Given at Westminster Cathedral on 28 April 2015 at the Requiem Mass for the commemoration of the Fallen at Gallipoli.
The celebration of a Requiem Mass for those who died at Gallipoli is a profound act of charity when we pray for the dead and ask that God in his merciful love will welcome them into his kingdom of love.
In the celebration of the Mass we enter into the supreme sacrifice of Christ on the cross and the offering of his life as he humbled himself even unto death, death on a cross, so that we may share in eternal life as his adopted children.
Although a hundred years separates us from the events of 1915, in God’s sight a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day and so time does not have earthly relevance. In the Mass we enter into the eternal, once and for all sacrifice, of Christ, and entrust to the Father the souls of those who died during the Gallipoli campaign. We remember that each death touched and profoundly changed the life of so many families and communities scattered across this country and the Commonwealth.
A set of rosary beads handed to me by my grandfather and which he used to pray regularly in Belgium in 1916 reminds me that all these lives are very close and present to us as we offer our prayers.
Among those who died on the first day of the campaign was Father William Finn from Hull, a Carmelite priest serving in Yorkshire who had studied at Ushaw College. At the age of forty, he volunteered to become an army chaplain with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and sailed to Gallipoli.
Although he had been commanded to stay on one of the ships, during the landings, he saw so many soldiers being killed that his heart was deeply moved and he asked to go ashore. He said, ‘The priest’s place is beside the dying soldier, I must go’. Whatever the reply, he landed and was soon wounded. We know that over a period of hours, he continued to hear confessions, give absolution and console the soldiers who were dying. He then surrendered his soul to God, ‘Into your hand O Lord I commend my spirit’.
In a particular way, Fr. Finn witnesses to the heroic sacrifice, the bravery and the courageous action of so many men in desperate and tragic circumstances. He also witnesses as a priest to the enduring power of the sacraments and the desire of God that we will be reconciled with the Father through the sacrament of penance and confession.
In this precious sacrament the priest continues the action of Christ in the forgiveness of sins and we hear the healing and consoling words of absolution. Every act of charity and each word of consolation have an eternal meaning for no action is insignificant in the eyes of God.
In the gospel, Jesus the Good Shepherd invites his flock to follow him. He says, ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice.’ How comforting are these words! At times the Good Shepherd walks ahead of us leading the way and inviting us into a fuller relationship and life with him. At other times he walks by our side and accompanies us.
We are invited to pray deeply and silently in our hearts so that we may clearly hear his voice and discern the word of his calling which he speaks into our heart. Sometimes he carries us high on his shoulders when we face trial and difficulty. He helps us to shoulder the cross and bear the burdens of discipleship. As we pray in the twenty third psalm: ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.’
At other times he walks behind us urging us onwards and gives soothing words of encouragement because the journey is hard and a struggle. The Good Shepherd offers protection and security and ultimately the promise of eternal life, which is likened to green pastures and still waters. We are invited to deepen a faithful trust in the presence of the compassionate Father and tender care of the Son: ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’
Our prayer this evening reminds us of the ongoing conflicts in our world and the need to bring about justice and peace. We pray for members of the Armed Forces serving in various zones of conflict, the military chaplains who serve God’s holy people during conflict and warfare, the families who are displaced by IS and the terrible suffering which is carried by so many.
Christ on the cross unites himself with their suffering in one great act of hope which reveals that evil never has the final word and that the good is always triumphant. Christ has triumphed over death through his death and resurrection.
We ask the intercession of Mary who stood at the foot of the cross to intercede for all who are suffering and especially to unite her prayer with mothers who suffer for their children. May Our Lady, Queen of Peace, come to their assistance.
We pray for the Fallen at Gallipoli and entrust them to the Lord,
Eternal rest give unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.