Homily by Most Rev Dr Philip Boyce, OCD

Bishop of Raphoe

ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV PAUL GALLAGHER

St Eunan’s Cathedral, 20th June 2004

            The Gospel passage, we have just heard, reminds us of that day when the lives of some fishermen in Galilee were completely changed.  Bringing their boats to land, “they left everything and followed Christ” (Lk 5:11 ).  Fish was no longer their main interest, but people.  They entered into the service of a new Master, namely, Christ Jesus the Lord, the Son of God come into our world to lead souls back to their God.  Nothing was ever quite the same again.  A new chapter in the story of their lives had begun.

             A greater change and transformation of their lives would take place three years later.  It happened on the night their Master was betrayed, the Eve of his Passion and Death.  Christ took bread, broke it and said: ‘This is my Body given for you’.  Then he took the cup of wine and said:  ‘This is my Blood, the blood of the new  covenant, shed for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’ These same disciples were given spiritual power over the Body and Blood of Christ.  they were asked to repeat Christ’s gesture; to change the gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.  The effects of the Passion would be applied to souls; the presence of Christ would be made real for all times.  The fishermen were transformed into priests of the living God.

            Dear Paul, at every ordination ceremony, with the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration by the Bishop, this event of grace and salvation is renewed.  You, too, in a short while will be utterly transformed with spiritual power, made an ambassador of Christ and equipped with all the grace you need to carry out your duties as his anointed priest.  You will no longer face only the altar but turn around and face the people, greeting them in Christ’s name and invoking his blessing and his presence upon them.

             The consecration you receive at Ordination (as the Church teaches us) “is not a passive sign, but rather a dynamic force directing the whole life of the priest in the service of God and man, and so pervading all his person” (Vat II, Presb. Ordinis).  That means that you receive this ‘dynamic force’ which is not to remain inactive but is destined to become evident in the priestly words and deeds of your life. Therefore, you do not have to rely simply on your own skills and talents. Certainly, they should be put fully into the work of salvation, but beyond them you have this ‘dynamic force’ that is given to you with the oil of consecration.  Rely then above all on the grace of your Ordination and on the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.  Be a faithful instrument in God’s hands and he will do great things through you as his anointed priest.  

            Today’s consecration and grace will last all your days, indeed for all eternity.  “You are a priest forever. Tu es sacerdos in aeternum”.  While everything else can be lost - your youthful energy, your freedom, your health - your priesthood can never be taken from you.  It is a constituent part of how and who you are.  The dynamic and tremendous spiritual force of priestly consecration will be yours always.  Through this sacrament of Holy Orders and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you are “signed with a special character and so configured to Christ, in such a way that you are able to act in the person of Christ the Head” (Presbyt.Ordinis, No.2).

             Be not afraid, then. The world you have to face may not be as co-operative and open to spiritual values as you would wish.  Yet it is the field of evangelisation.  It is to this world that the Lord sends you as his herald and representative.  He himself has overcome the world of evil and is on your side.  His words of truth light up our human darkness and give hope to the downhearted.  Nothing can overcome the force of goodness, love and truth.  You bear with you a treasure, which is the presence and saving grace of God, for which people are hungering.  Therefore, as Pope John Paul II said to a group of thirty newly-ordained priests whom he ordained in Rome a year ago:  “Nourish yourselves with the Word of God.  Meet Christ every day, really present on the sacrament of the Altar.  Let yourselves be touched by the infinite love of his Heart.  Make your Eucharistic adoration longer in the important moments of your life, those of difficult personal and pastoral decisions, at the beginning and at the end of your day” ( 11th May, 2003 ).

             The Mass is your greatest treasure.  It should be at the heart of each of your days as a priest, its life-giving centre.  By means of the daily Eucharist you build up not only your own spiritual life with Christ, but also the life of the community or parish to which you minister.  The Sunday Eucharist has particular value.  It is the day of Christian rest, one of the distinguishing elements of our Catholic identity to which the Pope at the start of this new millennium has asked us “to bear strong witness”.  “Sharing in the Eucharist should really be at the heart of Sunday for every baptised person.  It is a fundamental duty, to be fulfilled not just in order to observe a precept, but as something felt as essential to a truly informed and consistent Christian life” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, No 36).

            Unity and direction in all your varied pastoral activities will come to yourself through the influence of the Mass.   Priests nowadays face a very real risk of losing their focus amid a great number of distracting tasks.  The Church recommends priests to celebrate Mass every day.  The Eucharist gives life and spiritual energy, it unites with Christ, it gives peace of soul.  “In this way, priests will be able to counteract the daily tensions which lead to a lack of focus and they will find in the Eucharistic Sacrifice - the true centre of their lives and ministry - the spiritual strength needed to deal with their different pastoral responsibilities.  Their daily activity will thus become Eucharistic” (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No 31).  

            The Pope has asked us to approach the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament with a lively faith, so as to stir up that ‘amazement’ and gratitude which has characterised the attitude of Christians throughout the centuries for this wonderful sacramental gift. This “amazement” along with deep reverence and devotion should fill every congregation gathered for Mass. It should in a special way fill the heart of the priest, the irreplaceable minister of the Eucharist.  For it is he who, by the authority given him in the Sacrament of priestly ordination, brings about the consecration in every Mass.  

            The celebration of the Mass will also give you the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel, which is Christ’s message of salvation and hope to the world.  “Those who come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves; they must proclaim him” (NMI, No 40).  His word, of which you are the ordained minister, is light and strength for people. It calls back the wayward to conversion; it gives guidance to those who are searching; it strengthens and consolidates those who are faithful.

             Believe then in the power and strength of Christ’s word which you proclaim. Penetrate it and make it your own in personal reflection and meditation.  Know also to adapt your words so that they are comprehensible to young people.  They are the hope of to-morrow.  You have come from their ranks and know their sensitivities.  They too hunger for the light of truth in the Gospel.

             Finally, as you now leave the ranks of Seminarians for our Diocese, remember to pray the Lord of the harvest to send one or more to take up the empty place you left.  The prevailing culture makes it more difficult for young people to leave all for Christ in an act of trust and give themselves wholeheartedly to following the Lord.  But Christ the Master still calls young hearts and leaves them gently unsatisfied till they take the bold step and answer the voice calling “Follow Me”.  Who knows but that there may be one or more such young men present at this ceremony listening to these words , and may be inspired by this liturgy to answer the call and present themselves for the priesthood.  Pray that this may be so on your Ordination day.  The Lord will not refuse your request.

As the Pope wrote recently: “It is in the Eucharist that prayer for vocations is most closely united to the prayer of Christ the Eternal High Priest. At the same time the diligence of Priest’s in carrying out their Eucharistic ministry, together with a conscious, active and fruitful participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, provides young men with a powerful example and incentive for responding generously to God’s call. Often it is the example of a priest’s fervent pastoral charity which the Lord uses to sow and to bring to fruition in a young man’s heart the seed of a priestly calling” (Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia).  

            In these very days, priests of our diocese celebrate the diamond, the golden and silver Jubilees of their Ordination.  While we congratulate them, we wish you many years of fruitful apostolic work in the Lord’s vineyard.  May He walk by your side and may his Blessed Mother, Queen of Apostles, protect you always.