Extracts from a Homily given for the Induction fo Mgr Philip Whitmore as parish priest of St James', Spanish Place on the Feast of St Matthew, 21st September 2022.
There is something very poignant about Mgr Philip’s Induction falling on the Feast of St Matthew. For anyone who has lived in Rome, Matthew is a saint upon whom one has reflected more than many. Very early on, one discovers Caravaggio’s extraordinary tribute to St Matthew in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi. It is nothing less than a celebration of Matthew’s call.
Pope Francis drew the world’s attention to it when he chose his coat of arms. He took the opportunity to tell the world how, whenever he visited San Luigi, it reminded him of how it was on the Feast of St Matthew in 1953 that he felt the call to be a Jesuit at the young age of 17; of how, that day, he visited a church in his native Buenos Aires, went to confession, and felt himself deeply touched by the mercy of God; and, in the same moment, the call to be a Religious.
That was why, when he became a Bishop, he chose as his motto a phrase which evokes St Matthew powerfully, both Matthew’s call and his own. That phrase was 'miserando atque eligendo', literally, 'having mercy and choosing'. It refers to the way the Lord sees Matthew, and looking upon him with mercy, chooses him to follow as an Apostle.
Interestingly, it is derived from a Homily of the great English historian St Bede, which we hear in the Office of Readings for this Feastday. There Bede describes how 'Jesus sees the tax-collector, and seeing him with mercy and choosing him, says to him, "Follow me".'
I wonder how many of you have seen the series The Chosen. I recommend it to you. I mention it because the call of Matthew is absolutely central to it: front and centre, as they say. What struck me as I watched it is that the creators choose to have Jesus use the present tense of ‘seeing’ just as Bede does.
Bede says, 'Jesus sees the tax-collector, and seeing him with mercy and choosing him, says to him, "Follow me".' In The Chosen, Jesus comes to Peter’s wife; and says, 'I see you.' It is his way of thanking her for encouraging Peter to believe he is called. It is deeply redolent of another instance of seeing and choosing which is recorded in the Gospel of John, where Jesus tells Nathaniel, who will be known as Bartholomew, 'I saw you under the fig-tree.'
We are, all of us, here, surely, on account of having been seen by the Lord, seen as we were growing up; and called, called to follow him. It is touching to think of how the Lord too saw Mgr Philip, looked on him with love, and chose him. For now, the Lord chooses Philip for mission here at St James’s. With all of us, I am sure the Lord rejoices to ‘see’ him here as he comes to lead and share in your mission to be the Church of Christ in Spanish Place. Together you share the common mission of helping one another get to heaven. Inducting your Parish Priest on this Feast of St Matthew should serve always to remind you that you have a mission to see those outside of yourselves; and see if you might find ways of calling them into relationship with Christ.
If, at times, you wonder what it is you are to be about, ponder this; and ponder the words which Pope Francis says are at the very heart of the Gospel: 'Jesus loves you; his self-emptying death on the cross saves you from selfishness and sin; now he walks with you every day.' This phrase is what we traditionally call the Kerygma: the saving truth of the Gospel. The important thing is to believe it is as true for you as for all those round about you.
The arrival of a new Parish Priest is a marvellous opportunity for Priest and People together to begin conversations as a Parish about how you might do this; to ask yourselves, do we believe it is true, that 'Jesus loves you; his self-emptying death on the cross saves you from selfishness and sin; now he walks with you every day.' And, if so, what must do to tell others?
Bishop Nicholas Hudson