Ordination to the Priesthood of Rev. Paul Bennett

St. Vincent’s Church, Sunday’s Well, Cork.

Sunday, July 4, 1999.

HOMILY.

“ I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation”. (Eph. 4:1).

My dear friends, in Christ,

these words from the letter of Saint Paul to the Christians of Ephesus have a deep significance for all of us and particularly for what we are about to witness today. They are an appeal to be faithful to one’s calling, to one’s vocation in life, they are an exhortation to fidelity. They come from one who declares himself to be “ the prisoner in the Lord”( Eph.4:1). This expression surely underlines a special relationship between Saint Paul and the Lord Jesus. Paul has been captured, captivated by the Lord and it is in this sense that he declares himself to be a “ prisoner in the Lord” through love. Using this expression Saint Paul intends to give great authority to his exhortation. He is speaking, not from any personal merits of his own, but rather as a result of having been caught up and captured by the Love of the Lord. The authenticity of his message is guaranteed only by the bonds of love which envelope him and keep him faithful and close to the Master.It is only because of these bonds that the Lord could commission him and send him out on mission. It is only because of these bonds that his mission could be fruitful.

Yes, my dear friends, every disciple of the Lord Jesus must be characterised by these bonds of love and must have a clear understanding of his or her mission in the Church, of being sent by the Lord to announce to all: “The kingdom of God is very near to you” ( Lk. 10:9). In the world of today, a world which so often considers itself so self-sufficient as not to be in need of any prophetic call, in this wor5ld of today the authenticity of our mission, the guineness of the message we proclaim is so often called into question. And why? Is it because those who see us, those who hear us cannot see that we are “ prisoners in the Lord”, bound to Him by bonds of love and fidelity? Is it because we priests have answered the call to ministerial priesthood carrying with us our own personal baggage, broken as we all are by sin, rather than carrying, in joy, the salvific Cross of Jesus Christ? Whatever the reason the world which the priest is called upon to serve today is in great need of authentic disciples of Christ, persons who reflect the holiness of God in their ministry of Word and Sacrament, persons who are driven on and inspired by the Love of Christ for all mankind. Such was Saint Paul, a genuine disciple of Christ who felt he had no choice but to imitate the selflessness of Christ because “ the love of Christ urged him on” ( cfr.2 Cor.5:14).

The love of Christ which spurred Saint Paul on is the very oxygen which must animate every priestly soul. It is that love which enables one to carry a burden without counting the cost, to face the criticism of a hostile and sterile world with evangelical courage and to acknowledge one’s failings and weaknesses in a spirit of genuine repentance. “ Charitas

Christi urget nos” – the Love of Christ urges us on. (2 Cor.5:14). In the Gospel proclaimed in today’s Liturgy Jesus told His disciples as He sent them out on mission: “ Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals” ( Lk. 10:3-4). Jesus makes His disciples aware of the task before them. They must work as lambs among wolves, must not be attached to anything of this world which would do damage to their mission or take away from their credibility as ministers of Word and Sacrament. As He prayed to His Father for His disciples before offering Himself on the Cross for us Jesus said: “ They are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent tem into the world. And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth”( Jn. 17: 16-19). The disciple who goes to the world in the name of Christ and who forgets or ignores his own personal fraility, who forgets that he carries his calling in an earthenware vessel, and who does not sustain in his personal life that necessary, intimate union with Jesus – since He has said: “ He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing"”( Jn.15:5) – such a disciple will inevitably work not as a lamb among wolves but rather as a wolf among lambs. When Jesus commissioned Saint Peter to feed His lambs, to feed His sheep, He first demanded of him a triple profession of love: “ Simon, Son of John,do you love me?” ( cfr. Jn. 21:15-17). Thus the priest of Jesus Christ who is called and consecrated in truth must ensure always that any personal baggage or frailty must never block the very oxygen of the priestly soul, namely love of Christ and His Church. This is what Saint Paul means when he writes: “ I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation” ( Eph. 4:1).

And so today, here in the Church of Saint Vincent, a young man, also with the name Paul, presents himself to the Church and to Christ Himself and says: “ I am ready”. Ready to be a prisoner in the Lord, ready to take on the task of the disciple in the ministerial priesthood, depending solely on the Grace of the Sacrament and on his willingness to be moulded into Him in love, fully conscious of his own frailty but trusting in the all-embracing Mercy of the Father. Paul, in the name of Christ and of His Church I say to you: “ Do not be afraid!”. You have been seeking, for the past ten years, to follow the call of Christ in your regard. Today, that seeking has ended. Oh! The world would say what a waste – a young, fine man like yourself, Paul. The world would say you’re crazy. But you do not belong to the world anymore than He belongs to the world. What is about t6o happen to you today will fundamentally effect your very inner being and will have its effect on the world. You are about to be taken by Christ, with all your personal gifts and weaknesses, and consecrated to be His minister of Word and Sacrament in the world and for the world, a fellow-worker with your Bishop and your fellow-priests. Do not be afraid. Come forward and allow the Lord Jesus to make of you a priest forever “ according to the order of Melchizadeck”(ps. 110:4).

Paul, never underestimate the care and love by which Christ has chosen you. Put your total trust in Him today and always and, by His Grace, keep alive within you the fervour of this day. Make of your daily Eucharistic encounter with the Lord the highpoint of every day so that you may grow in Eucharistic devotion and be for the people you will minister to a man of prayer, a man of God. Twenty years ago the Holy Father told the priests of Ireland in Maynooth: “ A Priest is called by Christ; a priest is with Christ; a priest is sent by Christ. A priest is sent in the power of the same Holy Spirit which drove Christ untiringly along the roads of life, the roads of history. Whatever the difficulties, the dissappointments, the set-backs, we priests find in Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit the strength to ‘ struggle wearily on, helped on by His power driving us irresistibly’(Col.1:29). And he went on: “ What the people expect from you, more than anything else, is faithfulness to the priesthood. This is what speaks to them of the faithfulness of God. This is what strengthens them to be faithful to Christ through all the difficulties of their lives, of their marriages. In a world so marked by instability as our world today, we need more signs and witnesses to God’s fidelity to us, and to the fidelity we owe to Him”.( Address of the Pope to Priests at Maynooth – 1979).

Paul, you are being sent today to the world as a Priest of Jesus Christ. I wish to thank all who have had a hand in your priestly formation. Your Teacher in Primary and Secondary Schools, as well as the formation teams and staffs of the seminaries you have attended. I thank your parish here and your parish priest for having presented you to me today for service in the Diocese of Cloyne. Here you had received the Sacraments of Christian initiation. Today is a major step for you and for the Parish when you receive the Sacrament of the Priesthood. Above all, I thank your family; your parents and family members who have supported you in these years of preparation. I know that they will continue to support you with their prayers.

Paul, in the name of Christ, come forward now to be ordained His Priest. As you begin your priestly life today allow Mary, the Mother of the Eternal Priest, to be your model in fidelity and commitment. May she obtain for you from her Son a truly priestly heart so that you can serve God’s people in joy and be manifestly happy in your priesthood, as you sing in your heart with Her the praises of the Lord: 2 For He that is mighty has done great things for me and holy is His Name”

( Lk.1:48-49).