RETREAT WEEKEND AT BELMONT ABBEY – 25-27 SEPTEMBER 2026
OGs were warmly welcomed at Belmont Abbey for a two-day retreat led by the monks of the Community for St Gregory the Great. The theme of the retreat was ‘The Peace Christ Gives’ and included talks, time for reflection, Holy Mass, and joining the Benedictine communities of St Gregory and Belmont Abbey in singing the Liturgy of the Hours.
We were privileged to attend all the monastic services in the Abbey Church, starting the day with Vigils and Lauds at 6:30am followed by Midday Office, Vespers, and concluding with Compline at 8pm. We were also able to attend Mass on Saturday and Sunday. It was a special treat on Sunday because Dom Leo Maidlow Davis, who led the retreat, had also been deputed to preside over the main Mass on Sunday and to preach.
Fr Leo led four sessions, (discourses), around the subject of peace:
· The Peace Christ Gives
· The Benedictine School of Peace
· What Steals my Peace
· Peace at the Altar.
These talks were all held in the Kemble room painted bright yellow. John Kemble was a priest martyr who died in 1679 and was canonised with the Forty Martyrs in 1970.
In the first talk, The Peace Christ Gives, Fr Leo gave a history of the present Benedictine establishments, starting at Douai and the various branches that were established in England after the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829. We were also tasked to think of various personal situations which we considered were peaceful and this gave us time for reflection. A few personal experiences were recounted.
The second talk was The Benedictine School of Peace, which established the peace that can come from living in a community, based on the rule of St Benedict, which in 529 became the foundation for Benedictine monastic life. Nearly 1,500 years later that same way of life continues in monasteries on every continent. The Benedictine Jubilee in 2029 will mark this milestone, and it is hinted that this might be celebrated at Westminster Abbey, appropriate of course, as it was initially established as a Benedictine monastery in the year 960.
The third talk about What Steals my Peace invited us to reflect on internal personal conflicts of fear or control and the various problems which the Israelites had in the wilderness.
The fourth talk concentrated on the main mentions of Peace at the Altar. Reflecting on the words of peace, ‘peace, I leave you, my peace I give you’, which occurs after the Pater Noster. The frequent statements of ‘peace be with you’ and ‘grant us peace’ in the Agnus Dei. Mention was also made of the tremendous peace, which many of the Martyrs felt before their executions; they knew and were rejoicing in their destiny.
Throughout the Retreat, the Chapterhouse looked after us all extremely well. Our dayroom was the Garden Room where we took all our meals, including breakfast, which was held in silence. The catering at Belmont Abbey was exemplary and the Sunday roast lunch was most enjoyable. The bedroom accommodation was all very comfortable, each with en-suite bathrooms.
On Saturday afternoon several of us took a taxi to Hereford Cathedral to see the Mappa Mundi, and generally to tour the Cathedral. Of particular interest was the Audley Chapel (1500) with new stained-glass windows (2007) vibrantly celebrating the life and writings of the Anglican cleric and theologian Thomas Traherne (1637-1674).
It was altogether a very enjoyable and rewarding weekend meeting up with old friends and seeing the Downside monks who seem well established and integrated, although discreet in the Belmont community. Abbot Nicholas was away but Abbot Brendan came to see us in the garden room during Sunday lunch.
We are grateful to Fr Leo for leading the Retreat and to all at Belmont Abbey for their warm welcome and hospitality.
Those attending the Retreat were:
Ken Beedle (R73), Paul Bruning (U60), John Carter (C63), Lucy Griffiths, Dr William Griffiths (S71), Adrian Koe (C65), James Leeper (C76), Maeve O’Driscoll, Annabel Spencer-Silver, John Spencer-Silver (S70), Professor Mark Wiles (C66)
