The Ordination to the Priesthood of Brother Ciarán Egan
By Archbishop Dermot Farrell
St Kevin’s, Harrington Street
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Archbishop Dermot Farrell this morning ordained Ciarán Egan to the priesthood in St Kevin’s Church, Harrington Street, the home of the Oratorian Community in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
This Oratorian community began its path to formation in 2020. It was the first priestly ordination to take place in St Kevin’s.
During his homily, Archbishop Farrell – drawing on the Readings for the Mass, the ceremony of ordination and the writings of both St Philip Neri and St John Henry Newman – emphasised the central importance of prayer, hope and proclamation of the Word of God in the life of the priest.
Archbishop Farrell said: “Love is the life of the Church and prayer is the lifeblood of that life. Prayer is not an invocation to wake up a sleeping God. Rather, we pray to become more and more attentive to the day-by-day coming of God. We pray as an act of hope in God’s goodness. Prayer is hope in action, and hope that is more than just getting into Heaven. As Pope Benedict XVI succinctly put it, prayer is the school of hope which teaches the one who prays to “hope in a goodness and in a power that transcends their own capabilities.” (The Yes of Jesus Christ, p67)
The proclamation of the Gospel
Archbishop Farrell continued: “The most famous Oratorian of more recent times, St John Henry Newman, whose motto Cor ad cor loquitur, Heart speaks unto heart, gives us an insight into his understanding of the Christian life as a call to holiness, experienced as the profound desire of the human heart to enter into intimate communion with the Heart of God. Faithfulness to prayer gradually transforms us into the divine likeness. Newman himself wrote in one of his sermons: ‘A habit of prayer, the practice of turning to God and the unseen world in every season, in every place, in every emergency – prayer I say, has what may be called a natural effect in spiritualising and elevating the soul. A man no longer is what he was before; gradually he has imbibed a new set of ideas and can become imbued with fresh principles.’ (Parochial and Plain Sermons, iv, 230-231)
“Ciarán, today you are asked: ‘Are you resolved to exercise the ministry of the Word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic faith?’ As a priest you are called to communicate the living Word of God to others by preaching, instruction, writing, indeed, all available means of communication. Yet, preaching and teaching requires more of you than learning and good technique. ‘The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 135). As Pope Francis said: ‘Christ’s message must truly penetrate and possess the preacher, not just intellectually but in his entire being.’ (Ibid, 151). That takes time. As you preach and teach, people will want to know if you are personally invested in what you say. When you were ordained to the diaconate you were entrusted with the Book of the Gospels with these words: ‘Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.’
“It is Christ’s Gospel that you proclaim and preach, not yours; it is the Word of God, not our own word! (2 Corinthians 4:5). It is the Word, however, that we must make our own. It must be preached without compromise, without accommodation, fear or hesitation, in a culture where there is neither harmonious uniformity nor aggressive opposition. Your words, your deeds, your conduct and your demeanour must brim with the radiant truth and love of Jesus who lives among us in the Church (Colossians 1:28). Both St Philip Neri and St John Henry Newman spoke not merely with words, but with their lives. Let the Spirit inscribe the Word on your heart so that your lips may utter words of wisdom and love. As a priest, you are to further the Church’s sacramental and liturgical life, celebrating the Eucharist, baptising, reconciling sinners, witnessing marriages, and anointing of the sick in the name of the Lord.
The Litany of the Saints
“But take to heart Newman’s counsel against preaching to people unreasonably, since ‘to argue and preach out of place is just the way to disgust [people] with religion.’” (Quoted by Vincent Ferrer Blehl SJ in Cause of the Canonisation of the Servant of God John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890) Positio Super Virtutibus, Volume II, Rome 1989, p 26)
Archbishop Farrell concluded his homily by focusing on Newman’s ministry as a priest, using a line from Newman’s own writing: “Had Angels been your priests, my brethren, they could not have consoled with you, sympathised with you, have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you from your old selves into a new life, as they can who come from the midst of you.” (Discourse 3 to Mixed Congregations, “Men, not Angels, the Priests of the Gospel”)
The laying on of hands
Archbishop Farrell said: “Priests are not meant to be supernatural beings, but ordinary men who give their lives to God and to walking with the faithful, helping them to devote their lives to God. This was the way both Philip Neri and John Henry Newman lived their priesthood, the way they ministered to the faithful in entrusted to pastoral their care. Those who follow them must strive to do the same.
“Ciaran, through many years of formation you are now ready to go forward ‘so the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth, and the family of nations, made one in Christ, may become God’s one, holy people’ (Prayer of Consecration, Liturgy of Ordination).”
Fr Joe Mullan, Fr Ciarán Egan, Archbishop Farrell, Mgr Ciarán O’Carroll and Fr Francis Gavin
Photos by John McElroy
