Archbishop John celebrates 900 years of the Norbertines at Our Lady of Sorrows, Peckham
Photos from the anniversary celebrations
Archbishop John celebrated Solemn Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows, Peckham, on the Solemnity of St Norbert (6 June), marking 900 years since Pope Honorius II gave papal approbation to the Canons Regular of Prémontré in 1126.
Archbishop John preached on the parable of the talents, calling it a parable not about the danger of failure, but about something more searching.
“The parable of the talents is not about the danger of failing. It’s about the danger of being too afraid to risk everything for Jesus.”
He spoke of St Norbert’s own conversion - a life interrupted by grace, called away from worldly ambition to place Christ at the centre of everything - and drew a line from that founding charism to the Norbertine presence in South London today. “This Norbertine presence, once planted near here in the Middle Ages, is flowering again in South London.”
At the heart of his homily was the Eucharist, which St Norbert championed throughout his life, and which Archbishop John described as “not one devotion among many, but the sacrament of unity; the bond of charity; the medicine of immortality; and the pledge of future glory.”
We give thanks to God for the service of the Norbertines, especially here in our Archdiocese.
May Saint Norbert intercede for us all. May Saint Augustine continue to guide us, and may Our Lady of Sorrows strengthen us.
