Homily given for the Mass of Welcome at Kingsland Parish on 25 February 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The readings of today’s Mass speak to us of the Lenten journey of repentance. Jonah is a reluctant prophet. We all know of his attempts to evade the call that God had given to him. Despite his reluctance, he eventually arrives at the great city of Nineveh and – to his surprise and even disappointment – the people of the city, from the greatest to the least, listen to him.
I have often reflected that Nineveh might be compared to London – this great city that takes many days to cross (especially given the traffic congestion!). As we walk the streets around us, we will encounter so many people who are seeking their way: so many of us live with struggles and difficulties and many seek the answer within themselves or in ways that, in the end, will lead nowhere. Is our world so different to the one Jonah faced? Yet God calls us to step into this world, bringing the message of repentance and the new life that comes through Christ.
Perhaps, at times, we are reluctant prophets, frightened to stand up for the Gospel and the truth of the Church’s teaching in the face of what sometimes seems to be impossible odds. Like Jonah, we might prefer to avoid the challenge. Yet it is to this challenge of evangelisation that we are called, each one of us according to the gifts we have been given and the vocations to which we have been called.
Our message is that of the Gospel: there is something greater than Jonah here. The message we carry is the Lord Himself, dwelling within us through our Baptism and our Confirmation. We need not fear in the task to which we are called: the Lord us with us at every step. Our encounter with Him in the Eucharist is our strength. Our meeting with Him in our daily prayer is our sustenance and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, dwelling with us, we shall always be given the words to say and the way in which must act.
Last Saturday, at the Rite of Election, we welcomed almost 800 people – either preparing for Baptism or Reception into Full Communion with the Catholic Church. Easter will be a time of particular celebration for our Diocese – and for so many other Dioceses experiencing the same phenomenon of gentle growth. The example of our catechumens and candidates must surely be an encouragement for us all as they join the Church in her great mission.
I am very new in this Diocese and I am so grateful for your welcome. I look forward to journeying with you all in this great task of being the Lord’s presence in His world, the task of proclaiming the Lord Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life to our brothers and sisters.
This Lent, let us recommit ourselves to the task at hand. This demands of each of us a renewed spirit of conversion and repentance – expressed in Lent through fasting and celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. It demands for each of us a renewal in prayer, for without prayer we can do nothing. It demands an ever-greater openness to service of our brothers and sisters - in Lenten almsgiving surely, but beyond that in the gentle, yet consistent and sometimes courageous, witness to the wonder of the Gospel and all that flows from the saving sacrifice of Christ Himself.
May we be blessed in this great work the Lord has given us to do.