Preaching at the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Gerard Bradley in St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 2 February, Archbishop John Wilson highlighted the primary duty of a bishop in his homily.
The Archbishop of Southwark said:
“Christ alone is our light and our help. With the authority of the first apostles who met him on earth, you are to preach and teach Christ as the light of new and eternal life, the light of forgiveness and healing, and the light of holiness and joy. With special care bring his light to people who are wounded and despondent, who are doubtful and disregarded, and who experience spiritual and material poverty.”
Archbishop Wilson continued by explaining the liturgical elements of an Episcopal Ordination – prayer and the laying on of hands, the anointing, the Book of the Gospels held over the head, the bishop’s ring, and the placing of the mitre.
He then explained how the crozier conveys the new configuration of Bishop Bradley’s heart and mind as a shepherd:
“Allow the biblical icon of Christ the Good Shepherd to seep down into your being. Discern and put into practice, for the people of our Archdiocese, what it means as a bishop to carry those who are lost on your shoulders; what does it mean as a bishop to lead both clergy and laity to quenching streams and lifegiving pastures; what does it mean, working collaboratively, to nurture people in an ever-deepening personal relationship with the Lord Jesus; and what does it mean as a bishop to protect people from whatever pulls or pushes them away from Christ and undermines their dignity as sons and daughters of God.”
Dear and beloved Bishop-elect Gerard,
On more occasions than you can remember, both as a seminarian, and later a spiritual director, at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh, you passed through the archway into the chapel underneath the words ‘Magister adest et vocat te’ – ‘The teacher is here and is calling you.’
Today, those words take on for you and us a new ecclesial and missionary significance. Christ, the light of the nations, the teacher of truth, and the way to salvation, is calling you to the office of bishop for the good of his Church. You are to ‘receive the Gospel and preach the word of God with all patience and sound teaching.’
All your previous yesses to Christ – the yes of your discipleship, the yes of your ordination as a deacon and a priest, and the daily yes of your continual conversion – all distil into your willing acceptance to serve the Lord and his Church as a successor of the apostles.
I can assure you that the praying hearts of people across our Archdiocese, of everyone here in our Cathedral, and of so many more, far and wide, are with you. This is a day of profound gratitude and immense rejoicing. And it would, of course, be remiss of me not to mention that your Titular See of Beverley is in Yorkshire. The Lord really does work in wonderful ways.
God’s loving care for our Archdiocese, through the kindness of our Holy Father Pope Leo, brings us on this beautiful Feast of the Presentation of the Lord to your own presentation in this temple for ordination as a bishop. Simeon’s striking words in the Nunc Dimittis are resonant for your episcopal ministry.
You can step forward in the peace of Christ, certain of his love for you and his choice of you. It was Simeon who held the Christ-child and offered him for God’s blessing. Today, we, your brothers and sisters in Christ, hold you out to the Lord, that in blessing you, he might bless us into the future.
Your eyes, my brother, have come to see, ever more clearly, the truth of our salvation, made real in the Son of God. Your primary duty as a bishop is to announce Christ, alive in his Church, and in the world, through the Holy Spirit. The proclamation of God’s saving love, revealed in our crucified and risen Saviour, must determine everything about your witness as an evangelist of hope.
Christ alone is our light and our help. With the authority of the first apostles who met him on earth, you are to preach and teach Christ as the light of new and eternal life, the light of forgiveness and healing, and the light of holiness and joy. With special care bring his light to people who are wounded and despondent, who are doubtful and disregarded, and who experience spiritual and material poverty. The bishops, priests, and deacons of our Archdiocese, all our consecrated women and men, and all our baptised lay faithful, are charged with making our evangelising Archdiocese aglow with the light of Christ’s presence. We both want, and need, to do this together. Taking inspiration from St Oscar Romero, a model for every bishop, “let us be the Church of kenosis, of self-emptying, of humility, that hopes in the glory of the risen Christ.” (1 October 1978)
The liturgy expresses powerfully the authenticity of what is taking place. Following the unbroken inheritance from apostolic times, by prayer and the laying on of hands you are consecrated for episcopal service, subject to the living Gospel of Christ which will symbolically be held open over you. You are anointed on your head, an anointing you cannot see. Let it remind you of everything supernatural about Christ, who acts through us in ways beyond our awareness and comprehension, and always for the good.
As you serve under the authority of the Gospel, receive afresh this Word of life which you are to teach and preach with fidelity and integrity. The ring, placed on your finger, binds you in commitment to the Lord and his holy people. The mitre, placed upon your head, an image of the tongues of fire on the heads of the apostles at Pentecost, signals your docility and submission to the Holy Spirit. And the crozier, perhaps most visually, conveys the new configuration of your heart and mind as a shepherd.
Allow the biblical icon of Christ the Good Shepherd to seep down into your being. Discern and put into practice, for the people of our Archdiocese, what it means as a bishop to carry those who are lost on your shoulders; what does it mean as a bishop to lead both clergy and laity to quenching streams and lifegiving pastures; what does it mean, working collaboratively, to nurture people in an ever-deepening personal relationship with the Lord Jesus; and what does it mean as a bishop to protect people from whatever pulls or pushes them away from Christ and undermines their dignity as sons and daughters of God.
St John Paul II was clear about the recurring theme of these biblical images: “The shepherd,” he said “is for the sheep, not the sheep for the shepherd. He is bound so closely to them – if he is a real shepherd – that he is ready to lay down his life for his sheep.” (Rise, Let us be on Our Way, 63).
Today, dear Gerard, you give yourself away so that Christ can use you as a shepherd of light. Entrust yourself again, definitively, to Christ, who has already called you and taught you so much. Through this new ministry, learn from Christ how to shepherd as a bishop. He will not fail you. The same teacher is still here with you, still calling you, so that you, and those you serve, might live faithfully in the light of his love.
May you be strengthened, my brother, and may you increase in wisdom. And may the Lord’s favour always rest upon you. Amen
