Homily given for the Mass of Welcome at Garston Parish on 3 March 2026.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In today’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah calls the people to do two things, if they are to be faithful to God and live the lives to which they are called. He calls them to be willing and obedient. Isaiah’s words are not only for the people of his time. This Season of Lent is a time for us to act on his words. Let us ask ourselves, are we willing to do all the Lord asks of us? Are we obedient?
Perhaps the second of these is challenging for us. Perhaps we associate Obedience with “keeping the school rules.” However, Obedience has its roots in listening, and so when we reflect on this call, we must ask ourselves: are we listening to the Lord? St. Benedict begins his Rule with the word obsculta – listen.[1] He goes on to say: “Listen with ear of your heart.” I find this a powerful image. We don’t simply hear what the Lord has to say, we receive in our mind, and then at the very core of our being. This transforms our lives and from this deep listening arising the willingness to respond to His call. We see this so often in the life of the Church: in our priests, in our deacons, in those called to consecrated life, in those who live out the call to marriage. When we truly listen, the listening that takes place in our hearts, to the One Who is all love, the response that we see modelled for us by Our Blessed Mother becomes ours. We say ‘Yes’ to the Lord.
This will lead us to be willing for service and, in the Gospel today, Jesus reminds us that the greatest will be the one who serves. We shall experience this call to service in a particular way when we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. As Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, so we shall mirror this act in our celebrations, the reminder to us of the command to serve, the command to love.[2]
It is in this love, this service, growing from the listening that we experience in prayer, that we come to proclaim the Good News in all its wonder. Is not this the life of the Christian: listening to Christ, which leads to an openness, a willingness to follow and that is lived out in our lives.
This way of life is for all the baptised and we live this out, each according to the gifts we have been given and in the vocation to which we are called. We are called to live it in every conversation, every action.
May this Lent, then, be fruitful, a time of renewed listening for us all. A listening in prayer, a quickening of our willingness and a response that is lived out in witness and action. As Isaiah reminds us, the fast that pleases God more than any other is the giving of our ourselves in service.[3]
May we be blessed in our listening and in the response that will follow, for who can refuse the One who, though without sin, has given Himself for us.
[1] ST. BENEDICT, Rule for Monasteries, Prol.I.
[2] Jn. 13:12-15.
[3] Is. 58:6.