Mass with the Apostolic Nuncio
Last week His Excellency, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, the Apostolic Nuncio made an official visitation to the Diocese and on Friday, 6th September, we had a Mass of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral. He was the Chief Concelebrant at the Mass and I preached the homily. Here is an extract from the homily.
Today we offer Mass in thanksgiving to God for the Gift and Mystery of the Church, for the amazing communion we share in Christ’s one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church. That communion is made tangible when the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese gather around their Bishop, the Successor of the Apostles, to offer the Mass and to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy. But today our communion is given a special quality by the visit of the Apostolic Nuncio. As the ambassador and as the representative of the Holy Father, His presence reminds us that we are linked by bonds of communion – the same doctrine, the same law of charity, the same liturgy, the same structures – with the Universal Church throughout the world and with the Successor of Peter. The Church is a communion that spans space and time. As a Catholic, it’s amazing, no matter where you go in the world, from Africa to America, from the Far East to the Deep South, you always belong. You are always at home. You are always one of the family. And it’s a family that spans heaven and earth. It goes back twenty centuries to Christ Himself and even if the language, practice and modalities have much developed and expanded, we know that should St. Paul walk the earth again, he would immediately be one with us, rejoicing that what he said in today’s First Reading was being fulfilled.
Your Excellency, it is a great joy to have you visit us here in the Diocese of Portsmouth to offer this Mass. …
In today’s Gospel, we hear about another Visitation, how Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Notice what happened the moment Mary entered the house: the child in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. For Mary brought with Her, Jesus Christ. She, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, was carrying in her womb the Word made flesh. She was a living tabernacle. As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, we have much to learn from this Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. We have much to learn from the service and mission of the Blessed Virgin. For we too in Christ are living tabernacles. True, we are not carrying the Incarnate Word in our flesh, but we are carrying Him in our hearts. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we bring Christ to others, both those in the communion of the Church and those around us still awaiting to receive Him.
So in this Mass today in which we thank God for the Gift and Mystery of the Church, let us thank God for the gift of faith, for union with Jesus Christ and for the amazing communion we share. We pray for the Holy Father, for the Apostolic Nuncio and for the whole Church across the world. Please pray too for our Diocese of Portsmouth, for our mission-plan and for ourselves. May we be ever more like Blessed Mary, living tabernacles bringing people closer to Jesus Christ through His Church.
You can view all the photos here. [All photos by Ana Dobeson]
