Dear friends in Christ

Over the last two weeks we have witnessed extraordinary scenes since the death of Pope Francis, his funeral and burial, the nine days of mourning and soon the preparations for the Conclave to elect his successor. Before this we heard tremendous accounts in the media of the surge in numbers of people coming to the Catholic Church over Holy Week and Easter. The age-old adage is true that all publicity is good publicity and quite so when it comes to our holy religion! As we approach the Conclave this week, it is important to remember—amidst all the secular media hype—that the Church does not think in terms of liberal/conservative, progressive/traditional. There is one virtue required: fidelity to Christ and His Church. The Cardinals are not electing a successor to Pope Francis; they electing the Successor of Peter!

In the Gospel we hear of the miraculous catch of fish. The Apostles had been working hard all night for a catch but had caught nothing. As soon as Jesus comes and tells them where to look, they find that miraculous haul of fish—one hundred and fifty three of them! The Fathers of the Church tell us that that was the known number of species of fish in the world at that time, and that we should see in that number the universality of salvation i.e. that Christ has come to save everyone and that the Church—God’s divinely appointed means to bring about this salvation— must therefore gather everyone in. Furthermore, it reminds us that when Christ is on board, the results will always be abundant and beyond our meagre expectations.

Having laid my Father to rest with my Mother this week, I thank you for the many messages of condolence, prayers and Masses offered for him. His Funeral was, like the manner of his life, serene and dignified; I was grateful for the presence of a number of my Brother Priests. A former renowned Bishop of Salford—Thomas Holland—used to to say that the parents of the priest are trumpeted onto the shores of eternity…it’s a pious thought, but one I hope might be true!

Let us pray for the Church in these days ahead, that with Christ at the helm, we shall soon have a new Successor of Peter, to guide the Church through the waters of this world, and bring many souls to Heaven!

God bless you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale