Ordination to the Priesthood of Peter Flynn OFMConv
Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fairview
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Homily of Bishop Paul Dempsey, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin
When I was in formation discerning my call to priesthood, despite the slowing in vocations at the time, there was still a number of ordinations each year. They would take place in different parishes throughout the country. As seminarians, we were often asked to serve these special occasions. When serving we always had a great view of what was happening during the liturgy! The symbolism during the Ordination Rite is very powerful, no more so than the moment when the candidate prostrates himself before the altar, a sign of giving his whole life to God’s service. As he does, the Choir sings the Litany of the Saints, asking the saints to pray for this man as he gives his life to God and his people. On many an occasion, as I looked at the candidate at that point, I often wondered what was going through his mind in that moment. I never found out, no one ever told me!
Bishop Dempsey with Fr Flynn
Then in 1997 I found myself in that mysterious moment. Now I was the one lying prostrate before the altar in the Cathedral in Carlow, during my own Ordination. The realisation dawned that it was now my turn to give my life to the Lord and his people. As I lay there with the choir singing the Litany, the line from the Gospel came to me: ‘you did not choose me, I chose you.’ It is something that has stayed with me and has brought me through many a challenge in my own life as a priest and bishop. It is the line we hear proclaimed in John’s Gospel today during Peter’s Ordination Mass. They are words spoken personally to Peter today by Jesus himself, ‘you did not choose me, I chose you.’ These words from Jesus are at the very heart of our liturgy. They remind us that a priestly vocation is not some human project but rather a gift of Divine grace.
St John Paul II reminded us that ‘the initiative in every true vocation comes from the Lord. It is not your own plans that you are following’ (Seminary in Pune, February 10, 1986). He follows this up in Pastores Dabo Vobis where he emphasises that the call ‘cannot be forced by any human ambition’ but the priest ‘must respond freely to God’s love’ (PDV 36). This brings home the two-fold reality of the call, firstly God initiates the call, choosing priests to continue the mission of Christ and secondly the human freedom to respond with a free and loving ‘yes’ deep within our heart. The priestly vocation is about divine gift, not human ambition.
As we gather today that reality is very real and present with us in Peter’s life story. As a baby you were baptised, immersed into the life of Christ. As you grew up your faith was nurtured and supported by your mam and dad, Norrie and Pat, and your local faith community. Later you found yourself in college leading to your teaching career and your travels to different parts of the world. Then deep within your heart, Peter, you heard the call, that whisper of Christ, but it was up to you to respond. With a sense of faith and generosity you said ‘yes’ to the Lord’s invitation. You followed the path of St Francis entering formation with the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. You followed the path of prayer and discernment. Along that journey you deepened your commitment to Christ in your simple vows, then your perpetual vows, dedicating yourself to a life of chastity, poverty and obedience. Then your Diaconate, symbolising the importance of service in the life of the Church and now today you offer yourself to the Church as a priest, fully conformed to Christ. Through all these years of growing up and maturing, of discernment and formation the Lord took the initiative and was calling you and your response, as we witness today, has been a free and loving ‘yes’ to His call. We thank you for that witness and generous response!
As you offer yourself in service as a priest today, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, you are configured to Christ, the Priest, the Head and Shepherd. In other words, you will act ‘in the name and person of Christ’ (Lumen Gentium 28). You will offer the Eucharist, but not alone because it is Christ who acts through you. You will impart sacramental absolution for the forgiveness of sin, but not alone for it is Christ who works through you. In the Sacrament of the Sick, through the Anointing you will bring healing and hope, but not alone as you act ‘In persona Christi’, in the person of Christ. In the past perhaps this was perceived as a ‘higher calling,’ but no, this does not separate you from humanity, it places you in its midst, so that you can give yourself to its service. (John Paul II, International Meeting of Priests, Holy Land, June 19, 1999).
I’m sure I can speak for all the priests here today that the call to serve as priest requires profound humility. In the Eucharist we, who are unworthy, pronounce the words of Christ himself, ‘This is my body… this is my blood.’ In the Sacrament of Penance, as sinners ourselves, in the name of Christ we say, ‘Through the ministry of the Church, I absolve you…’ Despite our brokenness, Christ entrusts us to act in his name. This requires deep humility and the need to constantly strengthen our relationship with him through a life of prayer so as to have the necessary strength, light and love we need on the journey.
At the heart of the Ordination Rite there is the ‘Laying on of Hands.’ This ancient prayer goes back to the beginnings of the Church symbolising the coming down of the Holy Spirit. It, along with the Prayer of Consecration is seen as the moment of Ordination. Pope Benedict referred to this in his First Chrism Mass Homily in 2006. He reminded us that the ‘Laying of Hands’ is a sign that, through the Bishop, it is the Lord himself who lays his hands upon us. In this gesture the Lord is saying to us, not just during the Ordination Rite, but throughout our lives of ministry ‘You are under the protection of my hands. You are under the protection of my heart. Stay in my hands and give me yours.’
As you approach this profound moment, Peter, may you know that you are held in the hands of the Lord and under the protection of his heart. Despite human unworthiness and brokenness, the Lord has chosen you to follow him and serve him and his people in the priesthood. If challenges come in life or in ministry or in community life, which they inevitably will, remember those words of the Lord spoken to you today, ‘you did not choose me, I chose you.’
