Norwich: Queen honoured at Requiem Mass in St John's Cathedral

l-r: Mayor of Norwich Dr Kevin Maguire, Bishop of Norwich Graham Usher, Bishop Alan Hopes, Lady Clare Agnew Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norwich, and Cllr Vivien Thomas. Image: Keith Morris/rcdea.org.uk

Civic and ecumenical guests were among a congregation of over 350 people who joined Bishop Alan Hopes for a Solemn Diocesan Requiem Mass for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at St John's Cathedral in Norwich earlier today (September 15).

In his homily, Bishop Alan paid tribute to the deep Christian faith of the Queen. He said: "Today, we thank God for Queen Elizabeth's outstanding witness to her Christian faith, the Gospel and the values of the common good, family life and peace, whilst always respecting people of different religions and cultures. We thank God for 70 years of faithful dedication to the service of others.

"In these recent days, the world has been reminded again and again of the late Queen's profound Christian faith. One of her former prime ministers said that what made it profound was not so much what she said about it - but the fact that she lived it to the full.

"We have also been reminded of her pledge - made when she was 21 years old - that whether her life be long or short she would always be at the service of her people," said Bishop Alan.

For the past 20 years or so, her Christmas broadcasts have become more overtly and explicitly Christian in their content. As she spoke at the beginning of the Millennium, she said: 'For me the teachings Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example.'

The Mayor of Norwich, Dr Kevin Maguire, with his consort Julie Keen, along with the former Mayor of Norwich, Cllr Vaughan Thomas, with his wife Cllr Vivien Thomas were among the civic dignitaries who attended the Mass. They were joined by Lady Clare Agnew, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norwich, representing the King, and Rt Rev Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich.

Representatives of diocesan schools, parishes and religious orders across East Anglia, invited by Bishop Alan, attended the Mass.

You can watch a BBC Look East report on the Mass HERE

Read Bishop Alan's full homily below:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There are certain events in history that are firmly planted in our minds. We are able to recall how, where and when we heard the news. The death of her Majesty the Queen will be one of those events.

Though elderly and frail and 96 years old we certainly did not expect the news to be so dramatically different after she was photographed at Balmoral, smiling as she received and invited her fifteenth Prime Minister to form a government. She even graciously apologised for not travelling down to Buckingham Palace to do so.

The next two days, however, made it clear that all was not well. First, she postponed the meeting of the Privy Council. The flurry of notes in the House of Commons last Thursday between MPs, and the news that her family had been called to Balmoral, confirmed it.

The whole world heard the news of her death when the announcement was made at 6.30pm - on the feast of the Birthday of Our Lady. Early Christians called the day of death the dies natalis - the day of birth into eternal life. In the final words of his address to the nation, King Charles prayed the words of the In Paradisum - that the flights of angels may take his late mother to her eternal rest.

How different from the death of her father, when so many people knew that his life had ended before Princess Elizabeth herself. She climbed into the tree house in Kenya a princess and emerged the next morning as Queen. The King is dead. Long live the Queen.

For Charles it was The Queen is dead. Long live the King: She, the longest reigning monarch in our history - he the oldest heir to succeed to the throne after 53 years as Prince of Wales. God surely moves in mysterious ways.

In these recent days, the world has been reminded again and again of the late Queen's profound Christian faith. One of her former prime ministers said that what made it profound was not so much what she said about it - but the fact that she lived it to the full.

We have also been reminded of her pledge - made when she was 21 years old - that whether her life be long or short she would always be at the service of her people. At her Coronation she repeated that pledge in the context of the Liturgy, declaring that the things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.

That reference to God would occur time and time again in her life. Her faith was simple and genuine. She did not speak of it in theological terms, but in straightforward Biblical language. That faith, is something that she was never afraid to proclaim.

Six months before her Coronation she delivered her first Christmas address. She anticipated the sacred vows she would take at her Coronation:

"I want to ask you all," she said, "whatever your religion may be, to pray for me on that day - to pray to God that he may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making, that I may faithfully serve Him and you, all the days of my life." In those words we hear echoes of the prayer of Solomon that we heard in the first reading.

For the past 20 years or so, her Christmas broadcasts have become more overtly and explicitly Christian in their content. As she spoke at the beginning of the Millennium, she said: For me the teachings Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example."

With St Paul, in today's second reading from his letter to the Ephesians, she would have concurred wholeheartedly that we are called to be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved us.

Queen Elizabeth may have been born with all the trappings of wealth and with the knowledge that one day she would be Queen, but hers was not a pain or trouble-free life. She experienced her famous annus horribilis and at the beginning of the Millennium and in one year she lost both her beloved mother and sister. She said then: "I know just how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know the only way to try to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings and to put my trust in God."

Quoting the book of Lamentations she added : "I know that the love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning."

Small wonder that she sought refuge in her beloved Scottish or Norfolk countryside when she wanted to find peace and solitude.

Today, we thank God for Queen Elizabeth's outstanding witness to her Christian faith, the Gospel and the values of the common good, family life and peace, whilst always respecting people of different religions and cultures. We thank God for 70 years of faithful dedication to the service of others.

Today we offer this Requiem Mass for her and pray for her, that despite her human frailties, she will know his loving mercy and, reunited with her beloved Prince Philip, be at peace and rest in the presence of the Lord.

We believe that our prayers will assist her as she now makes her final journey towards union with God in heaven. For our Christian faith assures us that death is not the end to life but the beginning of something far more glorious than we can ever imagine in this life.

God, who is always faithful, has promised us this new and eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ became man for us, suffered, died, was buried and rose again from the dead in order to forgive us our sins and to open the gates of heaven. The day of our death is our Dies Natalis - the day of birth into eternal life.

At this time, we are also very conscious that King Charles Ill, whilst grieving for his mother, has had to assume his responsibilities with immediate effect. We pray that God may give him the grace and strength to be as faithful in the service of his people as was his mother.

We also pray for all the members of the Royal Family, the people of our nation and those of the Commonwealth and ourselves. We are all in mourning for the only monarch most of us have ever known.

She was simply the Queen - our Queen. May she now rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.