Cardinal's Homilies
This evening we have just heard one of the great songs of creation. The reading from the Book of Genesis reflects on the deepest meaning of the created order: that it is the work of God and that it is good! Four times in this short reading we...Read more
'At last, all powerful Master...' 'For my eyes have seen the salvation...' These words from St Luke frame our celebration of this Day for Consecrated Life, year by year. The longing expressed in the phrase 'At last...' echoes our...Read more
These days we hear a great deal about ecology, and rightly so. We must take care of the created world in its beauty and resources. Interestingly, the word 'ecology' comes from a Greek word meaning 'home' or 'place to live'. So, it is a word that...Read more
At this time, every year, we hear these words: 'The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light'. Familiar words indeed, and easily left unheeded. But this year the darkness is more immediate, more encircling. Knowing the darkness...Read more
What a difficult year! What a difficult Christmas this will be, with the new restrictions announced yesterday. Please do take care, of yourselves, your loved ones and for the sake of all with whom you come into contact. During this time we are...Read more
Today we hear a voice that cries: 'Prepare a way for the Lord'. It echoes down through the ages. It is the voice of the prophet Isaiah, the voice of John the Baptist. It reaches us today: Prepare a way for the Lord. Indeed, these are days of...Read more
'Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' These words, which we have just heard, lie at the heart of the inspiration of the movement of 'Mothers Prayers'. Those who started…Read more
Commentators on the Gospel of St John point to the beginning of the twelfth chapter as the hinge on which the Gospel swings. Our Gospel reading today comes from that chapter. The first eleven chapters are, in a phrase, the signs worked by Jesus,...Read more
Given at the Red Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Thursday 1 In a famous saying, St Augustine of Hippo remarked that a society without justice is no better than a gang of thieves. Today, at this Mass, we pray for all who are involved, through the...Read more
Our ceremony today is quite unusual, for at least two reasons. First we are gathering under the restrictions of the pandemic. We are only too aware of them. We accept and exercise our responsibilities as conscientiously and deliberately as we…Read more
Given at the Chrism Mass at Westminster Cathedral on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, 14 Every celebration of the Eucharist is an act of thanksgiving; today's Mass especially so. I thank my brother priests joining in this celebration...Read more
Today, on our virtual pilgrimage to Lourdes, we gather in spirit and prayer for the customary Wednesday International Mass. We can easily conjure up the sights and sounds of that vast underground basilica in Lourdes: the great gathering of...Read more
The Scripture readings we have just heard, and the witness of the life of Canon Christopher Tuckwell, for whom we pray, invite us today to a renewal of our faith in Jesus. This faith underpinned Christopher's life and ministry, giving him the stab...Read more
Given at the Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, 14
These last three months have been a very testing time. Whatever words we use: 'lock down', 'social distancing', 'self-isolation', they all point to pressure on our…Read more
Life has been so strange for these last ten weeks. There has never been a time quite like it, difficult yet gifted. For, in fact, these weeks have been full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whose coming on the group of the first disciples of the L...Read more
I am not old enough to remember VE Day! Many of you are! I just about remember that exciting feeling when rationing of sweets ended and there was a steady supply of butter. But the excitement of 8 May 1945 was too early for me.
Today gives us all...Read more