Mass for Papal Orders, Farm Street Church

“Jesus said, “I chose you” 

and that includes me and St John Henry Newman, whose feast we celebrate today. On October 1st, 2025, Pope Leo XIV announced that on November 1, All Saints Day, he will officially declare Saint John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church.

A couple of his quotes came to mind as I prepared this homily.

“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” 

“Growth is the only evidence of life.” 

They reminded me of the first ‘poem’ I learned soon after, aged seven, I arrived in London from Prague in 1946:

Good better best, 

Never let them rest

Until my good is better

And my better best.

That poem got stuck in my mind has kept me keeping on – and staying young at heart, even if my body is more than 86 years old.

 How about you – across your PIES, the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual dimensions of your life - as you too keep on keeping on in your journey to eternity? Are you still aiming to change for the better and the best? Development is evidence of life.

Life has taught me many things. Luckily for you, one of these things is that the best homilies are short. So, Amen.