Homilies

There are many versions of the story. Famously rediscovered by St Helena in the year 326, the Cross of Christ had been an object of devotion from the earliest times.

Feet. Not the most glamorous part of the human body. But as I realized more clearly last year when I was off them, we need our feet to stand, for balance and support, to bear our weight and get ourselves from A to B.

Feet. Not the most glamorous part of the human body. But as I realized more clearly last year when I was off them, we need our feet to stand, for balance and support, to bear our weight and get ourselves from A to B.

What a sight! Jesus entering Jerusalem and greeted as a king, the crowd casting their cloaks before him and waving victory palms.

It’s a common trope in many films, TV shows, and books, ranging from Star Wars to Kung Fu Panda.

Imagine you’re an outsider, but curious about Christianity. Or that you’ve put your foot in the door, if not yet in the water, and are preparing for baptism at Easter. What questions would be on your mind? What should you experience or be given to read by those accompanying you?

Some years ago I was part of a Channel 4 TV programme in Britain, a panel discussion about the new genetics. I was asked what I thought about prenatal testing.

When most people hear the word ‘Samaritan’, they think of The Good Samaritan, rather than the not-so-good one of today’s Gospel. At first glance the two are unconnected by anything but nationality.

Last September the British photographer, Jim Grover, spent a day snapping people crossing Westminster Bridge: locals and visitors, adults and children.

Some years ago I was praying in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, many metres below the putative chair we celebrate tonight, now suspended below the main window of the Holy Spirit. As she pointed at the sepulchre, a large black American lady asked if I knew what it was.