"I tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to my
words,
and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life". (Jn. 5:24).
My dear brother priests, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in these opening
words of the Gospel text just proclaimed, we find Jesus clearly enunciating
the programme of life for his followers: firstly, there is the listening to
his word, a listening that is also a hearing (cf. Mt. 13:43); then this listening
and hearing leads to believing in what is said and in the One who said it, namely
in Jesus Christ who always points the way to the One who sent Him, the Father;
listening, hearing, believing leads always to possession, possession of the
Kingdom promised to the faithful servant and that possession begins in the here
and now: "has eternal life" (Jn. 5:24). So the programme of life for
the follower of Jesus is threefold: listen, believe, possess.
As we gather today to celebrate the funeral Mass of the late V. Reverend Matthew
Kelleher here in the Parish Church of Kilworth where he served as Pastor for
eleven years, we pray that he has already heard those comforting words of the
Lord: "Well done, good and faithful servant… come and join in your
master's happiness" (Mt. 25:21). Father Matt was nourished in faith within
his family and in his native parish of Midleton and as a young man listened
attentively to the Word of God as it was proclaimed. He clearly heard the voice
of the Lord calling him to a way of life that would lead to a total commitment
of self which would entail, not just a listening disposition on his part, but
to a witnessing to and a proclamation of, for others, the Good News of the Gospel.
His own listening to the Word lead to a deepening of his faith in the Lord and
eventually to an answering of the call to Priesthood. On the 1st September 1940
young Matt followed through on what he had heard and entered seminary to be
formed into a Priest of God forever (cf. Heb. 7:17). Ordained for service in
the Diocese of Cloyne on the 6th of April 1947, at the hands of the late Bishop
of Cloyne, the Most Rev. James Roche, young Father Matt went immediately into
priestly ministry, firstly for a very short period as Chaplain in Fermoy before
being appointed Curate in the Parish of Doneraile, with residence in Hazelwood,
where he was to exercise his ministry in the service of Word and Sacrament for
the next seven years. In January 1954 he took up a new appointment in the Parish
of Milford, as Curate in Freemount, where for the next ten years of his priestly
life he would work indefatigably among the people of that Parish. His next move
was to the Parish of Buttevant where Father Matt was to spend the longest period
in his priestly life nurturing the faith of the people and caring for their
spiritual needs. His fifteen years in Buttevant were years of great grace for
Father Matt which prepared him well for the years ahead when he would be called
upon to prepare himself for the task of taking full responsibility for a Parish.
His final posting before becoming Parish Priest was to the Parish of Mitchelstown
where from 1979 to 1986 he laboured in giving generous and faithful service.
In September 1986 Father Matt became Parish Priest of Meelin and Rockchapel,
where for the next three years he endeared himself to all to whom he ministered.
Then in September 1989 I myself appointed him Parish Priest of Kilworth in succession
to the late Canon Pierce Condon. For eleven years Father Matt gave of his all
in serving the people of this Parish in an inimitable and quiet way, a service
of total commitment and dedication. In the Jubilee Year 2000, when Father Matt
had already celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his Priesthood, I accepted his
resignation from the Office of Parish Priest of Kilworth. This did not mean
that he would hang up his boots and call it a day. No! Father Matt continued
to reside here in Kilworth and ministered in Word and Sacrament to the people
of the Parish. In fact it was while he was engaged in celebrating Holy Mass
in Araglin that he was struck down by the illness that would eventually lead
to his death on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary.
In the early years of his priestly life, Father Matt had a great and trusted mentor and friend in the person of his uncle, Canon Timothy Kelleher who was Parish Priest of Kilworth when Father Matt was ordained and who, after almost twenty years as Pastor here, was laid to rest here in the Church grounds in 1964 close by where the mortal remains of his beloved nephew, Father Matt, will be laid today. May they both enjoy full possession of the Kingdom, which they served so well.
Speaking with those who worked with Father Matt in the Priestly Ministry, one can glean something of the depth of Priestly spirituality which made of him a true gentleman of God and a dedicated minister of His Word. In a quiet and attractive manner he went about his priestly tasks drawing from his daily Eucharist and his personal prayer life strength and vitality. He was happy in his Priesthood and his happiness was reflected in his love for the Church and in his relations with his priest colleagues. He was, in fact, a gentle giant in many ways, good to work with, a good listener and a model for so many. Athletic in nature and a lover of sport and the outdoors, his prowess as a diocesan golfer was well known and his annual visit to Lahinch, with his friends, was looked forward to eagerly, even this year immediately after the diocesan Retreat. Father Matt was always ready to help out a fellow-Priest, no matter what, and his gentle disposition made him easy to approach. He was, as his colleagues will testify, good company and his ability to tell a story endeared him to so many. He will be sadly missed as he was a true diocesan and Churchman and I am sure the memory of this faithful servant of the Church in Cloyne will live on for many years to come.
Father Matt Kelleher was Priest 'par excellence' when he celebrated the Liturgy. He himself had listened intently to the Word, had believed implicitly in the Good News and was fully aware that he was already in possession of the gift of eternal life. He was most at home in his priestly role when he celebrated Holy Mass and his Eucharistic devotion and prayer-life made of him truly a man of God, an example to emulate. Each time I say farewell to a priestly soul and confide him to the mercy of God, I pray the Lord to raise up other men to take their place, to answer His call and to care for His people. The call to serve God's people as a Priest is still as strong today as it was when Father Matt answered it some sixty-four years ago. The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, writing to the Priests of the World this year on Holy Thursday, stressed the point of Priestly example in the promotion of Priestly vocations: He wrote: "First, however, and more than any other effort on behalf of vocations, our personal fidelity is indispensable. What counts is our personal commitment to Christ, our love for the Eucharist, our fervour in celebrating it, our devotion in adoring it and our zeal in offering it to our brothers and sisters, especially to the sick. Jesus, the High Priest, continues personally to call new workers for his vineyard, but He wishes, from the first, to count on our active cooperation. Priests in love with the Eucharist are capable of communicating to children and young people that "Eucharistic amazement" which I have sought to rekindle with my Encyclical 'Ecclesia de Eucharistia' (cf. No.6). Generally there are priests who lead them to the path of priesthood, as the history of our own vocation might easily show" (Letter to Priests, Holy Thursday 2004. No.5). Father Matt Kelleher was one such Priest. We give thanks to God for him and we pray that many others may follow in his footsteps, as he did in the footsteps of his priestly uncle, Canon Tim.
As we confide the noble soul of Father Matt to the Lord, whom he loved and served, and his mortal remains to the earth from which he came, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and parishioners today. To his sisters Mary and Una, his sister-in-law Sheila, his nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces and his housekeeper Mary go our sincerest sympathies and the assurance of our prayers. To all the parishioners in this Parish and in all the Parishes in which Father Matt served, during his fifty-seven years of Priesthood, I say 'thank you' for the love and support you were to him. We all journey with you in your loss of a father and friend. To his fellow-priests I offer the support of the entire Diocesan Church. We have lost a good colleague on earth. May he remain our trusted colleague in heaven.
Father Matt, thank you for having listened to the Word, made flesh; thank you for the quality and example of your faith; thank you for your priestly witness and example. As on earth you enjoyed taking care of God's creation and environment, cultivating the flowers and vegetables in the garden and nurturing the bees, as they went about their business of nectar and pollen seeking,