My brother Daniel,

Today we gather together to celebrate your ordination to the priesthood. Over the years the Holy Spirit has been active in your life and you have heard the Lord Jesus calling you and inviting you to deepen your relationship with him. You have met Jesus Christ in your prayer, accepted his call of conversion to conform your life with Christ and his Church and been invited to leave behind a very successful nursing career to follow Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd who calls you to priesthood.

As we heard in the first reading, the young Samuel heard a voice calling him and thought on a number of occasions that the voice was that of Eli the priest who ministered in the temple. Three times the Lord called and only then did Eli recognise and tell him that it was the voice of God. God continues to call but we can miss hearing his word because we want other futures. I am reminded of the poem ‘The Hound of Heaven’ by Francis Thompson. He describes how he fled from God:

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I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

But at last, he stops and recognises the love of God which touches his heart and calls him,

Halts by me that footfall:

Is my gloom, after all,

Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?

'Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,

I am He Whom thou seekest!

Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.'  

i.e. (You drove love away from yourself by driving me away).

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The call of God is heard within the Church which ordains you for priestly service in the Archdiocese of Liverpool to join the priests and deacons who serve God’s holy people. We proclaim that Jesus is risen from the dead, loves us and walks with us on our journey of life. Preaching the kerygma of the triumph and salvation of Christ through his death and resurrection will be your life task. Your priestly ministry will be to proclaim the love of God to all you come to you; to proclaim the mercy of God who invites us to turn and follow him more closely, know him more deeply and love him more nearly. In a special way this gift of God’s mercy is celebrated in the sacrament of reconciliation. The gift of absolution brings freedom and brings peace. Just as you have known the peace of this sacrament, now you are called to celebrate it with others and proclaim the power of God who takes away sin. To help people understand God’s love for them is your task.

You are called to be a messenger of Hope to those to whom you minister, to those who hear your preaching, and those with whom you celebrate the sacraments. The hope of Christ’s victory is much needed in our world today. Hope is not naïve optimism that everything will turn out well. Rather, hope is an abiding trust in God that he will never desert us but always be present especially in difficulty and when carrying the cross. The hope of the resurrection is found the words of Martin Luther King, ‘Good Friday may last for three days but Easter Sunday will follow.’ This is hope you will proclaim in confession, in hospitals, to prisons, to families and all God’s holy people. This hope is found in the gospel which we have just heard. Jesus heals those who come to him and finds in the unexpected outsider, the Roman Centurion, great faith.

When you receive the gifts of bread and wine from God’s holy people to be offered at the altar, remember the words that you hear today ‘Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God. Understand what you will do, imitate what you will celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.’ As a priest you are called to model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross. Be confident that the Lord is with you and that the Holy Spirit will guide you in the right direction provided you stay close to the Lord Jesus in prayer and the Church in her teaching and practice.

St Paul reminds us that we hold a great treasure in clay pots. We have been created from the dust of the earth. Our ‘dusty selves’ are transformed daily by God’s grace to become more like him and deepen our relationship with him. You will be pulled in many directions by many people in parish life but always stay faithful to your prayer, to the scriptures that store house of things old and new, to being generous in service and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Give yourself space and silence to grow in solitude so that you will be more at attuned to God’s call in your life and able to respond generously to those in need, going the extra mile in priestly service to others.

Stay close to your brother priests, build fraternity and friendship so that you will be able to share with them in this sacred ministry. Enjoy the friendships you have with women and men who can help you stay dedicated to your calling and look ahead with hope and vision towards the future as a servant of the Lord.

Dan, I know that Saint Damien of Molokai is a saint who is very close to your heart. Saint Damian gave his life to the lepers of Molokai, entering into their lives, knowing that he could never return to others, and faithfully lived his ministry on the island of Molokai in service to others. He modelled his life of Christ and carried the cross so that he would die with others and rise with them in glory. Ask his intercession as you seek to reach out to those who are most need and those who are considered lepers today. The love of God and the preaching of Christ crucified knows no bounds but must continue to resonate beyond our communities to all. Be courageous in preaching the gospel so that you may attract women and men to God and to the beauty and the mystery of the Church, a church called to compassionate love, mirroring the love of God and the gaze of Jesus Christ on others. As we look towards the great Jubilee of 2033, let us be more agile in proclaiming the kerygma and find new ways of telling people that God loves them and wants their restless hearts to find peace in him.

St Oswald, pray for us.

St Damien of Molokai, pray for us.