The cross, and more specifically, the crucifix, is the fundamental icon of our Christian faith. That is why it is important that the crucifix should be displayed prominently and unashamedly in all Catholic Churches and institutions. If we, as Christians, lose sight of the cross then we lose our bearings. The cross reveals God’s love for us and I want to suggest that it also reveals how we may reciprocate that love. It is a great and profound paradox of our faith that this ugly and cruel event discloses the beauty of God more fully and more profoundly than any other image or symbol.

The crucifixion of Jesus was an integral part of the story of God becoming man. It could not have been otherwise. Were it not for the crucifixion of Jesus, the incarnation of the Son of God would not have achieved its purpose. In his passion, Jesus reached into the depths of sickness and disorder, of violence and of death itself. He reached us all, whatever our condition: the cross discloses this and in so doing discloses the depth and the beauty of God’s love for us.

It is important to bear this in mind when we are perplexed and troubled by suffering in our own lives or suffering in the world in which we live. We cannot and must not get used to the horror of sufferings brought about by war, terrorism, by poverty and disease. The question “why?” will never go away. The same question can press upon us in our personal lives when we feel overburdened by sickness or distress.

Those who do not believe in God will sometimes point to innocent suffering as a reason for their unbelief. From the vantage point of unbelief there can be never be any answer to the question “why?” And the vantage point of faith does not provide us with any easy answers. It does however profoundly affect the way in which we perceived the whole mystery of evil.

Through his suffering and death Jesus embraced human nature in every aspect except sin. He made possible a union between God and humanity that could never have been established in any other way. We have become sons and daughters of God, something that is central to the teaching of Apostle Paul. Another way of expressing the union between God and humanity is that of friendship. This is beautifully expressed in St. John’s Gospel through the words of Jesus to his disciples “No longer do I call you servants. Rather I call you friends”. For us today, the vital point is that it is precisely Christ’s death on the cross that opens up the possibility of men and women being ‘friends of God’. The cross, which reveals the depth and beauty of God’s love, invites us to friendship with him but does not impose it. It shows how costly is God’s love for us and how costly it is to respond to that love.

The cross confronts us with a choice; it engages us at the level of our deepest freedom. I we choose to say ‘Yes’ to Christ’s invitation, we know that the cross will be planted securely in our lives. There is no alternative route.

So it is that a truly human and, therefore, a truly moral life will be marked by patience and suffering which will certainly bear fruit; that fruit will be not only personal friendship with God bot also true love and friendship within human community. It is in that profound perspective that we should consider the significance of doing penance in Lent. It is a token or sign of our willingness to suffer with Christ and so seal our friendship with him.

But I want to suggest that these reflections should shape the whole way in which we think about our lives and about the suffering of the human race. While we should do all in our power to establish peace and well being in our world and in our own lives, the cross enables us to embrace in faith the evil that is visited upon us and which we are powerless to overcome. In that perspective it may be helpful to see the season of Lent as a microcosm of our whole lives. In the psalms and in Christian prayer we find much wisdom that can enable us to engage with suffering in a spirit of hope. Psalm 23 says “though I walk in the valley of darkness, no evil will I fear” and in the Hail Holy Queen, a prayer of vibrant trust in the intercession of Our Lady, there is nothing self pitying about calling our life a “valley of tears”. Suffering has to be seen in the light of the resurrection, in the light of the Risen Lord who still bears the wounds of his passion. When we rise in him, we too will bear our wounds and finally understand the wisdom of the Cross as it has touched our own lives.

For now, and for this Lent let us simply contemplate the cross and allow its wisdom to speak to us. This we can do by making the Stations of the Cross, by saying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary or simply kneeling in silence before the crucifix. Whatever prayers or devotions we use, and whatever we do for lent, let this be a time of growing in the wisdom of the cross, and time of deepening our personal love for Jesus who died for us out of love that we cannot even begin to imagine. Let it be a time of saying “Yes” to his invitation to friendship and for embracing courageously all that friendship may demand of us. Finally, let it be a time of prayer for justice and peace in the world, a prayer we make in the light of our faith in the coming Kingdom of God, the seeds of which are already being sown especially in those places of the world which are so tragically marked by the sign of the Cross.

Yours devotedly in Christ
+ Kevin
Archbishop of Southwark

Given at St. George's Cathedral, Southwark
on 2nd February 2006
The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord

My dear People,

I am writing to inform you of a very important development within the life of our Diocese. Pope Benedict has appointed two new Auxiliary Bishops to help me in my responsibilities of administration and pastoral care in the diocese. The two new bishops will be: Father Paul Hendricks, parish priest of Peckham, and Father Patrick Lynch, SS.CC, parish priest of South Norwood and Episcopal Vicar for Religious.

I am very pleased indeed about these appointments. Please do keep our new bishops-elect in your prayers. Together with Bishop Hine, the two new bishops will be of great assistance to me as we face the great challenges that lie ahead. Father Lynch will take responsibility for the South-East Area of the Diocese and Father Hendricks will take responsibility for the South-West Area. I know that you will give them a warm welcome when you meet them.

In conveying this news to you, I would like also to express my appreciation to Bishop Charles Henderson and Bishop Howard Tripp, both of whom have given outstanding service to the Diocese, especially in their particular areas of responsibility for pastoral care in South London. I am grateful to Bishop Howard for continuing with this pastoral care after his retirement had been accepted by the Pope. I also want to thank Monsignor Richard Moth for having taken on the responsibility for the pastoral care in the South-East Area following the retirement of Bishop Charles Henderson. Monsignor Moth has combined this responsibility with his work as Vicar General over the last four and a half years.

Once again, I do ask you to pray for the diocese that, together, we may respond to God's call with great faith and hope.

With my blessing and every good wish,

+Kevin McDonald
Archbishop of Southwark

27th December 2005
Feast of St John Apostle and Evangelist

My dear People,

As we enter upon the season of Advent, it is important once again to grasp the grace of this holy time. As I have said before, it is a short season and one that can easily be submerged by preparations for Christmas. It is important that we be alert to the liturgy of Advent and attentive to the scripture readings that we hear at Mass. They speak to a very basic aspect of the human condition, namely, the fact that we are always looking forward, always waiting, always expecting. There is nothing we can do about the past, though we may look back either with gratitude or with regret. But the future is uncertain and therefore we look to the future both with hope and with apprehension. The liturgy of Advent teaches us how to look to the future and in doing so it speaks to the heart of human anxiety.

The future can seem threatening on all sorts of levels. Let us consider some of them. We are increasingly aware today of the many dangers to our natural environment. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to minimise the damage that is done to the environment both for our own sakes and for the sake of future generations. The natural world is a gift of which we are the stewards. As people who believe in the creation of heaven and earth we have a profound motive for respecting and preserving the world in which we live.

The future also holds the prospect of continuing war and terrorism. Tragically the conflicts between races can often take on a religious aspect. The conflict in the Holy Land can seem like a war between Muslims and Jews. The war in Iraq can be presented as an incursion into Muslim territory by the Christian West. Pope John Paul, whose death we mourned this year, was always quite unequivocal in his condemnation of all war and violence, yet, once again, we approach Christmas with the shadow of war hanging over the world. Here, too, we as Christians have a special responsibility in a world where racial and religious hatred fuel conflict and violence. As Catholics we affirm all that is true and good in other religions and we do this without prejudice to our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of all humanity. During the year we have celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the relations of the Church to non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate. That document spoke of our unique bond with the Jewish people and of our special relationship with Islam. In Advent, when we await the Birth of the Prince of Peace, we pray for charity and understanding between the different religions of the world, and for an end to war and conflict.

Advent is also, of course, the beginning of the Church's year and we pray for renewal and new life in the Church. It is all too easy to catalogue the problems and crises that we face today and we should not minimise them. But I was greatly reassured by something that Pope Benedict said to the bishops attending the World Youth Day in Cologne last summer. He said that we already have all the resources we need for the future of the Church. We should be confident in what we have been given. Let us pray for a new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are needed for renewal in the Church and for a new evangelisation.

In all of this the figure of Mary can be our teacher and guide. She was a Jewish woman, the "daughter of Sion". She was filled with the Holy Spirit and trusted in a future she did not understand. She recognised the wonders that God had done but she knew that it was only through the cross that God's purposes could be fulfilled. Our Lady is central to Advent. Let us pray that like her we may be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us also look forward to the coming of the Lord, confident in his power and in our place in his plan of salvation.

With my blessing and greetings,

+Kevin
Archbishop of Southwark

Given at St George's Cathedral, Southwark
on 1 November 2005,
the Feast of All Saints