0:00:14 > 0:00:20I think that life itself is meaningless unless God is with you.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29When you have faith, it is life, it means life to you.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Everything you do in life all centres around your faith.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And if you don't have faith,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42I think life, in many senses, must be fairly empty.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45It controls your life, it is your life when you've faith.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43This cathedral, I would say, it's not a building.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46There's an awful lot more to this cathedral.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Armagh people, they have been baptised here,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55they've been married here, they have been buried here.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59It's something that's ingrained within the people of Armagh.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01It's not just a building, it's a symbol.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04A symbol of a faith, the faith of a people.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07It means so, so much more than just a building.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13I wasn't born in Armagh, I wouldn't have that same
0:02:13 > 0:02:16depth as the Armagh people themselves would have,
0:02:16 > 0:02:21but I've grown to love this building since the whole restoration
0:02:21 > 0:02:25programme was initiated because I was very involved in it.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31You had over 100 years of dirt and grime in those walls,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36and when it was cleaned and the mosaics were shining,
0:02:36 > 0:02:38you were looking at it with fresh eyes.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47In 1835,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52when Archbishop Crolly was appointed to Armagh,
0:02:52 > 0:02:57he made the statement that he was going to live in Armagh,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00and he was going to build a cathedral in Armagh.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06What Primate Crolly was doing was re-establishing his roots
0:03:06 > 0:03:10with Patrick, and he was also putting Armagh back
0:03:10 > 0:03:14at the very centre of religion in Ireland.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28'We can know you because you have made yourself known to us in Him.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'And we can love you
0:03:30 > 0:03:35'because you have first loved us in Christ, your son.'
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Good morning, how are you? Good to see you. Good morning.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And so as we celebrate this gift of love
0:03:42 > 0:03:47and sing your praise this morning, help us find your Holy Spirit,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52that we will worship you not only with our lips but from our hearts.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59'When we're in church,
0:03:59 > 0:04:05'sometimes you're singing a hymn or you're listening to somebody preach,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10'and every now and again, totally spontaneous, every now and again,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15'I have had this experience of God being very close to you.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23'Something jumps out at you, and you feel God saying,'
0:04:23 > 0:04:26"You know, Dave, this is for you, you know. You need to wake up here.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28"I'm trying to talk to you here,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31I want to get our relationship back in order."
0:04:31 > 0:04:34I believe in God who created me, who loves me
0:04:34 > 0:04:38and has saved me from punishment that I deserve for my sin,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40and to me my faith is the assurance,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44not only of God's love and God's saving grace in my life,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48it is the hope of what is to come, and for us to have that same faith
0:04:48 > 0:04:51then helps us to make decisions together.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I studied medicine at Queen's,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and particularly chose to specialise in pathology.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07I do find it fascinating to look under a microscope
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and to think that our God created this and controls each
0:05:09 > 0:05:12and every cell, I just find amazing.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Being a Christian, I feel like I have the cure for something terrible,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22but the cure is from sin,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26so when I look at other people I want to share that with them.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30The best cure that you have, that you can offer to somebody else.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32I just with I could do it better.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48I came to Armagh 35, 36 years ago.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Come from Belfast and come from Falls Road to Armagh.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59It was a dreadful change, you know. I didn't like it.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04It was very, very quiet, the Troubles were on, and I remember
0:06:04 > 0:06:07driving down one of the streets the first or second night I came
0:06:07 > 0:06:12and all the shops were closed, half five, not a sinner on the streets.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15I said, "God, you know, I've made a mistake."
0:06:18 > 0:06:19I got into the Armagh way
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and I found the Armagh people beautiful people.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24There's a great depth with them,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27there's a great generosity of spirit with them.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29They have a great faith.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It's really the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39It's the seat of my church and the Church of Ireland.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42And they carry the same message.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The same message is, trust God.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Deep down inside, I believe that every person has
0:06:55 > 0:06:59a belief in a God of some kind or other.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Deep down in there, deep inside, there's that feeling for God,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07or a yearning.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10It's given me a belief that I'm here for a purpose.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I spent a lot of time searching for different things in life,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and the only thing that I found real depth
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and meaning to my life is through that faith.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22CHURCH BELLS TOLL
0:07:32 > 0:07:35With Christmas coming up and all the busy-ness that there is, Father,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38we will just not forget what it's all about.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41That's a celebration of the birth of your son.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44He ultimately went to Calvary to die and to take the punishment
0:07:44 > 0:07:47for all our sins, Father, for all the people in this world,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and we just thank you so much for that
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and we give you all the glory and all the praise.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56And we pray that we will really celebrate that this Christmas. Amen.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00So, the first thing, if we go to page 14 of our little booklets...
0:08:00 > 0:08:02David and I met in school.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06At that stage, lower sixth, we had both made a commitment to God.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08So it was lovely to meet somebody
0:08:08 > 0:08:11who was coming from the same angle as I was.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I'd met a lot of people who didn't have any time for Christianity,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and they were rather mocking of those who did, and I found it hard
0:08:17 > 0:08:21to explain why I believed what I did because I'd grown up with it,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and it took me some time to understand what I believed
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and why I believed it and to try and explain that to others.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28You're being different,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32and as a teenager the last thing you want to do is to be different,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34but, just, God was really speaking to me
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and I really felt that he was there with me
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and that was something I had to do, that was something that...
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I made that commitment, I loved the Lord Jesus, I wanted to serve him,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46and that meant being different to other people.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49For us, in our marriage, there's three people.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51There's Claire and myself,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53but there's the Lord Jesus, and he's intertwined in it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58We know that, if we exclude God from our marriage that it will fail,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and, particularly this last year
0:09:00 > 0:09:02and all the pressures that we've been under, you know,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06it's become more evident just how important it is to keep the focus.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09And we're confident that if we can do that
0:09:09 > 0:09:11that he will take us through the tough times.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15All of us here I know have stepped over a threshold
0:09:15 > 0:09:18when we accepted Christ as our own personal saviours.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20It's simply through Jesus Christ,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22that's the only way you will get to Heaven.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36The most important thing that God has given me
0:09:36 > 0:09:39in my life is the gift of sobriety,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42because without that I wouldn't have anything at all,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44I would have lost everything completely.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47It in turn gave me a gift of faith and brought me
0:09:47 > 0:09:51into a relationship with God as I understand him.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And I saw so many miracles happen in my life.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01I see people who have been written off by everybody in society
0:10:01 > 0:10:06and getting their wee act together and their lives together.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09And they didn't do it on their own.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13God was there in their lives for them.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14So I've no problem.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Some people say, "Do you believe in miracles?"
0:10:17 > 0:10:19I am one.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20I am one.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30The man who helped me stop drinking told me
0:10:30 > 0:10:35that the greatest thing ever I have in my life
0:10:35 > 0:10:38is power of example.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40And I believe that to be true.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44That if you show people by example, that there is another way.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05I think that was the centre point of me deepening my faith
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and seeing that there's more to life than living it the way I was living.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18If it's about
0:11:18 > 0:11:22the joy you got of contributing to helping someone else
0:11:22 > 0:11:25rather than looking into yourself.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28So forgetting about self
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and concentrating on others made it easier.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43SINGING
0:11:52 > 0:11:54And he's present in our world
0:11:54 > 0:11:56and he influences our world
0:11:56 > 0:12:00in simple, yet very deeply profound ways.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06This grotto is the perfect, perfect example of that.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Lourdes, to me, is a very special place.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I've come here quite a few years, quite a long time.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I get a bit of peace, a bit of solace here
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and when you look round these mountains round here now
0:12:19 > 0:12:22you can see the hand of God in them all.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26The God of the fields, the God of the mountains.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29There's a great tranquillity and peace here.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34# ..God said to be servants of God
0:12:34 > 0:12:37# By your songs of joy... #
0:12:37 > 0:12:42In Lourdes you'll see an awful number of disabled people and sick people coming and
0:12:42 > 0:12:45they are really the most important persons here
0:12:45 > 0:12:51and it's our job to labour to them in whatever way they need help.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Most of them know they're not going to get cured,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56but they get cured spiritually.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57They get something from it,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01they get an inner strength to face up to their situation.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06And if those old people can endure that,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08what can I not endure
0:13:08 > 0:13:10because I have God with me?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24In all these faith journeys you get more out of it personally
0:13:24 > 0:13:28than you put into it and it's the self-satisfaction, I think,
0:13:28 > 0:13:30of just doing something for people
0:13:30 > 0:13:33and that's where the reward comes from.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Since I came to Armagh I've been involved with
0:13:36 > 0:13:38the church in various ways.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Eucharistic Minister, lay reader,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44and I think my big involvement with the parish
0:13:44 > 0:13:49was the restoration of the cathedral here in 2003.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Each parish in the diocese was asked to raise
0:13:52 > 0:13:55a certain amount of money,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57which we did very successfully.
0:13:57 > 0:14:03Then I was asked would I help produce a guidebook to the cathedral.
0:14:03 > 0:14:09I was still principal in the local primary school here in Armagh.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13It was a very demanding undertaking to be doing that,
0:14:13 > 0:14:18but I'm happy enough to say that I'm pleased with the way it turned out.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35As any Christian must feel, you have a commitment to other people.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42What you get out of your faith is something that's very deep inside you
0:14:42 > 0:14:47and it helps you to overcome any of the problems you come across in life.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52When you have that core of faith, that belief in Christ,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I think that helps you through anything at all.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13We'd always talked about having a family
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and it was something we'd always like to do
0:15:15 > 0:15:19so when we found out I was pregnant we were so excited.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24And then we went to our big scan at 20 weeks.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Where are my keys? Where are my keys?
0:15:30 > 0:15:33At the time I was just fascinated seeing these wee limbs
0:15:33 > 0:15:36moving around inside Claire, I thought it was class.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40And I started to see Claire's face dropping a wee bit
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and I could start to see concern over it.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45She asked a lady a question
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and I didn't quite hear what it was.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52And the lady replied, "I'm just so sorry, I'm so sorry."
0:15:54 > 0:15:57It's just the worst words you could ever hear,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59"I'm so sorry."
0:16:00 > 0:16:05Ta-ta. Ta-ta. Good boy. I'll set that out of the way.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21As the scan progressed I could see the baby on the screen
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and in my head I could see there was something not quite right.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27The tummy looked funny
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and I sensed a change in the mood from the radiographer
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and I asked her, "Is that the baby's abdomen?" And she said, "Yes."
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I asked her was it gastroschisis and she said,
0:16:37 > 0:16:38"No, I think it's exomphalos."
0:16:38 > 0:16:39Um...
0:16:39 > 0:16:43And at that point my world came crashing down around me.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I was devastated.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50She was fighting back the tears and she was telling me what it was
0:16:50 > 0:16:54then she says, "The baby, some of its organs are outside the body."
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Yeah.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And we just were a mess,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01you know, just sobbing our hearts out.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05As a doctor I knew something about exomphalos.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09I knew what it was and I knew the associations with it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14As a mum it terrified me, what this meant for a little baby.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Once it started to sink in and once the shock disappeared
0:17:21 > 0:17:23you were going, "Why?"
0:17:23 > 0:17:25"Why?"
0:17:25 > 0:17:27You know, "Did we do something wrong?"
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Father, we pray particularly for Daniel tonight.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Lord Jesus, we thank you for how well he's been recently, Lord,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and that he's growing well and we just ask that will continue, Father.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41'I would be totally lying if it was just like, you take it on the chest and you go,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43'"God's in control, it's all grand."
0:17:43 > 0:17:45'It wasn't like that.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47'It does shake you to the core.'
0:17:47 > 0:17:51I remember saying, "I'm not a strong person, I can't deal with this."
0:17:51 > 0:17:54And we were shaken, we were definitely shaken in our faith.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I remember crying at God and saying, "Why are you giving this to me?"
0:17:58 > 0:18:03I thank you, Lord, that we can look to you in our trials
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and in our difficulties and know that you are there,
0:18:05 > 0:18:10that you're watching over us, Lord, and know that you have a purpose.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I keep going to bed hoping that I'll wake up in the morning
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and it's all going to be OK and it didn't happen.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19You woke up in the morning and there was just that sinking feeling going,
0:18:19 > 0:18:20"Oh,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23"This is real, this is happening."
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Father, we would ask that you work through us
0:18:26 > 0:18:30because we can't do it in our own strength.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31We need you, Lord.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Despite the tears, despite the disappointment
0:18:34 > 0:18:36that's really been when I felt God's presence.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I remember in particular God brought a verse to mind in the Bible
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and it was Second Corinthians, chapter 12, verse nine.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46"My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."
0:18:46 > 0:18:49And he was telling me that even though I'm a weak person
0:18:49 > 0:18:52and I didn't feel that I had the strength to deal with this,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54that he would be with me and that he'd give me strength.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Lord, I thank you
0:18:57 > 0:19:01for the amazing mum that Claire is to him, for her devotion.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Father, give her strength, give me strength, Lord,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08because sometimes it's not easy and you know that, Lord.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12We ask all these things in your mighty name, Father. Amen.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28The one day that's been the biggest event in my life here in Lourdes
0:19:28 > 0:19:33was the day we went to Bartres with the invalids on the invalid bus.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38When we got into the hotel car park there to take them off,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41there was a priest standing there waiting for me.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45He says, "I've just had bad news for you,
0:19:45 > 0:19:50"that your son has died in Armagh."
0:19:50 > 0:19:54So...that was the...
0:19:54 > 0:19:56That was the worst time.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01That was the worst day in all my life, really.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07He was a great lad and he would have
0:20:07 > 0:20:10some of the problems that I would have had
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and he got off drink.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15And life took a great turn for him, he was doing very well.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19He worked as a nurse orderly in St Luke's Hospital in Armagh
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and he enjoyed his work and...
0:20:25 > 0:20:29There was a patient who made an accusation against him in the
0:20:29 > 0:20:33hospital and he was suspended off work until the inquiry would be done.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39'He told me, he says, "Daddy, I didn't do anything."
0:20:39 > 0:20:43'And I knew. I know mine and mine know me. I knew.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47'The day he died was a Saturday
0:20:47 > 0:20:51'and he left his wife a beautiful letter
0:20:51 > 0:20:53'and away he went.'
0:20:53 > 0:20:57# Alleluia... #
0:20:57 > 0:21:00'And he pulled into the lay-by there'
0:21:00 > 0:21:02and that's where he died.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05He took an overdose there and died.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08That same evening that he died,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12the police left a letter in his house saying
0:21:12 > 0:21:15the good news was that he'd no cases to answer.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17But...
0:21:31 > 0:21:35'17 years, on the 30th of this month, the anniversary of my son.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38'A dreadful, dreadful time.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39'Pain and emotion.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45'You wonder, "God, why do you let this happen?"'
0:21:50 > 0:21:54'I believe in a God of mercy, a God of love
0:21:54 > 0:21:58'and the truth of the matter is here,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01'we don't know why these things happen.'
0:22:07 > 0:22:11'I remember looking out of my garden one morning and I saw the trees
0:22:11 > 0:22:15'and they were bare, there wasn't a leaf on them.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20'That's just how I feel, raw and stripped naked, stripped bare.'
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And, one morning sometime later,
0:22:22 > 0:22:28I noticed a wee wart on the branch
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and it was just the formation of a new wee bud.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34And, every morning,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38I could see it growing and growing.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40And it came to full blossom again.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45The memories are all there,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48the sadness of it can be there.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53'He is away to God and new life has happened.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57'He's away to a new life and we're still with the old life here.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:01CHORAL MUSIC
0:23:21 > 0:23:24BABY CRIES
0:23:24 > 0:23:26My, my. Was that awful?
0:23:26 > 0:23:28SHE LAUGHS
0:23:28 > 0:23:29We're not friends.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Oh... Oh, dear!
0:23:32 > 0:23:36'I'm now a father and Daniel is the most precious thing
0:23:36 > 0:23:39'I have in my life and I wouldn't give him up for anything.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41'It's really hard to accept sometimes,
0:23:41 > 0:23:42'cos we're totally powerless,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46'but we know that God is in complete control of the situation.'
0:23:46 > 0:23:50We know that he's looking over Daniel now,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52that his hand's upon him.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55We met people who knew that their children had
0:23:55 > 0:23:58a condition that they wouldn't survive beyond a few
0:23:58 > 0:24:03years of life and we met other people who had lost children
0:24:03 > 0:24:06through medical conditions and going into hospital was often
0:24:06 > 0:24:09a reality check, because although we felt that we had it tough,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13we knew that we had a whole lot to be thankful for.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16We're hoping that he will stay well over the next coming months
0:24:16 > 0:24:20and it's giving him time, really, for his chest to develop.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21For him to grow bigger.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24And we hope that, in the springtime, when he's about
0:24:24 > 0:24:28a year and a half, maybe, that he'll be ready for surgery.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38'His ways are perfect.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42'For us, sometimes we think we know best -
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'the best thing is Daniel gets the surgery and he goes on
0:24:45 > 0:24:46'and leads a happy life -
0:24:46 > 0:24:49'but maybe God has something else in plan.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52'Sometimes that's difficult to accept.
0:24:53 > 0:25:00'But we trust in God and we know that his ways are higher than ours.'
0:25:00 > 0:25:02And so there's lots of hope there,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05but we also just trust in God that
0:25:05 > 0:25:09things will work out and his will will be done in this situation.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Tonight, we give thanks to God for the fact that,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22by dying on the cross,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Jesus gained for his Father a holy people.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29We are that people,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32called by God to share God's life
0:25:32 > 0:25:35and to reveal his compassion to the rest of the world.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40'I've been very fortunate in my life
0:25:40 > 0:25:44'and I think the more fortunate that one is,'
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I think you realise the problems and difficulties that other people have.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51And you're a lot more thankful to God for the gifts
0:25:51 > 0:25:53and graces he's given you.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Every so often, the Bishop of Rome, the chief pastor in our church,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01honours a member of that priestly people.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Pope Francis has decided to confer on Mr Jack O'Hare
0:26:05 > 0:26:09the Cross of Honour on account of the work he has done
0:26:09 > 0:26:10and continues to do.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13This is an honour for a number of reasons.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15First of all, as a follower of Christ,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18somebody who takes your duties very seriously.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20And especially it's an honour for your contribution to the
0:26:20 > 0:26:24life of this parish in caring for and recognising
0:26:24 > 0:26:26the beauty of our cathedral.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29We're all overjoyed that it is taking place,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32because it is richly deserved.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35APPLAUSE
0:26:35 > 0:26:39You like to give back and to share your faith with others
0:26:39 > 0:26:41and you hope that,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44by doing what you do, that it might inspire
0:26:44 > 0:26:48other people to live in the same way.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51APPLAUSE
0:26:59 > 0:27:03'I think my faith has made me what I am, for good or for ill.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06'Everything I do would be a response to what I have thought,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08'what I have read in the Bible.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11'No matter what your problems, what your difficulties are,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16'you'll always find comfort in something that Christ has said.'
0:27:25 > 0:27:27There aren't very many people now who could say
0:27:27 > 0:27:30they got a birthday present from the Pope.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:27:32 > 0:27:36# Happy birthday to you... #
0:27:36 > 0:27:39'I have found the last 18 months with Daniel very, very difficult,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42'as I've tried to deal with his health issues.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44'To know that I'm not alone in that
0:27:44 > 0:27:46'and that the God of this universe is with me'
0:27:46 > 0:27:48and he promises never to leave me,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50that's just brought me so much comfort
0:27:50 > 0:27:52in what I'm going through right now.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57'During the course of the day, I would talk to him.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01'Thanks for what you're doing for me.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04'I'm going into a tense situation here,
0:28:04 > 0:28:10'be close to me, direct me, guide me and spare me.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14'I thank him for another day that I didn't have to take a drink.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16'And it was nice to kneel down and say,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20"Thanks, God. Thanks for the good day I've had.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22"Give me a good night's sleep."
0:28:24 > 0:28:28And it's a long, long time from I've had a sleepless night.