pains to be what we should be if we are to be any use to others and most importantly to of use to God. But there are other lessons in that experience I had six years ago. For the Mgr there was no wine, or so I thought at first. I did try to do something not really thinking it would come to anything, but it did. It seemed almost a waste of time but it did produce something. Much of our lives can be like that. What’s the point? When we try something, a new interest, a new job, a new friendship, a new way of life, it may come to nothing. But it may give us an added enrichment, even a complete change of life. In the monastery we don’t really do an awful lot that is different from most of what you do, who are gathered here to celebrate another stage in the life of Nunraw. Much of our daily lives is taken up with supplying our daily needs of body and soul which is common to everyone. Obviously a fair part of our day is devoted to prayer and the life of the spirit, which of course is why we came here in the first place. We try to create an environment that is conducive to the development of the inner life, our own, and, to some extent, that of those who come to us. A new abbot is bound to make a difference in the life of a monastery. We hope that his influence will be a very good one, sometimes it may not be. But we all, always, hope that it will be for a better and fruitful life for each of the community and for all the many friends and kind people who want to be associated with us. Today we thank God for this new opportunity to make a new beginning. Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche communities said that we should always take the opportunity to celebrate something in our lives. Today we give you a reason to join us in doing just that, here in this marquee and later in the community refectory. Thank you very much for coming.