*The below message is taken from the weekly Cathedral Record newsletter. The full Cathedral Record is available to pick up from the Cathedral or can be downloaded here.*
Remembrance Sunday
Today is Remembrance Sunday and we keep a period of silence to remember all those who lost their lives in defence of our country in the two World Wars last century and in conflicts and peace keeping duties since then. “They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.”
The Chapter of Canons meet and celebrate Mass here at the Cathedral on a number of occasions throughout the year and in the last few years the numbers of Canons on the Chapter have been in decline with a series of retirements and deaths. The role of the Chapter used to be far more influential in the past as a major consultative body within the Diocese but we have little purpose these days so it seemed we were in a terminal decline. Anyway all that has changed with the recent appointment of four new Chapter Canons and one Honorary Canon. The four new Chapter Canons are Fr Peter Stanley who is at St Joseph’s, Chorley, Mgr John Furnival, Sts Peter and Paul, Crosby, Fr Christopher Fallon, St Teresa’s, Norris Green and Fr Stephen Maloney, All Saints, Anfield. Fr Aidan Prescott who is parish priest at St Clare’s and Diocesan Chancellor will be made an Honorary Canon. This should reduce the average age of the Chapter to about seventy and it may even speed up the procession into Mass on the days that we meet. It also means that I will have to search in the Sacristy cupboards for mozettas (little purple capes with a furry collar and hood) which are used for the Installation of a Canon and then never worn again. We have two in relatively useable condition but we have never had to find five before, and even if we have them they will probably be well moth eaten by now. Archbishop Malcolm will install the new Canons at 12.15pm Mass in the Cathedral on Tuesday 29th November – if you notice any of them itching around the collar they will be the ones with the moth eaten mozettas.
Next Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King – Archbishop Malcolm will preside at the Solemn Mass on our Patronal Feast Day.
It is also the day on which the church marks the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the closing of the Holy Doors in Catholic Cathedrals throughout the world. We will be having a Diocesan Mass next Sunday at 3.00pm to mark the closing of the Holy Year. The closing of the Holy Door will enable us to batten down the hatches for the onset of the Winter. We have had a vast range of groups of people coming on pilgrimage throughout the year ranging from enclosed religious to children of all ages, local parish groups and others who have travelled considerable distances to make a pilgrimage.
Over the course of the year we have received some lovely thank you letters remarking on the welcome they have received and the quality of the leaflets and reflections that were available.
Hopefully it has been a help to many people on their journey of faith and a year of Grace.
Canon Anthony O’Brien
Dean
