Given at a Solemn Mass according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

The form of the Mass for the Dead which we have celebrated this evening leaves us in no doubt whatsoever about what it is that we are here to do. The very first words of the Mass, sung by the choir, began a plea that we made again and again throughout the rite: Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. We are here to pray for our beloved dead, for those whom we love and see no longer, that they may enter that place of refreshment, light, and peace that is eternal happiness with God. We are here to carry out an act of charity on behalf of those who have died; doing for them a service which they can no longer do for themselves.

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Our Lady of Sorrows, Saint Mary’s, Greenwich CT

The commemoration of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady on the Friday in Passion week provides for us the opportunity to prepare to enter through the threshold of the Church’s most solemn time in the company of she who is the Mother of Christ and, by his command, our mother also. In the example of Our Blessed Lady we are presented with a model of the Christian life in every aspect and virtue, but in a particular way we are shown how we must be configured to bear the weight of the Cross of Our Lord and Saviour, so that we might also enjoy the fruits of his sacrifice in the bliss of the beatific vision. That is to say, in the person of Our Lady we see how we should journey through the coming days of Holy Week, and in particular the Sacred Triduum, so that the Paschal celebrations might be for us more than an outward observation of the Church’s external life, but an internal and interiorly transforming experience of God’s grace: his divine mercy poured out for us in the blood of the Son of the eternal Father who has become the Priest, the Altar, and the Lamb of Sacrifice.

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Earlier this week I met with Mgr Keith Newton, my Ordinary, who has asked me to undertake a licence in Canon Law starting this August. This will involve a three year course of study at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, during which time I will also live and work in a parish in the DC metro area.

I am really grateful for this opportunity to return to studies, as well as the chance to live in the US – particularly in Washington – and to experience the enthusiasm and vigour of American Catholicism. It will be a particularly great blessing to also have the stability and day-to-day normality of living in a parish for more than a few months!

Particular thanks should go to the clergy and faithful of the parishes in Chelsea, Soho, and Balham, who have put me up and put up with me over the last two years. They have been wonderful places to begin to learn what it is to be a priest, and I remain in their debt. Please pray for me as I make this move!

Judging by the excitement that black smoke has, twice, caused the world since yesterday, this is an extraordinary moment in the life of the Church. Again. For the past month the eyes of the world have, if not been fixed on Rome, at least occasionally glanced in her direction. We have several international media networks topping their 24 hour news cycles with shots of the Sistine Chapel and the famous chimney, and simply thousands of journalists have descended on the Eternal City to report on events. As I said yesterday, too, we have an unprecedented representation of Catholics in the social media arena, who are contributing well to the story and rhetoric and commentary of this event.

In the business of evangelisation, this is a moment of grace. We are in the spotlight and, despite the attempts – justified and otherwise – to bring the conversation back to the sins of a few, we are being given an opportunity to speak openly, confidently, and warmly of the love of Jesus Christ and the place he has, through Holy Church, in the contemporary world.

We are also being presented with a moment of grace as individuals. How reliant we are on the Holy Spirit! In this period of transition, we must be even more trusting of the Lord, even more dependent on his will for us and his Church. As I have said before, this really is a Year of Faith – forcing us to reflect on our lives, and on the need we have of the Lord. In prayer and in fasting, and in a good daily meditation – even a holy hour! –  we have the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord in this time, who is our guardian and guide. Amongst all the excitement and chimney-watching, let us united ourselves to the will God and, with the Cardinals in the conclave, make this prayer our own: Thy Will Be Done.