Auckland diocese paid its respects to Queen Elizabeth II, with a Memorial Mass celebrated on September 21 at the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph.
Auckland Bishop Stephen Lowe, who celebrated the well-attended Mass, reflected on the life of the Queen, and how her Christian values had impacted on the people she served.
Quoting St Paul in his letter to the Romans, Bishop Lowe said, “the life and death of each of us has an influence on others”, and then shared his impressions of the Queen.
“I thought the Queen is, much like the Pope, way over there on the other side of the world. But unlike the Pope, the Queen visited Hokitika on at least three occasions, two of them where I was there,” he said.
He said that the first time was when he was a young boy. And though he never got to speak to the Queen, Prince – now King – Charles walked over to the young Bishop Lowe and his mate.
“He told us we had the wrong flag. Everyone else had the Union Jacks. We had New Zealand flags because the Union Jack flags had sold out,” he recalled fondly.
The second royal encounter came when Bishop Lowe was a teenager, and had to push elderly patients in their wheelchairs down a hill so that they could wave to the Queen as her motorcade passed by.
“It was the excitement that touched me that day. I think that’s what we remember to this day. We loved the Queen and, even though she was that far away, we knew that she loved us,” he said.
Bishop Lowe noted how the Queen’s faith carried her through her years of service. He said that the Queen had seen the Commonwealth through an uncertain world coming out of World War II, the Vietnam War, rapid advancement of technology, evolving morals and standards, all while being a wife and a mother as well.
“She had served him [Christ]. She came not to be served, and it is to him [Christ] that we entrust her tonight,” he said.
At the Mass, the Queen’s favourite, Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd) was sung. It was sung at her funeral at Westminster Abbey, and was also sung at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.
Bridget Snedden, ONZM, read the second reading, Romans 14:7-12. Students from St Peter’s, Marist, Liston and St Paul’s Colleges read the prayers of the faithful.
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