CENTENARY MASS : ST MARY¹S CATHEDRAL EDINBURGH SUNDAY 15TH JUNE 2008

HOMILY PREACHED BY CARDINAL KEITH PATRICK O'BRIEN

INTRODUCTION:

It is indeed a great privilege being here with you today as we celebrate the centenary Mass of the Foundation of the Catenian Association. The liturgy is particularly appropriate for today¹s Mass ­ when we read in St Matthew's Gospel of the call of the Disciples and their sending out by Jesus to ''proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand''. Similarly I think we must avert to the fact that this is also ''Fathers Day'' ­ and with the great number of Catenians being themselves fathers of families we wish every blessing not only on the members of Catenian Association themselves but on their families and friends.

HISTORY OF THE CATENIANS:

Perhaps the name ''Catenian'' is one barely known to many members of the congregation this morning and consequently I am sure you will not mind me spending some minutes on giving the early history of the Association. The Association undoubtedly owes its existence to the vision of Louis Charles Casardelli who became the Bishop of Salford, England in 1903. At that time there were only one and a half million Catholics in England and Wales and they were still viewed with suspicion by many of the population. In 1908 a group of professional and business men in Manchester under their leader, John O'Donnell, asked for a meeting with their Bishop at which they requested a blessing on their 'Association', the infant Catenian Association. In England at the beginning of the 20th century, there were signs of an emerging Catholic middle class ­ with Catholics previously having been divided between the very rich landed Catholic gentry and the very poor including the recently immigrant Irish who had arrived in England over the previous fifty years. In his first pastoral letter in October 1903 Bishop Casardelli wrote of ''the signs of the times'' and called on Catholic laymen ''to go forth to all the interests of the Commonwealth of which we are part'' and he went on to say that ''he wanted the laity to play their role ''in matters social, municipal, philanthropic, educational, artistic, literary in which we may use the powers we enjoy''. In fact the Bishop was calling on Catholic laity to play their full role in society. In very many ways Bishop Casardelli was anticipating the teaching of the Second Vatican Council; indeed his words and actions now find an echo in the words of the late Pope John Paul II who when speaking to the Catholic laity of the world wrote: ''You have an exalted vocation; and there are many and varied forms of mission open to you!'' Consequently the Catenian Association was founded and has the same spirit of the founding brothers in 1908 as in this present year of 2008 with their motto being: ''Strengthening family through friendship and faith''. There are many aspects of the apostolate of the Catenian Association which I could single out at this present time. However the Catenian Association has always been primarily a social organisation through which deep and lasting friendships have been formed ­ with these friendships built on the firm foundation of a shared faith. And whatever the challenges faced at this present time Catenians support each other and their families with prayer and practical support. But the Catenians are not simply concerned exclusively with themselves ­ they are described as ''proudly Catholic'' and many take an active role in their parishes, schools, dioceses and other Church organisations. That active role in the Church and civic life is needed now more than every before! Consequently, in my words this morning I single out two aspects of their valued apostolate which are vitally important in the Church and in the world of today: Catholic family life and encouragement of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

CATHOLIC FAMILY LIFE:

At this time as their worldwide centenary celebrations take place there are also speakers of international repute addressing the overall theme of promoting ''Catholic family life'' at various gatherings. I myself when appointed Archbishop and then later as Cardinal have seen the promotion of Catholic family life as one of the goals of my episcopacy. The Catholic Church can indeed fail in its apostolate or not fulfil that apostolate as best it can if it does not concentrate on building up Catholic family life at this present time. I know that the Catenian Association, while being a social association in itself, does promote the interests of the members and their families by the ways in which they meet and socialise. They see it as important for families to be together with their family life based on solid Catholic principles. At times this is not easy and it has been incumbent, linked as they are with the hierarchies of each and every country in which they are established, for Catenians to speak out not so much as members of the Association but in their own professional lives and places of work. As a Bishop I myself have found it necessary to speak out against the lowering of moral standards in our country at this present time. No doubt you have heard or read of some of my statements concerning the lowering of moral standards; the ways in which our young people are failed by the State at this present time with regard to current legislation; the diminishing status of married life in our country; the legal acknowledgement of sexual unions of peoples of the same sex; the frightening increase in the numbers of abortions taking place in our own country; the attacks on the very existence of our Adoption Societies; and the worries at the present time expressed by so many concerning the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. In speaking out and in speaking out very strongly I myself have come under frequent and regular attack. I see this as part of my own apostolate as a Bishop being prepared for that attack thinking of those words which you have just heard from the Gospel reading to ''proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand''. Aware that I am doing just that I am also aware of those many people who fail to acknowledge either the existence of God and consequently neither the existence of Christ nor of his Church as guideposts along the way to God on our journey through life. You must fight the same battles as myself; together we must maintain the same standards in the Church and in the world. The promotion of Catholic family life must always remain one of the vitally important goals of members of the Catenian Association ­ that must be a firm foundation for everything which the members try to accomplish in their apostolate in their organisation. You must be increasingly aware of your own responsibilities in your professional lives as I am aware of those same responsibilities because of my vocation.

PROMOTION OF VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE:

Again as I have indicated while the Catenian Association is essentially a social association, prayer and especially prayer for vocations, and support for Bishops and priests, is a vitally important aspect of the role of each and every Catenian. Throughout this centenary year the members of the Association are planning the celebration of 1,500 Masses for vocations to the Priesthood and religious life throughout the world on their patronal feast day of SS Peter and Paul, the 29th June. However each Catenian Circle organises regular Masses for vocations and members also support priests at a personal level and by being active participants in parish school and diocesan life. Prayers of vocations to the Priesthood and the religious life are said at every Catenian meeting and each Catenian Circle is given a specific date on which to arrange a public Mass for vocations. In effect this means that on virtually every weekday of the year somewhere in the world a Mass for vocations is being offered on behalf of the Catenian Association. I would say that rooted as they are in strengthening family life each Catenian family must really be a seed bed for vocations to the Priesthood and the religious life. One might say that Catenian families should almost ''breed vocations'' and ensure vocations come from their own families, as well as praying for vocations from the families of others. In the Catholic atmosphere of a Catenian home where better for young people to realise the ideals of Priesthood and religious life held up to them by the ways in which the members of the Catenian Association continue their lay apostolate in union with their priests and under the direction of their local bishops, especially the direction of our Holy Father the Pope.

CONCLUSION:

I would hope that in these words I have given some idea of the apostolate of the Catenian Association that Association which has a social purpose but an invaluable outreach from the Church to the world with its strengthening of Catholic family life and its ongoing apostolate for vocations. It was the desire of those planning the Catenian centenary celebrations that there should be some lasting memorial that would give others reason to celebrate. Consequently, the ciborium which will be brought forward at the Offertory, engraved with the Catenian logo and gifted to the Cathedral, will be an ongoing reminder to those using this ciborium of the Centenary of the Catenian Association and of their ongoing prayer and care for vocations. Rather than thinking only of some material commemorative plaque or stained glass window the Catenians wisely decided on a major appeal to provide clean water throughout the world to give life and hope for those in desperate need in Africa and especially Zimbabwe. Money raised will be entrusted to our aid agencies including here in Scotland SCIAF as members of CARITAS that group of international Catholic charities that has long experience of successful humanitarian projects throughout the world. I think it must be remembered that when Jesus sent out his disciples he sent those first men in twos to carry on their valued apostolate with each person strengthening the other. That is what happens in the Catenian Association. In celebrating this Mass of Thanksgiving for them and their colleagues throughout the world I wish them every blessing as they thank God for the past, as they receive strength for their present apostolate and as they look forward with confidence to the years which lie ahead.

+Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien.