Bishop John Sherrington Homilies and Addresses
My brother, John, It is a great joy to celebrate your ordination to the priesthood so that you may serve the Congregation of the Mission, founded by St. Vincent de Paul, as a priest for the mission. As a priest of the ‘little company’, you…Read more
My brothers, Tom, John and Robert for the Diocese of Westminster, Dale (Archdiocese of Cardiff) and Matus (Diocese of Brentwood) who have requested admission to candidacy, and Lorcán to receive the ministry of acolyte. In these days between the…Read more
Given at the Mass for Catholic Women Praying Together at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, on28 It is a joy to be able to celebrate this Mass with you after a long wait due to the pandemic. We gather around the altar today in…Read more
Ælfric, the Anglo-Saxon abbot, begins his sermon for the feast of St Benedict, with the following words, ‘Benedict, the holy Abbot, on this present day departed from this mortal life to the eternal, which he had thoroughly merited by his holy…Read more
My brother Jonathan, ‘Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away’. The deacon or the priest prays these words when he kisses the book of the gospel immediately after proclaiming the Word. They speak to us daily of the mercy of…Read more
My brother David, This evening we celebrate the ordination to your diaconate on the Feast of St. David. The memory of Dewi Sant lives on in the lives and people of Wales celebrating their national patron today and in the paths of the pilgrims who…Read more
It is wonderful this evening to celebrate 50 years in this church building. One year ago, due to the pandemic, you were unable to mark the 50 years since the first Mass in the present church was celebrated on 24 Thinking back to 1971, the…Read more
Why do good people suffer? If God created the world as good, why do we find the realities of physical and moral evil in the world; physical evil in suffering caused either by natural disasters or sickness; moral evil in the human capacity to…Read more
The Mass this evening is offered for the souls of all those who have died during the pandemic. We pray that the Lord may welcome them home into the promise of eternal life in heaven where they will shine with the glory of the saints. May they…Read more
Today is the 54th anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act in 1967. We grieve for the death of so many children, unborn lives, by legal abortion, almost 10 million since that date. We remember those women who carry the pain and burden of…Read more
I am delighted to join you this morning to celebrate the college feast of Saint John Henry Newman and to welcome all the students and staff to Our Lady of Willesden. Early this morning, I have just returned from blessing the food bank at the…Read more
This morning I am very pleased to join you for the celebration of Mass and to welcome and formally induct Fr Philip Miller as the Chaplain to Newman House and Senior Chaplain to the Universities in London. It is a joy to be back celebrating Mass…Read more
Today is a day of great hope as we celebrate this Mass, the blessing of the new buildings at the Salvatorian College and thank God for his abundant blessings. It is a day of great hope for the Salvatorian community who founded the College in 1926…Read more
Given at the Profession of Faith & Oath of Fidelity at Mater Ecclesiae College, Twickenham on22 It is a joy to be gathered together again and in particular to celebrate the taking of the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity by all those…Read more
‘We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.’ These familiar words with which we commence each Station of the Cross relate us immediately with the Via Dolorosa and the many times that we…Read more
Today we come to the Holy House at Walsingham, clearly not able to travel but in heart, mind, and soul. We are summoned by the Holy Spirit in the same way that Richeldis de Faverches was called to come and build the Holy House in 1061. We unite…Read more