Written by As a diocesan family we have a double celebration of brothers today. We celebrate the lives and ministry of the brothers, Saints Chad and Cedd. We also celebrate the life and growing ministry of our brothers in formation for the diaconate, Ted and Jeremy.
Supported in prayer, at today’s Mass, Ted and Jeremy take the next steps towards Ordination as deacons. Both will be admitted as formal Candidates for Ordination and for Jeremy, the additional celebration, as he is instituted in the Ministry of Reader. Our prayers are very much with you both, my brothers, and with your families and parish communities.
One of the joys of the Catholic Church is its consistent presence throughout History. We have all the richness of the church handing on its very life and its mission to each generation. When we speak of the Tradition of the Church, we should never be reductive. It is far more than nostalgia, or how things used to be. No, the tradition of the Church is all that she is, passed on generation to generation.
Our diocesan feast today invites us to reflect on that ancient tradition. It takes us back to the life of the Church 1400 year ago. To the time of Chad and Cedd. We have much to learn from them. Despite all the changes over the last 1400 years, one thing has not really changed, how we minister the Lord’s love. We walk with Jesus and we walk with the people we are called to serve.
If you will forgive me, St. Chad has always been a Saint close to my heart. He is the patron saint of my former diocese, Birmingham. With his brother Cedd, he was educated and formed in ministry at Lindisfarne under St. Aidan. He was later chosen to be Bishop of Northumbria, but St. Wilfred contested the appointment. Chad obediently withdrew and was to move south to Mercia, the Midlands. He settled in Repton and then in Lichfield. He ministered as Bishop to the people of Mercia, who loved him quickly and greatly.
Chad’s ministry was very short, maybe just three years in the Midlands. But on his death, he was immediately venerated as a Saint because of the holiness of his life, his humility and his dedication to the preaching of the Word of God. The same is said of his brother Cedd, who moved even further south to establish his See at Bradwell in Essex. Later he moved to his monastery at Lastingham where he died of the plague.
After Chad’s death a shrine was established in Lichfield, and later the magnificent cathedrals at Lichfield were built up around the shrine. Pilgrims made their way to pray at his tomb and those prayers were said to be healing for sick pilgrims.
At the Reformation, fearful of desecration, Catholics removed Chad’s relics from Lichfield Cathedral and located them, first at Sedgley in the Black Country. There is a St. Chad’s parish there which was my mother’s home parish as she grew up. Some of my extended family are still members of that parish. It is a church I know well.
In the 19th Century, as the catholic community grew, the Pugin Roman Catholic Cathedral in Birmingham was built among the back streets and slums of inner- city Birmingham. The first Catholic cathedral to be built in England since the Reformation. The relics of Chad were moved from Sedgley and were placed above the high altar and there they remain in the Cathedral of St. Chad.
On a more personal note, in 2019 I had the privilege of walking an ecumenical pilgrimage in honour of St. Chad. The all day walk went from Repton to Lichfield Cathedral, about 20 miles, and I carried a relic of the holy man. In true northeastern style, the weather was shocking, really shocking, torrential rain for 20 miles. Chad was fine by the way, tucked in under my layers of waterproof clothing. Me, I just ended up soaked, but with a ready quip, in the style of a London, cabbie, “you’ll never guess who I had in the back of the car today? St. Chad…” as I drove the relics back to the Cathedral in Birmingham.
It would seem there is a bit of a trade-off. Chad went from the Northeast to Staffordshire. In more recent times Bishop Kevin and I have moved in the opposite direction, from Staffordshire to the Northeast. And yes, no doubt the Midlands got the better part of that deal!
In all seriousness though, I walked with the Saint literally close to my heart. It was a privilege, albeit a very wet one.
Both Chad and Cedd ministry was walking. Both seemed to follow the example of St. Aidan’s ministry. They learnt well. The ministry was on foot moving from place to place, praying with others, listening to others, speaking with others, proclaiming the Word of God to others. It is said of all three, Aidan, Chad and Cedd that their attraction to others was rooted in simplicity, ordinariness and evident holiness. It seems all three men were graced to get out of the way so that people met Christ in and through them. People experienced walking with the Lord.
That practice of ministry is one we should all be copying. Maybe walking with others literally is not an option but spiritually the image should motivate our actions. To walk with others, to accompany, to encounter others is true synodality. Nothing more is needed than allowing the Lord to speak in and through us. Underpinning that is the recognition that to be Church we are called to be missionary, to be sent out. To walk with others through life.
In the Gospel we listen to Jesus making a tour of the towns and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news and curing the sick. He is out there on foot, walking from place to place. He ministered to a people who were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Times have not changed that much! We minister in difficult times. Life is very tough for many. Peace seems far from human’s hearts at times. But we are reassured and challenged, that the harvest is rich. The harvest is rich indeed, because the harvest is the eternal life and the perfect love of heaven.
In the first reading we listen to the tribe of Levi, the ministers set apart to carry the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark, the presence of God, moved with the people. God walked with his tribe. Only later with the building of the Temple was a more fixed image of the presence of God used. And that decision was a very controversial one. As we know the Temple was not to last.
Pope Francis regularly speaks about walking with Jesus and so walking with one another. At the start of his pontificate these were his most mentioned themes. He teaches us, that every single action that we take as Christians should be seen as a step closer to God and to our neighbour. Walking with the Lord and others gets us out from behind our walls and takes us out into society. The Church is always walking, through history yes, but also to be truly Church, we move out of ourselves, to accompany others. Pope Francis gives us this “walking” image to be an evangelising Church, always on a mission, aware of the responsibility and joy of the walk, an image of the Church that is not frightened of the road nor what it will encounter among the people, especially on the outskirts of human existence where the cries of the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed can be heard. As we walk, we will hear the cry of the earth too. Sadly, the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth provide a heartbreaking duet today. We walk, we do not run. We do not rush. As we walk, we can take in what is around us, we can discern, we can respond.
One of Pope Francis’ comments is that if the Church stops moving, things go wrong. The Church is not static. The Church is not for others to find. No, we go to them. If the Church Is not moving, things go wrong.
I am no expert so feel free to correct me, but it was once explained to me that newborn babies can often get distressed if they are not moving. To calm a newborn, move around. I recall my younger sister crying if the car stopped at traffic lights and the like, but calming down as we moved off. It seemed odd. I may be wrong, but it was explained to me that we humans have an innate desire to keep moving. For a newborn to be still is running the danger that the tribe has moved on and you are left behind. So, you cry to say don’t forget me.
The Church is called to move on always, step by step towards her saviour and to all she serves. If the church stops moving, things go wrong, and the church will end up crying too.
As we know the theme of walking with the Lord underpins all our discernment about the Church as synodal. Anyone who has read Pope Francis from day one can hardly be surprised by his call for us to be synodal, to walk with one another.
Ted and Jeremy, there are many quotes I could use from Pope Francis, here are just three, as you continue to discern your vocation:
Ted and Jeremy, Pope Francis says, “Jesus is walking ahead of us. He is always before us. He goes ahead of us and leads the way. This is the source of our confidence and our joy: to walk with Jesus. And this is not easy or comfortable because the way that Jesus chooses is the way of the Cross. Yet we know that Jesus has won, and that we need not fear the Cross.”
Ted and Jeremy, Pope Francis says, “Let us walk together behind the Lord and let us always be called together by him, in the midst of his faithful people.”
Ted and Jeremy, Pope Francis says “the Church needs your courage, to proclaim the Gospel at all times. The Church needs your compassion, especially at this time of pain and suffering for so many countries throughout the world. The Church needs us to be peacemakers, building peace by our words, our hopes and our prayers.”
My final words are from me: brothers walk with the Lord always, walk with the people it is our privilege to serve. Continue to discern your calling to be the Lord’ servants as His deacons and I wish you both every blessing on this important step of your walk towards ordination and ministry.
May God bless you both and your families.
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 