Gospel in Art: Homily of my First Mass of Thanksgiving

Image: CBCEW

Gospel of 26 June 2023
Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples: 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, "Let me take the splinter out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.'

Homily of my First Mass of Thanksgiving

Dear Friends,

Please find below a copy of the homily I gave yesterday during my First Mass of Thanksgiving at my parish of the Holy Apostles, Pimlico:

"It is never too late to become a priest!" is a sentence I have heard so many times over these past years… and it is true.

The path to fulfilling our purpose in life is not defined by our age, but by the willingness to listen to God's voice… and that can happen at any stage in life.

Or as I told a friend recently: it is not about how old you are… but how you are old…

God simply invites. And that is what a vocation is, it is an invitation. And an invitation requires an answer… I took a long time in giving God my answer. But yesterday I gave my final answer to God: a resounding YES!

I stood there in Westminster Cathedral in front of so many people (many of you were there) with just two things: my heart and a little invisible box. This little box was filled with memories of the first 52 years of my life: the hurts, frustrations, achievements, disappointments… That little box is all I had to offer to God. He took it, and gave me this magnificent, awesome, overwhelming gift in return: the gift of ordination to the Sacred priesthood.

It was a moment where God told me that he loves me, and that I told him that I love Him too. Maybe my journey to priesthood is exactly that: my personal quest for love… my deep desire to be loved.

Looking back on my life, I believe the seed of a vocation to the priesthood was planted inside me at an early age. And what is a seed? A seed is a tiny vessel of potential. But if it is not entrusted to the earth… then a seed… well… stays a seed. So six years ago I went to see Father Pat, holding that seed in my hand. Saying 'what do I do?' He said, well, plant it, and nurture it and see what happens. So I planted that seed here in the grounds of our our Parish of Holy Apostles, Pimlico. All of you parishioners have been the rays of sunlight shining on that seed. At times, the tears we all shared watered that seed too.

So that small whisper, that quiet calling from the depths of my soul grew and grew. A voice grew louder and louder. That voice became clearer and clearer … and I started feeling happier and happier.

As Jesus states in our Gospel reading, everything that was covered slowly became uncovered, everything that was hidden became clear. So with time, the idea of priesthood became something very real, very tangible.

BUT yes, sacrifices needed to be made. But that is what a seed does, the seed needs to shed its shell. Only by shedding its protective layer can the seed expose itself to the transformative powers of the soils that surround it.

Once that is done, the seed can build strong roots, underneath the surface of the earth, then and only them can the seed break through the surface. That's is what my four years in seminary have done: to shed my protective, comforting shell and to build strong roots.

The seed then further grows and develops… Then for the first time it pops it head over the soil, it can see the skies and longs to reach the heavens…For the first time it can look up to the skies dreaming to one day become a strong, big, beautiful tree which many branches in which hopefully the birds of the earth can take shelter, big birds, small birds, vulnerable birds, migrating birds, poor birds, lonely birds…

….a tree also trying to offer its oxygen into an often wounded world

I know there will be days ahead where I will be basked in sunshine, but also days where storms will ruffle the branches and blow off many leaves. But that is ok… that is ok… The tree bears the the wood of cross too.

And so what does God tell me (and the four brethren who were ordained with me yesterday) at the start of our ministry in today's Gospel reading and tells all of us: 'Do not be afraid'. It is striking how many times in the gospels Jesus calls on his disciples not to be afraid. In fact the words, 'Do not be afraid' occur 365 times in the Bible, once for each day of the year. That isn't coincidence.

We shouldn't be afraid in facing the future. None of us have the security of a known future, but what we do have is the certainty of a divine companionship which will never let us go. And THAT is more powerful than anything that the future can throw at us.

Life is not a straight, straightforward line as we all know… We are like ice-skaters. In order to move forward we move left, right, and that is how we keep moving. Even in moments when we may sometimes feel there is little hope, and darkness sets in… But it is in those moments when the sun goes down, that the stars come out the brightest!

So indeed we should not be afraid… on the contrary, we have to be fearless, especially in our love for Christ!

As I said, you all in the parish have been this rich, fertile, nurturing soil in which the seed of my vocation came to blossom. And apart from thanking you for all your love and support as a parish, as family, as friends, I would like to ask you a favour.

I would like to ask you to pray for two things.

Firstly, please pray for me, and for the four priests who were ordained with me yesterday and for my fellow seminarian brothers who will be ordained over the next few weeks. What we all share, is that we all want to be good priests. Not just 'being good at being a priest'. No, we want be 'good priests'.

We know how much God is a father to you, his people, how much he loves you and how much he cares for you all. Pray that we as priests may help you with your relationship with God, support you, love you and care for you too.

Secondly, I would like to ask you to pray for vocations. It wasn't inevitable that I stand here in front of you as a priest. Priests and religious don't just pop up. Priests and religious don't grow on trees. They are real people who come from real families, who make real choices… so please pray for vocations… But don't just pray for vocations. Pray that your own families may be open to one!

The photograph shows me and my fellow four brethren lying prostrate during the Litany of Saints at Saturday's Ordination Mass. It captures the humility and helplessness that looks to the prayerful support of our heavenly companions. It beautifully expresses the abandonment of that moment. It's the body language of trust and surrender.

LINKS

Watch a recording of the Mass here: www.churchservices.tv/pimlico/archive/recordings/7VwTaPzdBUMeJnC

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-7-1-5-2023/