Archbishop O’Toole has celebrated the proclamation of the new Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia, saying the Catholic community need to have the faith that the Centurion shows Jesus in the Gospel.
Yesterday (1 December) at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St David, Archbishop O’Toole received the Papal Bull appointing him as Archbishop of the new Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia.
Speaking in the homily, he said:
“We need the kind of confidence that this soldier had in Jesus. Lord we need this faith. The faith that like the Centurion’s amazes you. You want us to trust you like he did.
“This is the faith that makes you marvel. This new beginning must be an invitation to deeper trust in you, to show our confidence in you, so that the world may marvel, be amazed.”
His full homily is below.
Homily – Proclamation of New Archdiocese – 2 December 2024
On 3 September it was a real surprise to receive a phone call from the Nuncio letting me know that the Holy Father agreed that the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia were to be united and this would be decreed on 12 September, the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. We were of course hoping that decision would come but perhaps not as promptly as it did. That morning, I had read a passage from St Gregory the Great in which he describes his faith and his pastoral responsibilities. At one point, he says, “Who am I – what kind of watchman am I? I do not stand on the pinnacle of achievement, I languish rather in the depths of my weakness. And yet the creator and redeemer of mankind can give me, unworthy though I be, the grace to see life whole and power to speak effectively of it. It is for love of him that I do not spare myself in preaching him”.
It is for love of Him, for love of Jesus, that we gather here today at this new beginning, as we receive and proclaim the Decree the Holy Father has sent us. It is because we want to have the faith of that Soldier we hear about in the Gospel, the Centurion. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word, and I, and we shall be healed”. This prayer we make every time we come to Mass. It comes just before the moment of intense intimacy with the Lord, when we receive Him in Holy Communion, take His Body and Blood into ourselves, so that we have the courage and confidence to go forth in His name, to bring Him to others.
Jesus marvels at the soldier’s faith, at the confidence he has in Jesus. The centurion knows that if Jesus says the Word, it will be done. The soldier knows this experience from having to direct and guide others. “I say to one go and he goes, to another come and he comes, to my servant “do this” and he does it.”.
We need the kind of confidence that this soldier had in Jesus. Lord we need this faith. The faith that like the Centurion’s amazes you. You want us to trust you like he did. This is the faith that makes you marvel. This new beginning must be an invitation to deeper trust in you, to show our confidence in you, so that the world may marvel, be amazed.
Help us to come to you as Kyrios, as Lord, as the One who is the source of our joy, of our energy and our life. And to “Go” forth in your name, not go ‘from you’ but to go forward in the power and strength of your presence to those who do not know you, who have not had the beauty of an encounter with you. To go to those who are furthest away.
Lord, help us to do this in communion with one another, walking together, assisting each one to be able to participate more profoundly and deeply, so that all may have their voice and their part in bringing others to you. This is our Mission.
“Nawr, dim ond ychydig eiriau yn iaith hynafol Cymru. Mae’r seremoni hon yn atgof dyfnach o’r cysylltiad pwysig sydd gennym ag Olynydd Sant Pedr. Mae’r Tad Sanctaidd wedi anfon llythyr atom yn nodi ein hundeb newydd â’n gilydd. Mae’r Pab Ffransis yn ein hatgoffa mai dim ond oherwydd ein hundeb â Iesu y mae’r undeb hwn â’n gilydd yn bosibl. Boed heddiw i helpu pob un ohonom ‘Ddod’ yn llawer agosach at Iesu, a rhoi’r dewrder inni ‘Fynd’ at eraill fel Ei ddisgyblion cenhadol.”
Now, just a few words in the ancient language of Wales. This ceremony is a deeper reminder of the important link we have with the Successor of St Peter. The Holy Father has sent us a letter marking our new union with one another. Pope Francis reminds us that this union with one another is only possible because of our union with Jesus. May today help each of us ‘Come’ much closer to Jesus, and give us the courage to “Go” to others as His missionary disciples.”
In the Gospel Jesus was amazed by the faith of one man – a Gentile soldier of all people, a stranger to the covenant, a man with limited understanding of the religious traditions, but a man who saw who Jesus for who He really is – Kyrios, Lord, the Son of God.
By admitting in humility his unworthiness to have Christ in his home, this man makes possible the invitation to have Christ in his heart. This man whose faith made Jesus marvel was not a disciple, did no miracles, established no churches, had no academic degree, and no religious title. His spiritual résumé was unimpressive. The man whose faith Jesus marvelled at, was a Centurion who knew who Jesus was, what he was able to do, and this gave him confidence. He asked Jesus humbly, and trusted that he would receive what he needed. He showed he really believed in Jesus.
This is still the faith that makes Jesus marvel. Who are the centurions of our day, of our Archdiocese? Who are those men, women, young people, children, who amaze us by their faith? Who are the ones who are not put off by the seemingly overwhelming task of faith in Jesus in the present age? Who, despite the messages of death and destruction, are not overcome by their unworthiness, or the unworthiness of the Church, but see in this a further invitation to trust in Jesus, and to be courageous in bearing witness to Him?
Our new Archdiocese, needs priests, religious lay men and women, yes and an Archbishop too, who have this kind of faith. A faith which amazes others, so that we do not keep doing the same old, same old. Can we do something else, can we do something fresh and different? It could be something small or particular in our own personal lives. Or could it be something big and audacious, where we even interrupt Jesus, as the centurion did, and make Him marvel. God knows we need something unprecedented and new in our generation, in our society, in our Archdiocese.
May the Lord give us the courage to do it.
+Mark O’Toole
Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia
