Download Bulletin 18th July 2021
Fr Hugh’s Homily for 16th Sunday
I turned up at my sister’s house down in London at about midday last Monday only to be greeted by my nephew in his pyjamas with what looked like a serious rash all over his face. The table in the kitchen was full of late breakfasters recovering from the night before with bacon sandwiches, and his rash was not a rash but the result of a friend painting on his red cross with her lipstick. It does not come off that easily. Regardless of the result, everyone had had a good night. London like elsewhere had been full of crowds going from the exultation of a goal on the first minutes to the doubt of a poor second half to the dismay that penalty shoot-outs always bring us. That is the nature of crowds. They are volatile. But when crowds gather it is usually in hope. Hope of success, or change, of expressing an intent that will make a difference. Hope that begins in celebration, like the Notting Hill Carnival, or even the very lively, film full of song and dance, I saw ‘In the heights’ which is subtitled, ‘hope of a dream – suanito.’ Or they can begin in anger, demanding change or justice, or simple hope of a victory like last Sunday night…….