APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 16-19, 2010) EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Bellahouston Park - Glasgow Thursday, 16 September 2010 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10:9). With these words of the Gospel we have just heard, I greet all of you with great affection in the Lord. Truly the Lord’s Kingdom is already in our midst! At this Eucharistic celebration in which the Church in Scotland gathers around the altar in union with the Successor of Peter, let us reaffirm our faith in Christ’s word and our hope – a hope which never disappoints – in his promises! I warmly greet Cardinal O’Brien and the Scottish Bishops; I thank in particular Archbishop Conti for his kind words of welcome on your behalf; and I express my deep gratitude for the work that the British and Scottish Governments and the Glasgow city fathers have done to make this occasion possible. ...