INVESTITURE MASS OF KNIGHTS AND DAMES OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE



HOMILY PREACHED BY CARDINAL KEITH PATRICK O’BRIEN



ST PATRICK’S CHURCH, ANDERSTON, GLASGOW



SATURDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2008





INTRODUCTION:



I am indeed very happy to be here with you this morning as your Grand Prior
for this Investiture Mass. Here in Glasgow we are in this very beautiful
parish church dedicated to St Patrick and are privileged to follow the new
liturgical ceremonial both for the Vigil yesterday evening conducted by
Archbishop Mario Conti Archbishop of Glasgow and now for the Investiture
conducted by myself as the Grand Prior.



As well as taking part in the Investiture each one of us has the opportunity
of reaffirming our own commitment as Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre
of Jerusalem and trying to grow in our own knowledge and love of God in this
Mass as we give him all glory and honour.



During the summer months I was privileged to witness to our faith in two
great pilgrimages: The first on a pilgrimage to Lourdes with my own
Archdiocese marking the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of our Blessed
Lady to St Bernadette; and the second along with the youth of the world to
Sydney Australia to a magnificent manifestation of faith led by Pope
Benedict XVI.



I would like to speak of each of these pilgrimages briefly to you this
morning.



PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES:



As you know countless pilgrims had journeyed to Lourdes this particular year
because of the 150th anniversary celebrations.



As always various events in that pilgrimage were outstanding: One thinks of
the moments of silent prayer at the Grotto; the processions of the Blessed
Sacrament during each day and the torchlight processions each evening; and
then the daily celebration of Mass in the shrines of Lourdes leading up to
the Sunday celebration of Mass in the vast underground Basilica. As a
Cardinal Archbishop I was principal celebrant on the Sunday of our own
pilgrimage with ten bishops, about 400 priests and approximately 100,000
people gathered in the packed underground Basilica. This was a great moment
of prayer and praise – but one which caused me to ponder on our own
individual role in the Church and in the world.



Thinking of the meaning of Lourdes I realised that both our Blessed Lady
herself as well as St Bernadette were simply small cogs in the great wheel
which is the Church moving us ever closer to God Our Father in Heaven. I
realised that each and every cog is important whether the unborn in the
womb, in a wheelchair or hospital bed, young or old. Each one of us is
important in the life of the Church and in the life of our world at this
present time.



In our liturgy today we will be reminded that being a Knight or Dame of the
Holy Sepulchre “means witnessing the Kingdom of Christ, and spreading the
Church, as well as working for charity, with the same profound spirit of
faith and love”.



That call to witness the Kingdom of Christ and spread the Church is a call
which goes out to each one of us – and perhaps nevermore so than at this
present time.



One might say that the witness of each one of us as a Christian is vitally
important and nevermore so than at this present time as there will be
ongoing debate on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. One might
have been tempted to think that no one of us is all that important – but
surely the Christian voice in the recent by-election in Glasgow East was
more than vitally important. One might be tempted to think that in the
forthcoming by-election in Glenrothes again the individual Christian voice
is not all that important. But I say to each and every individual who is
concerned about the future of our society the individual Christian voice is
more than ever important.



As perhaps you know I wrote to each and every Member of Parliament about the
forthcoming debate and vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
later this autumn. I asked each of our Members of Parliament to use the time
given to them to examine their consciences and to use the time ahead wisely
to reflect on the likely outcome of the consequences of their actions and
their decisions. Yes – each individual cog in the great wheel of society as
in the great wheel of the Church is more ever important with regard to
decision making in our country.



PILGRIMAGE WITH POPE BENEDICT XVI WITH WORLD YOUTH DAY IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA:



The other great pilgrimage in which I was privileged to take part during the
summer was to Sydney Australia when I united with almost half a million
young people from all over the world praying with them and praising God, and
listening to the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI.



I have quoted the words in our ceremony this morning that “becoming a Knight
of the Holy Sepulchre means witnessing the Kingdom of Christ and spreading
the Church”, When conferring the insignia I also say to the Knights: “While
all men must follow their consciences to make the effort to be fair and
honest all the more reason that the Knight of the Holy Sepulchre should make
every possible effort also”.



Consequently I again call you to be witnesses to Christ throughout the world
but particularly to be fair and honest in your own homes, your local
communities, and your parishes.



Just last week the World Health Organisation quoting statistics first
published in a Glasgow Centre for Population Health Report two years ago
gave frightening statistics. If a person is born and raised in the Calton
area of Glasgow the life expectancy is 54 years; on the other hand the life
expectancy of a person born and brought up in neighbouring Lenzie just eight
miles or a ten minute drive away is 82 years. What an indictment of the ways
that some of our sisters and brothers are living at this present time and
within the same City. Similar statistics are produced worldwide: I mentioned
my visit to Australia where Aboriginal men live an average of 59.4 years,
fifteen years less than the average Australian male at 76.6 years; in Russia
a twenty year old male who is university educated can expect to live an
average of 52 years, more than ten years longer than his primary school
educated counterpart at just 40 years. We must wonder what the situation
will be now and in the years to come when we have been reminded that the
economic times faced by Britain and the rest of the world “are arguably the
worst they’ve been in 60 years”.



It is in the midst of such situations around us that we are called to be
witnesses to Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI reminded the young people of
the world of this in Australia when he stated:






“You are already well aware that our Christian witness is offered to a world
which in many ways is fragile. The unity of God’s creation is weakened by
wounds which run particularly deep when social relations break apart, or
when the human sprit is all but crushed through the exploitation and abuse
of persons”.



And he went on to add that society today is being fragmented “because it
disregards the full horizon of truth – the truth about God and about us”.



CONCLUSION:



Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre have been important throughout
history in the defence of Christian standards especially in the Holy Land.
Christian witness must be seen to be important by each one of us living out
our lives in the Church and in the world today. May our Christian voices be
ever more loudly heard: may our Christian witness be evermore obviously seen
– in the situations in which we live here in our own country not only those
countries especially the Holy Land which we visit occasionally.



We have indeed been called by our ceremony today to be effective witnesses
to Jesus Christ and his love and his teaching. May we receive the
inspiration which we need from our time together today and throughout this
year.

Photographs By Paul Mc Sherry

Please contact  pictures@paulmcsherry.co.uk