Archive | Bishop William

11th Sunday (B) 13th June 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh “Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish” (Psalm 91) My friends, For some years now in the world of food “organic” is much valued and sought after.  There are many who will only consume food that is produced organically even thought it […]

Corpus Christi 6th June 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh. To describe the Church as Pope Francis did early in his pontificate as like a “field hospital” was somewhat startling at the time but on reflection is so obvious.  The Church is less about perfection and more about healing and redemption of wounded humanity. To-day we […]

Trinity Sunday 30th May 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh       During the week I had occasion to sign an important legal document and I had to do so before a Commissioner of Oaths. Before I signed, I was asked to swear on the Bible the truth of the deed my signature would make […]

Pentecost Sunday 23rd May 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh “He (the Spirit) will lead you to the complete truth” My friends, Sadly, too often in life we take things for granted.  We take blessings for granted, we take people for granted.  We assume that many good elements of our lives will remain the same as […]

Ascension Sunday 16th May 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh “Parting is such sweet sorrow”     My friends,   Shakespeare in the play Romeo and Juliet gives us the simple phrase “Parting is such sweet sorrow”. In doing so he captures so delicately a constant experience in all our lives. All goodbyes have a bitter […]

6th Sunday of Easter 9th May 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh   My friends,   “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”   A sense of absence will be filled for lots of people over these coming days with the gradual lift of some restrictions.   With it there is a real sense of anticipation, of […]

Easter Vigil 2021 My friends, When the sky is overcast for a very long time it becomes harder to believe that the sun still shines brightly as ever above it. “Waiting for Godot” was Samuel Beckett’s title for his play which is set in an entirely bleak and depressing landscape.  Its dialogue is just between […]

Holy Thursday 1st April 2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh My friends, Over these past weeks I and other bishops have been in receipt of quite a number of letters and emails about the closure of churches for Mass with exception of funerals and weddings.  Some are very angry and feel hurt by what they perceive […]

Chrism Mass 31/3/2021 St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh “Living in hybrid time” My friends, The saying attributed to Woody Allen “that 80% of life is turning up” is not like it used to be.  Our new experience of working from home has changed not just how we work, but has forced us to rethink so many […]

Easter Message 2021 from Bishop Crean   Easter Message from Bishop William Crean Bishop of Cloyne “Let not your hearts be troubled”     My dear friends,   The Pandemic has really rattled us all over this past year and we are not “out of the woods” yet. More patience and resilience is being asked […]