On Tuesday 2 June, at St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham, two priests of the Archdiocese were installed as Canons of the Cathedral Chapter. Fr Robert Taylerson and Fr Harry Curtis were formally received into their new roles during the Chapter Mass, attended by clergy, religious and lay faithful from across the diocese.

The Mass was celebrated by Canon Michael Dolman, Rector of St Mary’s College, Oscott. As Canons, Fr Taylerson and Fr Curtis now share in a particular responsibility for the liturgical and spiritual life of the Cathedral, in service of the Archdiocese.

The homily was given by Canon Robert Taylerson, who reflected on the themes of active waiting and patience, drawing from the Scriptures of the day.

Preaching on the Second Letter of St Peter, Canon Taylerson encouraged the congregation to understand waiting not as passivity, but as a dynamic and purposeful dimension of the Christian life. “We are called,” he suggested, “not simply to wait for the Lord, but to prepare diligently for His coming.”

Referencing the Gospel images of Matthew 25, he highlighted the example of the wise virgins who remained ready with oil for their lamps, the servants who invested their talents, and those who recognised Christ in works of mercy; feeding the hungry and visiting the sick.

This “active waiting,” he explained, is marked by thoughtful preparation, spiritual growth, and practical charity. It is within such faithful attentiveness that the disciple remains ready to meet the Lord.

Canon Taylerson went on to reflect more deeply on the virtue of patience, noting its roots in the Latin word pati, meaning to endure or to suffer. Patience, he suggested, is not mere tolerance but a steadfast endurance shaped by hope.

Looking to Christ Himself, Canon Taylerson traced the patience of Jesus across the whole span of His life: from His hidden years and the quiet waiting of Nazareth, to His public ministry and ultimately His silence and rest in the tomb. In all things, Christ reveals patience as an expression of trust in the Father.

Canon Taylerson further encouraged the faithful to rediscover patience in their engagement with Scripture and prayer. Echoing the teaching of St Cyprian, he stressed that both require time, perseverance, and repeated return. It is through this steady fidelity that the depth and richness of God’s word and presence are gradually revealed.

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