Dear brothers and sisters, this evening we call to mind the surpassing mystery and precious gift of the Holy Eucharist.  With the celebration of Mass this evening the Church begins our Easter Triduum and so recalls the Last Supper in which Our Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed and showing His love for those who were His own in the world, gave His Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine.  Offering them to his Father and giving them to the Apostles to partake of them, He commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to: Do this in memory of Me, perpetuating the Offering until He comes again.

It is a joy to be with you, my brother priests and deacons, my beloved sisters religious and my dear people, for our annual Chrism Mass. This Celebration is the most precious of our diocesan traditions and one that keeps us together as a family as the years go by and it is, indeed, a consolation to see so many of you gathered here together in our Cathedral tonight.

Learning from John Ogilvie something of what is Scotland, what should be our Catholic Church in Scotland and, so, how to evangelise our land.

Dear brothers and sisters, In Prayer and Solidarity with Manchester and its Victims Although I knew my pastoral duties would have me away from you and our diocese and in Italy today, I am very much with you in heart and spirit as we gather to pray for the victims of the Manchester atrocity of Monday evening.

In the Gospel Jesus calls Himself a Shepherd but he also speaks about gatekeepers.  He says the gatekeeper opens the gate for the Shepherd, lets Him go in and out freely and supports Him in His ministry and mission. The gatekeeper makes sure the gates are open and the obstacles are removed from His path.

We all have our favourite Christmas Carols and often their tunes and words reach deep into our hearts in magical ways, heralding the message of the Incarnation.  In Oh Little Town of Bethlehem we sing of an everlasting light that shines in dark streets and, conversing in wonder with the Babe in the manger, we tell of how the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Him tonight.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,   The inaugural Adoption Week Scotland took place from 21st—27th November and was a great success. With this in mind, I want to bring to your attention our own Catholic Adoption Agency, St. Margaret’s  Adoption Society.  It was set up in 1955 in the trust of the dioceses of Glasgow, Motherwell, Paisley and Galloway and still has the bishops of these dioceses as its President and Vice Presidents.  I have recently visited their Centre for the Family and was most impressed with the work that is being done there to support children and families.

Dear brothers and sisters,   Today we gather to close our Holy Door and bring to a conclusion our Year of Mercy.  Pope Francis decreed that our Holy Year of Mercy would end on the Solemnity of Christ King with the closing of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s, Rome.  Today, the preceding Sunday, the Jubilee is brought to a close in all dioceses around the world with Mass celebrated by bishops in their cathedrals.  The Pope encouraged the bishops’ closest collaborators to concelebrate with him and so I am pleased we have our Cathedral Rector, Fr. Oliver Freney, concelebrating with me. 

As Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem we gather dutifully for this this annual celebration of Holy Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Palestine and in prayer for the peace of the Holy Land of Our Lord’s birth and work of Redemption.

Patrick Doogan, your relative and friend, is now to be raised to the Order of Deacons. It is a journey that began, as it did with all of us, in our Baptism. It is good for us to grow in our understanding of this great Sacrament that begins our Christian journey and to be aware of the responsibility we take on for the Church and the Gospel when we receive it.

Institution to the Acolytate of Matthew Hepburn Blessing of Icons St. Joseph’s Greenock 27 October 2016     Dear brothers and sisters, I am delighted to be with you this evening as we celebrate two significant events in the life and history of Saint Joseph’s parish community.    Firstly we celebrate the institution as Acolyte of our parishioner Matthew Hepburn. This ministry was opened up to the lay faithful as long as fifty years ago in the reforms of the second Vatican Council.  News of it, it seems, is just reaching Scotland!  In truth I believe this institution will constitute Matthew as the first lay acolyte of our diocese. Truly an historic event in our diocesan life! 

Dear brothers and sisters,   Fr. Oliver has not had much time to settle into his post as Rector of our Cathedral and already the big events of what is really ordinary Cathedral life have overtaken us.  I want to commend you, Fr. Oliver, and the people of St. Mirin’s Cathedral parish, for the wonderful way you attended to the recent funeral of our dear bishop John this week as we sent him to the Lord.  You welcomed the diocesan family, the family of Bishop John and indeed the whole religious and civic society of the surrounding area with masterful organisation and loving dedication that were a credit to St. Mirin’s parish and our diocese.

His humble, joyful method, with an affection spontaneously returned by the faithful, opened up Paisley diocese to the life of Christ.  He loved to gather with his people in celebrating important stages in their lives like baptisms, confirmations, weddings and ordinations and particularly loved our Chrism Masses and seeing our Cathedral full.  

Today we are gathered to celebrate the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the parish of Saint John, Evangelist, founded in 1841.  This Sunday is the closest to its actual founding on 17 October 1841 with the building of the first parish church in Prior Park.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I am delighted to be with you this evening to bless and consecrate you in your vocation as teachers as the new academic year begins. As teachers and staff in our Catholic schools you are the most precious asset of our diocese, truly the jewel in our crown. In fact it is difficult to overestimate your place at the heart of our mission to bring Christ and His Gospel to our young. Truly our Church in the West of Scotland lives or dies by our Catholic schools so much so that as go our Catholic schools and teachers so goes our Church.

It is a joy to come with you as pilgrims to our National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Carfin. This Pilgrimage has been an important part of our diocesan calendar for a number of years and I think we can now call it part of the tradition and culture of our diocese.