Main Easter Page

Easter 2007

Homily from Bishop Patrick Walsh, Diocese of Down and Connor

The Annual Mass for the Blessing of the Holy Oils was celebrated on this Holy Thursday at 11.00 a.m. in the Cathedral.

The chief celebrant for the Mass was Bishop Patrick Walsh and concelebrating with him were the two auxiliary bishops for Down and Connor, Bishop Anthony Farquhar and Bishop Donal McKeown and a large representation of priests from throughout the diocese, manifesting the communion of the priests with their bishop.

During the ceremony the priests solemnly renewed their commitment to the priesthood in a crowded Cathedral consisting of representatives of all the people of the Diocese whom the priests have the privilege to serve.

Assisting with the presentation of the gifts and the oils to be blessed were representatives of the Down and Connor Lourdes Youth Team, pupils from Edmund Rice College and representatives of the Cathedral parish.

The theme of the Bishop's Homily was "Joy in the Priesthood"

Addressing the priests the Bishop said:

When the Holy Father spoke to all the Irish Bishops at the conclusion of their Ad Limina visit last October he said: "Encourage your priests always to seek spiritual renewal and discover afresh the joy of ministering to their flocks within the great family of the Church".

I want my words today to you to be words of encouragement. Let us try to discover afresh each day the joy of ministering to the people entrusted to our care. It is in our dedicated pastoral ministry, ministry carried out with a full heart that we will find our joy, that deep joy which comes from the privilege which is ours of sharing in a very personal way the joys and the sorrows of our people, of individuals, of families. We are very privileged.

And we find that deep joy even in the midst of the inevitable frustrations which are part and parcel of our daily ministry. Unrealistic demands are placed on us at times, demands that can lead so easily to physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual exhaustion. We must ensure that we take care of our own well-being so that we can care effectively for those entrusted to our pastoral care. I am very conscious of the enormous demands made on you at the present time. I wish to encourage you to continue to find joy in your priestly ministry.

That joy, that interior joy, was the Lord's gift to his priests at the last Supper, his gift, his joy. And that joy in the Lord should find its expression in our very demeanour, in the way we deport ourselves, in our serenity. The Church needs joyful priests with a smile on their faces.

And so we should ask ourselves: Do we in our lives express that joy? Do we, again in the words of Pope Benedict to the Irish Bishops, "offer your people an inspiring and attractive vision of the ordained priesthood"? As we see the very evident reluctance today of young people, of the very best of young people, a reluctance to answer God's call to the priesthood, is one of the reasons perhaps because we, as priests, do not offer our young people "this inspiring and attractive vision of the ordained priesthood". Do we sufficiently show forth in our lives that joy which will enkindle "in the hearts of others a readiness to say 'Yes'".

Addressing the congregation the Bishop said:

Pope Benedict asked us bishops also to speak to you of joy, of the joy that comes from following Christ and living according to his commandments and he asked us to thank you for your understanding "of the fine work and often selfless dedication of the great majority of priests and religious in Ireland and despite the transgression, the serious transgression, of some priests that you continue to regard your priests with affection and esteem".

Today, on behalf of the priests, I thank you for your affection and for your esteem. I thank you for your love of the Church, for the witness of your lives as God's holy people which so inspires us priests and bishops and challenges us to respond by the quality of our lives. Continue to pray for us that we will be given the strength to do the work that you deserve. And you, the people of our diocese, you certainly deserve the best that we bishops and priests can give you.