Clonskeagh Parish RCN:20016166

A Few Words from Fr Joe…………………..

On Wednesday evening my Ordination Class from 1986 met to have our common celebration to mark the 40 Anniversaries of our individual ordinations. We came together in the little church of St Brigid in Straffan for a Mass of Gratitude in which we also remembered the three classmates who have gone before us to God. During the liturgy Brendan Leahy, now Bishop of Limerick, preached the homily. He took three words, Gift, Realism and Conversion and using the recent teachings of Pope Leo, reflected back on our years of priestly ministry. Priesthood he reminded us, is a gift of God, not imposed, but planted in the heart and mind, which each of us has felt as a calling, and after 7 years of study, spiritual growth and personal discernment led to our ordination. This gift has been shared with the people we’ve been privileged to serve and sustained by God’s grace, their goodness and our own fidelity to that calling. Realism has rooted our ministry in the times in which we serve, with all the changes in faith and practice, all the failings of the church and the daily commitment to meeting the demands of ministry today. We become ever more aware, through living out our calling, of our own strengths and weakness, our highs and lows, our joys and sorrows, and we carry on, humbled and enlightened. And finally, Conversion, which he related to the constant challenge of responding to God’s invitation to holiness, both personally and as a family of faith in our local churches. th After the Mass we retired to local hotel for dinner and an evening of sharing memories, enjoying the company of one and other and hearing about how life is now. Everyone in the company was so positive about their parish, expressing much gratitude for the support, affection and witness of the people they are with on this journey. It was a surprisingly pleasant and uplifting evening, affirming of priesthood, ministry and faith. Each one of us remains hopeful about the future and willing to contribute to the church in Dublin, whatever may come.