Cardinal's Homilies

There is a haunting beauty to the Gospel of the Passion of the Lord which we have just heard proclaimed. Now we allow that beauty to sink into our souls, moving us with love of the Lord who gives his life for our sake. Shortly the image of the...Read more

As we know, actions often speak louder than words. The words of this Sacred Liturgy are precious and rich. Yet this evening the actions are even more eloquent. This is Maundy Thursday. Now we enter the three sacred days which bring us to the...Read more

This is a moment of profound renewal for us all. In this solemn liturgy, we reach out to the Lord, asking him to renew in us the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we may be strengthened and restored in our daily effort to be his faithful disciples....Read more

Holy Week begins. Our first act is this procession of the palms, remembering and recreating the entry of our Blessed Lord into the holy city of Jerusalem. The moment has been presented to us in the passage we have just heard from the Gospel of St...Read more

On Wednesday, Lent begins. I write today to give you every possible encouragement to use these weeks of Lent to refresh and deepen your faith. As we have just heard from the Book of Leviticus: 'Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy'...Read more

The Message of Pope Francis for this World Day of Prayer for the Sick begins with these words: 'Illness is part of our human condition. Yet if experienced in isolation and abandonment, unaccompanied by care and compassion, it can become...Read more

It is real pleasure for me to welcome you all here this morning as we celebrate religious and consecrated life in the Diocese. I have a special word of welcome to those who are celebrating particular anniversaries of profession or ordination: Sr...Read more

Think, for a moment, of your first glimpse of a person you love. You remember so clearly the time and the place. Think of those treasured moments of life: a wedding, a birth, a child's first day at school. The event and the place are bound...Read more

There is darkness. And there is light. The resolute affirmation of our faith is that, no matter how dark it may be, the darkness does not, cannot, overcome the light. But it is dark. Our world is darkened by fear, by hostility and warfare, by...Read more

In these days, and as we approach the Feast of Christmas, we enter into one of the great dramas of the life of faith. By this I mean the drama of faithful obedience to the One who alone is all truth. This evening's readings highlight this...Read more

Dear Bishop-elect Peter, In a few moments all of us, gathered here on this splendid day, will act as witnesses as you solemnly promise to undertake the duties of a bishop until the end of your life. These promises, one by one, detail the tasks…Read more

One of the ironies of life is that after a long wait for a bus, on a rainy night, not one comes along, but two! Well, cardinals, it seems, are a bit similar. In fact, there could easily have been three, but Cardinal Fitzgerald had a previous...Read more

Among the most persecuted people in the world today are the followers of Jesus Christ, Christians. This persecution happens in many places and takes many different forms: personal mockery, social exclusion, violence. But it is true. Maybe this...Read more

Today we celebrate this centenary of Loreto College, St Albans. In doing so we rejoice in the great Loreto tradition of education, which is now world-wide and has such a strong vision of personal formation through education. On your College…Read more