Jubilarians Mass

Jubilarians Mass

St. John's Cathedral, May 25, 2026

Homily Notes of Bishop Brendan Leahy

You may have read how a few days ago in meeting a group of young people who had recently been confirmed, Pope Leo commented to them that, sadly, all too often people disappear from the Church after Confirmation, and so he encouraged them to “persevere” in practicing their faith. I read recently in a biography of the Pope that when he was a young priest, he asked someone in Peru for a word of advice and the person, another Augustinian superior, responded to him with the word repeated twice: “persevere, persevere”. I’ve noticed it’s a theme he often mentions as Pope. It's no surprise, therefore, that in a letter about priestly formation published just before Christmas and entitled A fidelity that generates the future, Pope Leo underlined this notion of persevering as he spoke to priests about fidelity which, he wrote, is both a grace of God and a constant journey of conversion. 

Yes, the vocation to priestly ministry is first and foremost a grace, a gift. It would be monstrous to think of making ourselves priests. And likewise, it would be unfair to God to understand a vocation as something imposed by the Lord. As Pope Leo notes, it is “a loving proposal to follow a plan of salvation and freedom for our lives, which we receive when we accept, with God’s grace, the Lord Jesus as the centre of our lives. Thus, the vocation to ordained ministry grows as a gift of oneself to God and, therefore, to his holy People”.  This evening we thank God for the gift of priesthood and for the response in freedom on the part of each of our jubilarians. Priests do well to savour in their heart and memory how they were called and how they have responded. Priests need to listen again and again to that loving voice that one day called them to embark on the journey of a vocation to priesthood. That inner voice whispers to them each in their heart to keep going. The Spirit, as it were, cheers us on, reinvigorating us with renewed zeal, service and hope.

The second aspect that Pope Leo mentioned in the Letter to which I have referred is conversion. The priestly ministry involves a constant journey of conversion. Let's listen to the Pope's words: ‘Obedience to one’s calling is cultivated each day through listening to the word of God; celebrating the sacraments, especially the Eucharistic Sacrifice; evangelization; closeness to the least among us; and priestly fraternity, all drawing on prayer as the preeminent place for encountering the Lord. It is as if the priest returns every day to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” ( Jn 21:15), in order to reaffirm his “yes”.’  

While we can certainly give thanks for the many ways the ministry of the priests whose jubilees we are celebrating this evening have touched the lives of so many people, bringing comfort, care, wisdom, and closeness to many, nevertheless, priests themselves will always need to recall that even before dedicating himself to his ministry, every priest must constantly remember that he himself is a disciple of the Master, just like his brothers and sisters, because, as Pope Leo puts it, ‘one is always a “disciple” throughout the whole of life, constantly aspiring to configure oneself to Christ. Only this relationship of obedient following and faithful discipleship can keep the mind and heart on the right path, through the upheavals that life may bring.’

A vocation matures over time as the priest interacts with life, circumstances and, above all, the many people he encounters. And often it will be moments of difficulty and challenge that become the moments of greatest maturing. We need to always be attentive to the voice of Jesus Crucified when he passes us by in life. He has always something to say to us, to teach us. And certainly, dear Jubilarians, you have lived through challenging times. I am struck by messages I receive occasionally from Irish friends living abroad. They sometimes write: “Looking at Ireland from outside, it certainly seems that Ireland is going through a huge spiritual, social and political transformation. It can't be easy to be a priest or bishop in Ireland at this time”. My brothers I know that throughout your years of ministry you have had to face strong headwinds with all the cultural changes, the trauma of crisis in the life of the Church and the public humiliations at the revelations that bring so much shame. And of course, the years of ministry bring greater personal recognition of our own vulnerability, limits and sinfulness.

But you have persevered. You have remained faithful to your calling. On behalf of the Church, the People of God, I thank you. Thank you for your service, for your commitment renewed day in day out, for your hope renewed again and again. Thank you for your gift of priestly fraternity to one another, so important in today's world. Indeed, thank you above all, because you have allowed yourselves to be moulded by the Lord as instruments of the risen Christ who is still active in our world, bringing ahead his mission of fraternity, peace and reconciliation.

As we go from this ceremony this evening, let’s re-commit ourselves to this focus on unity and communion. In his homily to begin his pontificate, Pope Leo said: “Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.” This is the great focus of the Holy Spirit in our times. It is a call to us today to nurture the grace of the vocation within us as we go forward in the daily conversion to become signs of unity, fraternity and communion, reflecting the Church’s great call in our times. 

I conclude. The Curé d’Ars said, “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus".  Yes, vocation is about love. Thank you, jubilarians, for the love you have expressed in ministry, the love that is in your heart, the love that gathers people together, the love that lifts people’s minds and hearts to God, the love that heals people, that inspires with wisdom, the love that builds up the Church. Thank you. Your ministry may not always be understood or recognised, but in God’s eyes, it is very, very valuable.