Bishop Campbell Welcomes our Diocesan Schools and Colleges back to a New Academic Year - Video Address

(from the Diocesan website)

Twenty-third Sunday of the Year

The Scripture readings we listen to at Mass Sunday after Sunday are intended to nourish our lives of faith. The Holy Spirit prompted and inspired the writers of the bible to set before us God’s truth. Gathered at Mass, it is God himself who speaks his word to encourage us on our journey of faith, hope and charity. What we are required to bring is an attentive ear and a receptive mind, for the word of God is ever alive and active, giving us fresh insight into the divine plan each time we hear it.
In our first reading today the prophet Isaiah stirs up the people’s hope. Almighty God never belongs to the past or fails to take an interest in his people’s welfare. Irrespective of outward appearances he is ever active, true to his promises. The prophet speaks of the wonderful deed God has in mind, a deed so marvellous that the blind, deaf and lame will recover their full faculties when they witness it. This prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in a most remarkable way in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ on earth, as today’s gospel story so clearly illustrates. All the promises of salvation God made in the Old Testament find their fulfilment in the Son of God.
The healing miracles of the Lord Jesus are a sign of a greater and more important healing which he came to bring the human race. Christ offers spiritual healing. He releases us from the power of sin and evil which can so beset us and the world at large. Through his own struggle with evil and temptation in his passion and death on the cross he broke the chains and stranglehold of the evil one. Now risen in triumph by the power of the Father he shares the new life of the resurrection with all who approach him in faith. Christ can deal with the metaphorical blindness, deafness and lameness that we all suffer from, if we would only acknowledge our condition. Present to us in our liturgy, he continues to make the deaf hear and the dumb speak. When the seed of Christ’s message takes root and bears fruit in our hearts, then we can live out the challenge that the apostle James so forthrightly sets before us in our second reading. In Christ we will see and hear the world differently, especially the revealed truth that we must not make distinctions between persons, because every single human being is created in the image of God. For each one of them the Son of God laid down his life.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

CLERGY APPOINTMENTS – effective from 1 October 2009

Grateful for the cooperation of his priests and mindful of the needs of the whole Diocese, His Lordship, the Bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev Michael G Campbell OSA has made the following appointments:

Retirements:
- Father Patrick McMahon (from Our Lady & St Edward, Preston).
- Father Bernard Hearty (from St Joseph, Frizington).
- Father John Marsh (from St Mary, Newhouse).

Parish Priests:
- Fr Ed Gornall moves from St Gregory, Workington to St Benedict, Whitehaven.
- Fr Kevin Lowry moves from St Benedict, Whitehaven to Our Lady & St Edward, Preston.
- Fr Tim Sullivan moves from St Maria Goretti, Preston to St Mary, Newhouse.
- Fr Bernard Woods moves from St Cuthbert, Blackpool to St Columba with St Patrick, Walney and Sacred Heart, Barrow.
- Fr Feliks Sciborski to St Maria Goretti, Preston and the pastoral care of Polish Migrants.
Other Ministries:
- Fr Frank Osman from Sacred Heart, Barrow to St Cuthbert, Blackpool as Administrator.
- Fr Paul Harrison from St Columba, Walney to St John Vianney, Blackpool as assistant priest - also new Editor of the Diocesan Directory (from 2010) and Bishop’s Archivist.
- Fr Krzysztof Goralski to St Maria Goretti, Preston as assistant priest and the pastoral care of Polish Migrants.
- Fr Peter Stanton has now completed his term as Director of Castlerigg Manor to begin a period on sabbatical. We thank him for his work.
- Fr Peter Sharrock has now completed his term as Chaplain and Advisor at Castlerigg Manor. We thank him for his work.
- Fr Philip Conner (formerly Director of the Diocesan Youth Service) becomes Chaplain of the Diocesan Youth Service and resident at Castlerigg Manor.

(from the Diocesan website)

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The gospel extract today from St. John relates how the enthusiastic crowd pursued Jesus, but for the wrong reasons. They had just enjoyed a wonderfully free meal of bread and fish and wanted to see and hear more of the One who provided such marvellous fare. In his dialogue with them, Christ tried to raise their minds from their purely material appetites to another kind of food which he alone could offer them. The Lord urged them not to be so immersed in the daily task of finding food that they neglect their spiritual needs and their relationship with God. The Father was offering the world the true food from heaven in the person of his Son. Unlike our earthly nourishment which constantly needs replenishing, what Jesus now brings comes from heaven and is eternal.
In order to have access to this heavenly food Jesus challenges the crowd to believe in him as the One whose acts with the full authority of God. They react by demanding that he perform a sign, similar to the manna which Moses provided for the people of Israel during their desert wandering on the way to the land of promise. That manna was only temporary however, but now God offers food of a higher order which only those with faith in Jesus can receive. In response to the crowd’s eager desire to have this heavenly manna, the Lord Jesus tells them that he himself is the bread of life. If they come to him and make the leap of faith then their deepest hunger and thirst will be satisfied.
Our world has often been described as materialistic. The very persuasive world of advertising has as its aim the purchase and acquisition of goods and possessions which, while good in themselves, do not and cannot satisfy those deeper longings of the human heart. We have spiritual appetites and wants and to neglect these does not help us to flourish as persons as God would wish. This gospel passage takes our minds back to how Jesus himself wrestled with the devil’s temptation to materialism after his forty days fasting in the desert. Christ is ever offering us a fresh start, a new way of looking at things, so that we do not become entrapped by daily preoccupations which are ultimately transitory. As Paul expresses it in his letter to the Church at
Ephesus, “we are to put on the new self which has been created in God’s way.”

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Seventeenth Sunday of the Year

We have the familiar story in our gospel today of Jesus feeding the five thousand with nothing more than five loaves and two fish. The Evangelist John tells us how the disciples doubted that their Master could do anything to meet the physical needs of such a large number of people. The implication was that the disciples’ faith in Jesus was still imperfect; as yet they did not and could not fully grasp his true identity as the Son of God. The same could be said for the crowd. Once they had had their fill of food they wanted to make Jesus their earthly king because they recognised him as someone special, having unique powers. However, this was not the kind of leader and Messiah which Christ came to be, and he hurriedly went back to the hills alone.
Like the prophet Elisha in our first reading, the Lord Jesus cared about people and even worked a miracle to satisfy their material needs. We are told on several occasions in the gospels that he felt sorry for the crowds, for they seemed to be wandering aimlessly with no one to care for them or give them a sense of direction. As chapter 6 of John’s gospel unfolds over the next few Sundays, we will discover that Jesus had a greater purpose than just to satisfy the needs of the moment. He has come to bring another kind of food, more enduring and more satisfying than
ordinary bread. His message and preaching would bring comfort and hope to the often bruised and troubled human spirit, because it would be a message from God himself.
The disciples would eventually come to discover that the true bread of life would be Jesus himself, and from the earliest days of the first Christian community the Eucharistic table would be at the centre of their life and worship. The celebration of Mass which has come down to us from the apostles remains at the heart of our Catholic faith, and will always be so until the Lord Jesus returns in glory. Implied in our second reading from the letter to the Ephesians is that oneness and unity of purpose which God wills for his Church, and which come from our sharing in the one bread and one body of Christ. Because there is just a single bread, Paul remarks elsewhere, then we who are many are one in Christ.
The Church has always recognised in the feeding of the five thousand a sign and anticipation of a greater miracle, that of the Holy Eucharist. In this Year of the Priest let us pray that we will always have good and holy priests to feed God’s people at the table of the Eucharist.

+ Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year

Our gospel story today implies how excited the apostles were as they recounted to Jesus all that they had accomplished on the missionary journey on which he had sent them. The Lord’s reaction was to take them apart for a period of rest and reflection. In so doing, he was instructing them in the need to combine their busy active life with space for relaxation and prayer. As human beings we are composed of body and spirit and both of these dimensions of our make-up must be catered for. Otherwise our lives become one-sided. The frenetic pace of the modern world, with its emphasis on material possessions and bodily satisfaction, can blind us to our spiritual needs, the needs of the heart where in silence and stillness we encounter the presence of the indwelling God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The long Christian tradition of the interior life has its roots in Jesus calling his disciples apart from the busy daily round.
Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord God laments the lack of good government among his people, a government which in this passage are called shepherds. Instead of placing the interests of God’s people above their own, these so called rulers were responsible for them being scattered and sent into exile. Almighty God demands ethical behaviour of the highest
standard in those who have been entrusted with responsibility for the common good and welfare of others. That demand on those who govern is as valid today as ever it was. The prophet goes on to speak of the day when God himself will send a truly just and impartial leader to this people, whom we now know and believe to be his only Son, Jesus Christ.
That righteous ruler, St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians, would bring peace, justice and unity to the divided nations of the world through the sacrifice of himself on the cross. By offering himself in obedience to the Father, the Lord Jesus broke down the seemingly insurmountable barriers that separated the Jewish people from the gentile world. Through his blood he has made atonement for the sins of the whole world and conferred on us all the dignity of adopted sons and daughters of God his Father. Each one of us believers really does need to take up the invitation of Jesus Christ, come apart, and ponder the wonder of it all.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

St Margaret Clitherow,Catholic Church, Blackpool has been closed with immediate effect

Some of you might of already heard the news, St Margaret Clitherow, Catholic Church, Blackpool has been closed with immediate effect at the decision of Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA. Below you can read the letter to the people of St Margaret Clitherow from Bishop Campbell.

My dear people of St. Margaret Clitherow’s,
As you must know, the church dedicated to Saint Margaret Clitherow on Lytham Road has been closed since Easter of this year. The reasons for this closure will also be well known to you; for example, a leaking roof and general deterioration of the church fabric. There were a number of options open to the Diocese where Saint Margaret Clitherow’s church was concerned. Short-term repairs could have been carried out at limited cost, or major work undertaken running to many thousands of pounds. Neither of these choices was felt to be pastorally justified or appropriate.
Therefore, in the light of the recent Fit for Mission? deliberations, the proximity of other Catholic churches, and a feeling that Mass-going Catholics are generally well served in the area, as Bishop of the diocese I have taken the decision to close Saint Margaret Clitherow church for worship with immediate effect. The closure of a church is never an easy decision, but in this instance I do believe that this is the right choice.
I thank you for your understanding, and ask that we pray for one another to remain strong in our Catholic faith, above all in our love for the Mass and the abiding presence of the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

With my blessing,

Yours sincerely in Christ,

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

15th Sunday of the Year

When the Lord Jesus sends out his apostles to preach the gospel and heal the sick he emphasises that they must not be preoccupied by the thought of material possessions or what they are to take for the journey. Their mission was to be a spiritual one, and in order to carry it out Christ gave them a share in his own divine power over unclean spirits and sickness. Material equipment would prove to be a hindrance rather than a help in their work of proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was very near. Christ in this gospel passage was training his disciples to look at things from another angle. They were to concentrate on the utter importance of the life-giving message of salvation which they were offering to the men and women of their time. What was inessential, such as extra clothing or the like, must not be allowed to divert the apostles from the true purpose of their calling.
In our first reading today, the prophet Amos defends himself from those who would prefer if he stopped proclaiming the word of God and moved elsewhere. Amos answered his critics by declaring that as a prophet he was only answering God’s gratuitous call. Almighty God had chosen him to be a prophet and he therefore had no choice but to obey his divine calling. The history of the prophets reminds us of how God is ever active for the well-being of his people, revealing his saving purposes through his messengers. The mission of the Twelve, as Mark records it today, is in reality a picture of the Church in every age. The sole reason for the Church’s existence is to proclaim to the world the closeness of the Kingdom of God, and she can only accomplish this, in her preaching and sacramental life, through the power of the Holy Spirit given to her by the risen Christ. The mission Christ left to the apostles and their successors, the bishops, is a spiritual one, and material goods, affluence and wealth must not be permitted to get in the way.
In the extended reading from the letter to the Ephesians we are told that by believing in Christ we possess wealth and riches of another kind, the sort that only God can give. By giving us Christ, Almighty God has lavished the good things of heaven upon us. Anything else on earth pales in comparison by what we have received from heaven. With Paul we can truly exclaim, Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…!”

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

14th Sunday of the Year

Almighty God remains ever constant in his desire and will for our good. The story of our salvation has at its heart God’s faithfulness, and the amazing truth that he never gives up on us human beings. In his dealings with the ancient people of Israel, his own chosen people, God often met with indifference and rejection. Yet this did not deflect him in his determination to speak and reveal his saving will to them, as we hear in the passage from the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading today. If God’s offer of grace is not accepted, it will not be for want of effort on his part! Those to whom Ezekiel was sent failed to recognise God at work, speaking his word through the prophet. Are we as alert and attentive as we should be when the word of God is proclaimed to us in the readings at Mass?
This drama of rejection of the messengers of God reaches a highpoint, sadly, when Jesus returned to Nazareth, his own home town, and only meets with gossip and pettymindedness on the part of his townsfolk. In their arrogance and selfassurance they were convinced that they knew all about Jesus Christ, his origin and his background. After all, was he not one of them? St. Mark tells us that Jesus was amazed at the total lack of faith on the part of the people of Nazareth, and as a result he could work no miracles there. A recurring theme in the gospels is the willingness of Jesus to heal and perform miracles for those who have expressed faith in him. The people of Nazareth failed to rise above their own prejudices and blinkered outlook and so the grace of God passed them by. It seems likely that Jesus never returned again to Nazareth.
Our faith in Jesus as the Son of God needs to colour our lives. He is always passing by, waiting to come to us, nourish us and strengthen us in faith, hope and love. But he needs to find the open door of faith on our part, a willingness to acknowledge our dependence upon him as our Saviour. The Lord Jesus meets us in many ways throughout the course of our lives, and especially when we gather as a community to celebrate his memory in the holy Eucharist. He continues to be present in his Church, in his people, as he promised he would be. What we as individuals, and the Church as a whole, are asked to do is to believe in him.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Bishop Campbell Merges Three Preston Deaneries

Following the diocesan Fit for Mission? parish review and the decisions of Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue (announced on 21/22 February 2009) affecting the linking and merging of parishes in the Diocese and other pastoral reorganisation and after consulting with the Council of Priests (23 February 2009 & 25 March 2009) and others, it is hereby decreed that the three Deaneries of Preston should be revised so as to strengthen the fostering of “pastoral care through common action” (Canon 374 s1):
Given the above reasons and the new circumstances in which we find ourselves the existing three Preston Deaneries – English Martyrs, Preston, St Walburge, Preston and St Augustine, Preston shall be merged into one new deanery as one from the First Sunday of Advent (29 November 2009).

Click here for the Decree merging the 3 Deanery's from Bishop Campbell

(from the Diocesan website)

Feast of St Peter & St Paul

Today’s feast of the great apostles, Peter and Paul, brings to a close the Year of Saint Paul, during which the Church reflected in depth on the teaching and life of the ‘Apostle of the Gentiles’, and the continuing relevance of Paul for believers today.
From earliest times in her worship the Church has never separated these two specially chosen preachers of God’s word. The story of Peter’s release from prison, as recorded in our first reading, shows how God protects someone to whom he has entrusted a unique role in the story of our salvation. The fisherman from Galilee would bear witness to his Lord in Rome, imitating him by dying on a cross. Scripture never attempts to conceal Peter’s failings, yet the end of his life demonstrated the triumph of divine grace. Our own faults and occasional lapses should never
disconcert us. As with Peter, Christ always gives us another chance.
The apostle Paul has left the Church a rich legacy in the letters he composed to the various churches, and these letters have proved to be source of instruction and encouragement for the last two thousand years. Paul’s experience was unusual, starting with his unique conversion and his vision of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. From that moment Jesus Christ was at the centre of Paul’s teaching and preaching, as his writings so clearly testify. His privileged position as a chosen apostle did not spare Paul from the trials and tribulations of life. He uses a vivid phrase when he describes how on occasion he was ‘delivered from the mouth of the lion’, no doubt referring to some kind of mortal peril in which he found himself because of the gospel of Christ. Paul’s complete trust in Christ, the Son of God, serves as a model for every Christian. Reassuring is his belief that it is whenever we are conscious of our human weakness, then the power of God continues to shine forth in our lives.
The yearly celebration of the feast of Peter and Paul ought to remind us of the foundation on which our faith rests: the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This was Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi, a confession which has been the hallmark of our faith for two thousand years. Paul, in different language, subscribed fully to that same confession, and came to know Jesus as the pre-existing Son of the Father who assumed the condition of a servant here on earth to redeem the human race. Our debt to these two great saints is considerable and we rightly honour them today. May Christ be at the centre of our Christian living, as he was for Peter and
Paul, and let us imitate their faith with conviction by likewise proclaiming, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!’

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Twelfth Sunday of the Year

A favourite description of the Church is “the barque of Peter”, as she makes her way across the often turbulent seas of history to the peace and perfection of that harbour which we know as the Kingdom of God. For ancient peoples the sea conjured up images of unbridled power, fierce in its strength and life threatening to human beings. The passage from the book of Job expresses something of that terror the sea holds and almighty God alone can control its ferocious power. At the dawn of creation the Lord God set limits which the sea could not pass, and so ensured safety for those who dwell on the earth. A similar fear of the ruthless and terrible nature of the sea overtook the apostles on the Sea of Galilee. Seasoned fishermen that some of them were, they felt that they were on the point of perishing by the storm which beset them.

St. Mark tells us that Christ, fast asleep on a pillow in the stern, appeared indifferent to the disciples’ plight. In panic they awoke him only to be met with the rebuke that their faith had failed them in this moment of danger. In a memorable scene, Christ spoke to the turbulent elements and calm immediately followed. The disciples were confused, but went on to ask the pointed question, “Who can this be that even the wind and sea obey him?” As we listen to this gospel passage the same question is addressed to us. We are dealing with someone more than a human being here. The eye of faith sees in Jesus Christ stilling the storm the Son of God himself. The gospel passage is a summons to faith, to the Church as a whole and to each individual. In all the dangers and difficulties, trials and tribulations to which the Church has been subject from the beginning down to the present day, we must never doubt the abiding presence of the saviour, Jesus Christ. Christ will remain faithful to us, provided we remain faithful to him.

The words of Paul the apostle in our second reading can be of great help here. The coming of Christ has changed everything, the way we look at people and view the world. We no longer see things from a purely human perspective, but wonderfully since the death and resurrection of the Lord a new creation has begun and the old order has passed away. In his Son Jesus Christ almighty God has accomplished his greatest wonder. Have we sufficient faith to make God’s marvellous deed our own?

+Michael Campbell OSA

Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Holy Hour for Vocations

Bishop Michael has asked every parish in the Diocese to have a Eucharistic Holy Hour each week for the specific intention of priestly vocations in the Diocese of Lancaster. At the joint parish council meeting it was decided to split the hour between our two parishes. Timings will be:
Tuesday 6.30 7.00pm at St Edmund’s
Wednesday 3.45—4.15pm at St Wulstan’s

Bishop Campbell appoints Two Vicars General for the Diocese

Bishop Michael Campbell OSA, Sixth Bishop of Lancaster announced on Friday 12 June 2009 that he has appointed two Vicars General who will assist him in the running of the Diocese (donec aliter provideatur) - that is until he decides otherwise.
The two priests selected by the Bishop are:
Mgr Canon Patrick Mulvany, Our Lady Star of the Sea & St Michael, Workington
Mgr Canon Aidan Turner, Our Lady Star of the Sea, St Annes on Sea

Both priests served as Vicars General for Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue (Mgr Mulvany since 2003 and Mgr Turner since 2007).

(from the Diocesan website)

A Reflection for Feast of the Holy Trinity

With good reason we speak of the truths of our faith as ‘mysteries of faith’. By this we mean that these are truths which the human mind can never fully grasp. We accept in faith what God has revealed to us through the Church while realising that that we stand in the face of mystery. Nowhere, perhaps, is this lack of understanding more evident than when we come face to face with the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, whose feast the Church celebrates today. The human race has made vast advances in every field of knowledge and there appears to be no limit to the discoveries and inventions of which we are capable. Yet, we remain finite, limited human beings, and where the inner life of God is concerned the power of our intellects falters. Of ourselves we could never have arrived at the existence of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe it because Christ has told us so.
Yet the wonder of our faith and Catholic religion consists in just how much almighty
God has drawn back the curtain and permitted us to glimpse something of the mystery of the divine life. The Scripture readings for this Sunday’s liturgy help us grasp in some fashion the Trinity which is God, and the effect of each of the persons on our own life. Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, muses in wonder at how God intervened in the history of the tiny nation Israel and chose them as a people to be his own. The choice of Israel was a prelude to the coming of the Church as God’s haven for all nations. We might comfort ourselves with the thought that we are never far from God’s mind. His choice has fallen upon each one of us in Christ.
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is underlined by the apostle Paul. It is through the power of that same Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Christ, that we have the privilege to address God in the most intimate fashion, as “Father”, exactly as Jesus the Son of God himself did during his earthly life. We would do well to stop and ponder the significance of addressing almighty God as Father. In a very real sense our God is incredibly close to us, as the Father of us all. As we hear in the conclusion to Matthew’s gospel, Christ has commissioned his Church to teach and baptise all nations in the name of the most holy Trinity, a task which the Church must carry out until the end of time. As members of the Church we have been sealed and stamped with the image of the holy Trinity in our baptism. While we will never fully understand this greatest of all mysteries, today we renew our faith and give praise and thanks to God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

The Feast of Pentecost

The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, long promised and hinted at in the Scriptures, finally came to pass in most dramatic fashion on the day we have come to know as Pentecost. A mighty wind shook the house in which the disciples were gathered – a symbol of God’s power and strength – followed by tongues of fire coming to rest on the heads of each one of them. God was being true to his promise, the Church was born, and the story of Christ would now be taken to the peoples of the earth. A remarkable and marvellous part of that sequence of events was the fact that those pilgrims, present in Jerusalem from every part of the known world, could hear the Apostles speaking to them of God’s wonders in their own language. The disunity brought about by the many languages resulting from the sin of the Tower of Babel was now being reversed. We learn that the Spirit is the source of oneness, of unity among peoples.

For all its fragility, even sinfulness in its members, the Church spread throughout the world, yet one in faith, hope and charity, offers us a vision of God’s plan for the human race. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the Church draws together men and women of every language, race and land and creates them as one in Christ.

While he was on earth Christ spoke often of the One who would come after him, who would be with the apostles and disciples as a friend and comforter. He is called the Paraclete, the One who defends us and leads us into the full truth of all that Jesus said and did. Christ loved his own too much, and us as well, to abandon us and leave us like orphans. In future, he would be with us in a different but no less real way, through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We rightly rejoice on today’s feast, often called ‘the birthday of the Church’. The coming of the Holy Spirit brings Christ’s work of redemption to completion, and God’s message of salvation is now freely offered to Jew and Gentile, slave or free, without exception. As the Holy Spirit rested, flame-like, over the head of each disciple, so on this Pentecost Sunday we pray that the same Spirit will once more refresh and renew the Church, and descend gently upon each one of us. Come, Holy Spirit!

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Seventh Sunday after Easter – Feast of the Ascension

With the feast of the Ascension the Church marks the final appearance of the risen Lord to his disciples. From now on his presence would be of an entirely different order. The work of the apostles and disciples was now beginning, a work that would need the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to give it impetus and sustain it in the course of history. When we try to picture the Ascension our powers of imagination fail us. Even the New Testament writers, such as Luke, were consciously aware that the Ascension, together with the Resurrection, belongs to that category which is ultimately indescribable. What they did proclaim, however, was the solid
truth that Christ had now taken his place in heaven with his Father, that he commissioned his apostles to be bearers of his gospel, and that he would one day return again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Through his resurrection and Ascension Christ is Lord of the whole universe, and his full identity as Son of God has become manifest. He has left us in his body so as to be with each believer in any part of the world. No longer is Christ confined to Palestine and Galilee, but is present to his Church in every part of the world. The redemption which he has gained for us is ours through our faith in him as the crucified and risen One. It is the task of the Church to mediate that salvation to each generation. When we encounter that salvation through the sacraments and other means, we are encountering Christ himself. He has passed beyond our sight, but remains very much with us!

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols installed Eleventh Archbishop of Westminster

The Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols has been installed as the Eleventh Archbishop of Westminster during a Mass of Installation held at Westminster Cathedral, from 12pm noon to 2pm on Thursday 21 May 2009, and attended by a congregation of 2,200 specially invited guests.

Amongst those present at the Mass of Installation were: Lord Guthrie, representing HRH Prince Charles; Rt Hon Paul Murphy representing The Prime Minister, Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP; The Duke of Norfolk; Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor; Cardinal Sean Brady; Cardinal Roger Mahoney; Cardinal Keith O’Brien; His Excellency, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz; Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York; The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councilor Duncan Sandys; Francis Campbell, the British Ambassador to the Holy See; Sir Gus O' Donnell, Head of the Cabinet Office; 50 Catholic Bishops Including Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA (Bishop of Lancaster) and Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue ( Emeritus Bishop of Lancaster); over 500 priests from the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Diocese of Westminster together with MPs, Peers, Ambassadors and representatives of parishes, schools and Catholic societies and organisations.

The Mass of Installation was broadcast live in the UK on BBC2 and also around the world by EWTN, the Catholic Satellite Television Channel.

The Mass of Installation followed a Service of Solemn Vespers, which was held at Westminster Cathedral at 7pm on Wednesday 20th May. This was attended by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and an estimated 2,000 specially invited guests including Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests and representatives from schools, parishes and Catholic societies and organisations from the Diocese of Westminster.
The ceremony of the Reception and Installation of the Archbishop of Westminster was carried out according to the ancient Catholic rite used in similar circumstances for the Reception and Installation of the Archbishops of Canterbury prior to the Reformation.

At 12 noon, to the sound of a specially composed fanfare, Archbishop Vincent Nichols entered Westminster Cathedral by the main West Door, and was greeted by the Provost of Westminster Cathedral, Canon Michael Brockie. He then processed to the High Altar where he joined over 150 Clergy in the Cathedral’s Sanctuary, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, 50 Catholic Bishops, the Provost and Chapter of Westminster Cathedral, Deans and the Vicar General of the Diocese of Westminster, Monsignori and ecumenical guests including Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols officially become the 11th Archbishop of Westminster at around 12.15 pm after the reading aloud of Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Letter of Authority, or Papal Mandate, by Bishop John Arnold, Chancellor of the Diocese of Westminster, and the formula of Installation by the Provost of Westminster Cathedral, Canon Michael Brockie.

The Archbishop-Emeritus, His Eminence Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor then presented the new Archbishop with the Crozier, the bishop’s staff, symbolic of his office as bishop. The Provost and Canons of the Metropolitan Chapter then greeted the new Archbishop, followed by other representatives of the Diocesan clergy, ethnic chaplaincies, pastoral and administrative bodies.

Fifth Diocesan Altar Servers Mass

On Saturday our Parishes Altar Servers went along with Fr Alf to the Cathedral where Bishop Michael Campbell OSA celebrated the Fifth Diocesan Altar Servers Mass. During Mass all of the Altar Servers were Presented with the 'Letters of St Paul' which were blessed by Bishop Michael. After the Mass the Altar servers went into the Cathedral Social Centre for some refreshments and had there photo taken with Bishop Michael (Pictured Right). Whilst in the Social Centre we noticed a familiar face to the Diocese, Emeritus Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue. Bishop O'Donoghue had not been in the Mass but called in to see all the Diocesan Altar Servers for the last time before he leaves. After a Cup of Tea and a few Biscuits the Altar Servers went to Morecambe bowling! The Altar Servers had a little tournament Boys vs Girls, can you guess who won? of course the boys with 521 points!
The day was most enjoyable for all, and was a colourful sight at the cathedral with all of the different parishes Altar Servers vestments. The day also proved to be a great chance to meet other servers from across the Diocese.

To read Bishop Michael's Homily please click here

Sixth Sunday of Easter 2009

John the Evangelist has a rare gift for expressing profound religious truths in simple language, as is evident in today’s gospel passage. The setting is the Last Supper room where the Lord Jesus is sharing intimate moments with his apostles just before his arrest, passion and death. His words represent something of a final testament and hence all the more precious for that. Love, joy, friends are words which frame Christ’s farewell discourse. The unique love which he enjoys from eternity as the Father’s only Son is nevertheless a love which he wants his disciples to know and experience. In theological terms, Jesus is referring to the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which is love itself. That love far surpasses all human love; it is a divine love, of which we believers are privileged to be part. Words are inadequate to describe the mystery of God’s love which Jesus came to reveal to us. In the midst of the difficulties and tribulations of life we can often forget the joy which is so characteristic of the message of Christ. Here he speaks explicitly of his desire to see his disciples’ joy reach full completion. By his cross and resurrection he would defeat the ancient enemies of sin and death. In all that lay ahead of them they were to be joyful in heart, because their master’s victory would be theirs as well. In the complex world of the twenty-first century where we find ourselves we can feel overwhelmed by the pace of change and technological progress. The recent economic and financial setbacks can engender a sense of pessimism, even foreboding where the future is concerned. At such moments we need to ponder and cherish those words of Jesus, that he wants us to be filled with the joy he gives, a joy that is complete. Theologians speak of the mystery of God’s revelation, of how Jesus Christ brings us truths about God we could not otherwise know. The Lord in our gospel expresses this to his disciples in another way: we have now passed from being servants or slaves to an entirely new relationship with the Son of God. We have become his friends. And he has let his friends into the secrets of heaven! This is the wonder of the Christian faith which springs from the incarnation of God’s Son, speaking to us of divine things in language we are able understand. However, and here lies the challenge, our friendship with Jesus implies that we be friends with one another. In the Lord’s own words, Love one another as I have loved you. It’s a humbling thought to realise that there can be no love of God worthy of the name without an equal love for our neighbour.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)