Message from Fr Paul for Sunday 19th August

Homily for the Memorial Mass for Dom Bernard Wassall and Dom Raphael Aspinwall, Monks of Belmont, Saturday, 19^th August 2023

           Yesterday, we celebrated a special Memorial Mass in honour of Our Lady for the repose of the souls of Br Bernard and Br Raphael, as they were called by the Lord during lockdown in 2020. As a result, it was impossible to celebrate a public Requiem and Burial. Here is the homily I preached, I thought you might like to read it rather than the usual daily message. 

St John’s Gospel ends with these words, “There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (Jn 21: 25) These words could easily apply to Br Bernard and to Br Raphael, whose Memorial Mass we are celebrating this morning. How do you fit them both into a short homily? Each one of us here present, their monastic community, family and friends, could write a book with our own story of Br Bernard or Br Raphael, the monks we knew and loved, but even then, the story of their lives and achievements would leave much to be written.  

Both were men of deep faith and strong convictions, whose hearts were never troubled with doubts. Both were Lancashire Catholics, born into traditional Lancashire Catholic families, Br Raphael’s with long links to the Salesian Congregation, This faith they learned at home with their beloved parents. As a result, both were prepared for that final moment when the Lord would call them to himself: they believed what Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, had promised, “I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too.”  

Br Bernard was born at Barrow-in-Furness on 20^th August 1956, the only child of Paul and Elizabeth Wassall. He was baptised William Paul and was talented in manual crafts and took City and Guilds in carpentry. He first visited Belmont for a vocations’ week at the age of 15. Seven years’ later he returned to try his vocation and was clothed by Abbot Jerome on 24^th October 1978, taking the religious name Bernard in honour of the great Cistercian saint on whose feast day he was born. He made his First Profession on 1^st November 1979 and his Solemn Profession three years’ later. He was only the second monk in Solemn Vows at Belmont, the first being Br Peter, who came to be a choir monk without going on to the priesthood, a return to the true monastic tradition encouraged by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Br Bernard’s life and vocation were focussed on the monastic life, on being a monk, which he was to the core of his being. The same was true of Br Raphael, who had already tried his vocation at Quarr. He was born on 4^th Dec 1931 at Preston, son of Joseph and Margaret Aspinwall. Educated by the Salesians, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where he obtained a Masters in English and a Batchelors in Music. Like Bernard, he also did his City & Guilds in Furniture Studies. He was clothed by Abbot Mark on 20^th March 1995 and made Solemn Profession 15^th March 2000.

In the course of his monastic life, Br Bernard fulfilled a long list of positions and duties, being a highly gifted, knowledgeable and spiritual person. He began by redecorating St Raphael’s Chapel and acting as assistant bursar. He taught Divinity and Woodwork in the school. From 1984 to 1986 he was Housemaster of Kindersley, where he was much loved and admired by the students. He was Sacristan from 1983 until 2001 and Master of Ceremonies from 1996 until 2001. In 1986 he was sent to Llanarth Court to help with its closure as a prep school prior to its sale. He then returned to teach at Belmont until the closure of the school in 1994. It was Bernard who, in 1992, helped set up the shop in its present form, a ministry rather than a business venture, that he continued to supervise until 2018. He was full of wonderful ideas on how best to serve the wider community, share the Catholic faith and preach the Gospel in different and exciting ways. He wanted to make the Benedictine life better known to the general public and he was keen to work with all those who were willing to work with him. He was the driving force behind so many of the projects that have taken place at Belmont since the school closed. He was involved in the programme of school visits, having a wonderful way with children. He organised volunteers to offer guided tours of the church and worked with the Heritage Lottery Fund to help produce the new guidebook. Bernard was the brain behind the annual pilgrimage and May Procession in honour of Our Lady.

From 2001 until 2015 Br Bernard was the monastic Infirmarian, looking after many of the brethren and preparing them for death. He would sit up all night with the sick and dying, chatting, praying, singing and joking with them. I don’t think he ever slept! He assisted with our oblates until 1993 and was Oblate Master from 1993 until 2003 and again from 2009 until the day he died. He was much appreciated for his extensive knowledge of monastic history and customs, for his spiritual insights and for sharing with our oblates, news of the community and of other monasteries. There was nothing he didn’t know about nuns and their habits. He was an outstanding calligrapher and produced cards and certificates for every occasion. In fact, he could turn his hand to anything from making and repairing rosaries to producing the most outstanding floral displays our church has ever seen. He was, of course, larger than life and, invariably, the centre of attraction because of the charity and wisdom that flowed from his lips and heart. He loved chatting with friends and strangers alike and people always sought his company and companionship. He is irreplaceable: there is a big hole at the heart of the Belmont Community.  He was the one you turned to for advice and information. It was he who knew the traditions of the house and made sure that the rest of us learned them. If you were sad or disenchanted, then Bernard would rekindle your heart with joy. If you wanted a singsong or a moment of nostalgic reminiscing, then who else would you turn to? He knew the words of every song ever written in the English language and could do an amazing job in Polish as well. He seemed to know film scripts by heart and kept us entertained for hours on end. He had boundless energy.

He loved his parents and family and he loved his hometown. He was a proud Lancastrian through and through and never accepted the insult of Barrow being attached to Cumbria. At the end of August 2020, he went home to help arrange his mum’s care package after she had been in hospital. He was blessed in spending his last week with her, though he never forgot to ring his friends and brethren every day: Br Bernard invented ministry by telephone long before lockdown. Back in April he had been in hospital with a really serious bout of Covid, but returned to Belmont on Holy Saturday. He never really got over the after effects. He slowed down notably, had difficulty in breathing and became practically immobile. He was struggling, and, as ever, tried to put on a good face, but we could see he was suffering. Thus it was that he collapsed and died of a heart attack at home on the morning on Saturday, 5^th September 2020.  

I have not spoken much about Br Raphael because he had asked me not to preach a panegyric at his funeral. He, like Br Bernard, did many monastic jobs (Librarian, Refectorian, Organist, Secretary to Chapter, Guestmaster, Sacristan and others). He did much work decorating the monastery and restoring furniture. He was a true professional and had exquisite taste. He designed the extension to the organ case you can see above Bishop Hedley’s monument in the north transept. He had the wicked sense of humour and knew how to coin a perfect phrase. He was also a brilliant pianist and an acknowledged composer, setting the poems of Thomas Treharne to music for Hereford Cathedral. He was active and youthful to the end. Sadly, he was one of the first to come down with Covid and died in hospital, alone and without the comfort of the Sacraments, on 7^th April 2020. He was not allowed to return to Belmont and we were not allowed to visit him. It was the worst moment of our lives.

St Paul wrote to the Romans (Rm 6: 9), “We believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore.” This is our Christian faith. This is what we believe. May our brethren enjoy the company of the saints and angels in the kingdom of our heavenly Father, where death has no more power over Jesus or over his disciples. May they rest in peace. Amen.