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Young people from Cathedral Deanery gathered with their families, friends and sponsors, at Arundel Cathedral on Sunday, for a joyful Confirmation Mass celebrated by Bishop Richard. In his homily, Bishop Richard noted that the young people were coming to Confirmation at a wonderful moment for the Church, with Mass attendance growing, and increasing numbers of adults coming forward for baptism, and enquiring about entering the Church. This Confirmation Mass was the final one of the season, with the 49 candidates confirmed bringing the diocesan total to 1,007 - an increase of 246 on last year.

Addressing the candidates, Bishop Richard said:

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“I look to you to be those who, in the years ahead, will continue to bring the message of Christ to our world, wherever you happen to be. Whether your life takes you overseas, whether it takes you into business, whether life brings you to priesthood or to religious life: wherever the Lord is calling you to be, it will be your task to bring His message to the world.”

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Reflecting on the day’s Gospel, the parable of the Good Samaritan, Bishop Richard echoed the call “to reach out to our brothers and sisters… But we can also look at this another way around," he said:

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"Sometimes we feel like that man in the ditch, we feel that life has become very difficult, we don’t know where to go next, perhaps we feel let down by others, and at that moment, it is the Lord Himself who is the Good Samaritan for us. As you make your journey in the world, and difficulties come your way, know that in those moments, the Lord comes to you, to raise you up and enable you to continue the journey.”