The morning after my sister had met the young man who was later to become her husband our paths happened to cross in the kitchen. Now what you need to know about my sister is that she is not a morning person. She had, in the mornings, what my grandmother often referred to as ‘a face that could stop a clock’. I could see, however, that this morning there was something different, so looking up from my cornflakes I asked: “What’s his name?” The blissful smile immediately went and the clock stopping face returned and she responded: “What do mean what’s his name?” I said: “You have clearly met someone special.” “How do know that?” She responded in an accusatory manner, “It’s all over your face…what’s his name?”
Wouldn’t it be marvellous if those who you meet when you leave here after lunch, when you return home or go back to work or university or meet your neighbours or people on the train, wouldn’t it be marvellous if they could see that you had met someone very special during these days of the Triduum and when they asked why are you different? What is his name? You could with deep conviction say: “His name is Jesus.”
Recently Archbishop John Wilson was interviewed about the increasing number of people being received into the Catholic Church. Despite recent media attempts to discredit what has been termed ‘a quiet revival’, and while we do right to be careful not to put weight on statistics, we need equally to be prepared, engaged and focused. It is estimated that a little under 4,000 people will have been received at the Easter Vigil in England and Wales this year. 590 are in the Archdiocese Southwark, while the highest number is in Westminster with 800. The significant number of young people here at the Triduum is for me always a sign of hope and a challenge to be prepared to journey with anyone who is open to faith in Jesus Christ. Archbishop Wilson’s response to the interviewer’s question why more people are joining the Catholic Church, he said: “My response tends to disappoint, because it does not reveal a secret programme or a clever technique. The truth is that we are simply following the pattern of apostolic times and walking the tried and tested path of mission. We are inviting people to encounter the Lord Jesus.” Archbishop Wilson is absolutely right; the times we live in are apostolic times and that means we need an apostolic way to approach them.
The first reading at Mass this morning began with a marvellous sentence: “In those days Peter opened his mouth…” Think for a moment. You are here today because someone in the past took the trouble to open their mouth. Either to invite you to take the journey of faith, to grow deeper in your faith or to come back to the faith into which you were baptised. Someone, a parent, a teacher, a friend or an acquaintance stepped out and shared their conviction that Jesus was not only alive, He was worth your consideration. Someone may have asked the question that has been at the heart of our reflections these past days: Are you hungry for life? Do you want more? Do you want to meet the one person that can give meaning and purpose, and a sense of direction? All that Peter did was to share from his experience how he came to know Jesus and what difference Jesus had made and continues to make.
It is Jesus who draws us closer and calls us to Himself. It is the quiet and powerful action of the Holy Spirit that stirs hearts and leads people to God’s Kingdom. Our mission, like that of Mary
Magdelene is to cooperate with that grace and help people to encounter Christ, either for the first time or more deeply. So here is my challenge to you on this day of Resurrection: When was the last time you dared to open your mouth and share the faith that sustains your life? How can you best be open to the opportunities to encourage others to consider taking the journey of faith?
I, for one, pray earnestly for a revival of faith not only in our country but throughout the world. I do so because the rhetoric in social media and in the world of politics fills me with fear for our future. We who have met Jesus, we who have heard the good news have perhaps been far too quiet. We have swallowed a cultural form of Christianity. We have let fear of offending others prevent us from passing on the truth that we have found.
So, my challenge to you is this: are you willing to be an ambassador for Christ? Pope Leo has said: “The world needs missionaries. It needs you to share the light and joy that you have found in Jesus.” I think of the words of the Latin American Bishops: “Knowing Jesus Christ by faith is our joy; following him is a grace, and passing on this treasure to others is a task entrusted to us by the Lord.”
The world does not need louder opinions, it needs credible witnesses, disciples on fire with the Gospel. So go, share, live the faith boldly.
But how are you going to equip yourself so that you can disciple those who are searching for faith? The life of a Christian is sustained by robust and thorough formation. To be an ambassador for Christ, we need to be informed about our faith so that we can speak confidently of the Jesus and his saving work. We do not need gimmicks; we need to tell the story of Jesus in the simple manner of the apostles. To hand on the faith of the scriptures and the teaching of the Church we need to put Jesus at the centre of all we say and do.
It is time to become serious about praying for a revival in our country and our world. This will not happen by chance. Your time in daily prayer, your commitment to Mass and Eucharistic adoration, the sacrifices you are willing to undergo are all essential. We will pray people into the body of the risen Christ. Renewal will happen not by wishful thinking but by focused and engaged cooperation with Jesus. He is risen. Let us now be fearless ambassadors of this risen Lord. We do not want to lose further generations because we kept silent.
Abbot Robert Igo, OSB
Ampleforth Abbey
5 April 2026
