Homily by Most Rev Bishop
Philip Boyce OCD,
Bishop of Raphoe
Ordination
of Philip Kemmy and Francis Ferry to the Priesthood
And
Shane Gallagher to the Diaconate
St.
Eunan’s Cathedral,
Ordination
day is always a day of joy and gratitude: joy at the precious grace received and
gratitude to the Lord who gives the gift of a vocation, calling a young man to
his exclusive service. Today we have three candidates: Shane Gallagher who will
be ordained a deacon; Philip Kemmy and Francis Ferry who will be ordained
priests of Christ. A few moments ago, in the name of the Church, I solemnly
chose them for these ministries. You have just heard the words: “We rely on
the help of the Lord God and Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and we choose this man,
our brother, for the Order of deacons … and we choose these men, our brothers,
for priesthood in the presbyteral order.” In this ceremony, they will soon be
interiorly transformed at the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration.
They will be anointed by the Holy Spirit, signed with an indelible character,
and in the case of Shane, configured to Christ who made himself the “deacon”
or servant of all, and for Francis and Philip, configured to Christ the priest
and the head of the Church.
First of all
the Diaconate: Dear Shane, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you will be
strengthened and equipped for a new office in the Church. You will be brought
into the hierarchy of the Church as a deacon and dedicated to the service of
God. This grace will lead, with God’s help, to the priesthood in the not too
distant future.
This new
ministry you receive will be carried out in three particular areas: you will
preach the Word of God, proclaim the Gospel and explain it to the assembly of
believers and worshippers. You will be asked “to believe what you read, teach
what you believe, and practise what you teach.” That is a life’s work in
itself. The Gospel of Christ will become your favourite book – a book of life
and light, a book of wisdom and strength. This is true not only for you but for
the two candidates to be ordained priests here today.
Do not water
down the demands made by Christ. Surely, you will have to learn to understand
human weakness and be patient with every effort at improvement, no matter how
tentative. But always speak the truth with love.
You will
also be a minister of the altar, assisting the bishop or the priest at
Then there
is the service of charity. The first seven Deacons in the early Church were
chosen by the Apostles for a particular need, namely, helping them in works of
charity. Let Christ’s love in your heart inspire you in your service of
charity to others.
Furthermore,
you solemnly promise, as have the two candidates for Ordination, to remain
celibate for the sake of the
Dear
The
transformation about to happen in your lives is similar to what took place in
the lives of the Apostles at the Last Supper. At that solemn hour of farewell,
the Lord took bread, broke it and said: “This is my Body, given for you.”
Then he took the chalice of wine and said: “This is my Blood, the Blood of the
New Covenant, shed for you. Do this in memory of me.” These same disciples
were given spiritual power over the Body and Blood of Christ. The fishermen were
transformed into priests of the living God.
In a short while you, dear brothers, will be given the same spiritual
power. You will be asked to repeat Christ’s gesture, and to change the gifts
of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrifice of the
Your life will be spent for others, as was Christ’s life. He “came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt
The Priest a man of the Mass
Dear Philip
and Francis, from today on as priests, the Holy Eucharist will be at the heart
of your lives. The recent Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Sacramentum
Caritatis, teaches that priests “must consider the celebration of the
liturgy as their principal duty” (No 39), and that “priestly spirituality is
intrinsically Eucharistic” (No. 80). At the altar you will exercise in a
supreme degree your sacred functions. Indeed all you priestly activity is a
preparation for the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and finds its fulfilment in it.
All your other pastoral activities, even the administration of other Sacraments
“are bound up with the Eucharist and are directed toward it” (Presbyterorum
Ordinis, No. 5).
As
Learn then
to celebrate well, to penetrate and live the Eucharistic ‘mystery of faith’
yourselves, and then you will be able to introduce others into it. Try always to
be filled with that wonder and amazement which so great a mystery should arouse
in our hearts. You are disciples of Christ. Let yourselves be possessed by Him
to such an extent that your way of celebrating Mass – the ars
celebrandi - will communicate to those present the awareness of the presence
of the Lord Jesus, on the altar of sacrifice. As the General
Instruction of the Roman Missal puts it: “At the Eucharist, he [the
priest] should serve God and the people with dignity and humility. By his
actions and by his proclamations of the word he should impress upon the faithful
the living presence of
Let your
lives be so penetrated by the mystery you celebrate each day that you can
renounce all things in order to be associated with Christ’s work of
redemption. In this way you will imitate Jesus, our High Priest, who was so
completely at one with his Father that He made it possible for others to share
in the salvation offered them by the Father. As the Lord prayed at the Last
Supper for his disciples: “Consecrate them in truth … For their sake I
consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth” (Jn 17:17.19).
Therefore,
when you celebrate as a priest at the altar, never put yourself in the
limelight. Your words and actions should point to Christ. One of the questions I
shall ask you in a few moments is: “Are you resolved to celebrate the
mysteries of Christ faithfully and religiously as the Church has handed them
down to us for the glory of God and the sanctification of God’s people?”
That has also to be your aim: not for your own glory but “for the glory of God
and the sanctification of God’s people”. As
Christ then
is your life. You are one with Him, and never more so than at the altar
celebrating the Eucharist. Let the Mass, then, be the centre of your day. At the
conclusion of the Synodal Document, already quoted, Pope Benedict lists eighteen
Saints who advanced along the way of perfection thanks to their Eucharistic
devotion (cf. No. 94). Would it be possible to list Saints who became holy
without being devoted to the Holy Eucharist? Or to name priests who lived holy
and zealous lives without devotion to the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament? No, it
would not be possible. Therefore let your life rotate around the Eucharist and
live daily what you celebrate at the altar. For, as the Curé of Ards said:
“The cause of relaxation in the life of a priest comes from his not paying
attention any more to the
Dear
Francis, Philip and Shane: I congratulate you on answering the Lord’s call and
on arriving at this day. Remain always faithful to the promises you make to
Christ on this, your Ordination day. Pray, as you lie prostrate during the
Litany in a few moments that others will take your place in the group of young
men in Maynooth and