Presentation of Pathways Certificates

St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin
Sunday, May 18, 2025

Homily of Fr Gareth Byrne

Today in the Church in Dublin we celebrate Lay Ministry Sunday, and here at the Pro-Cathedral, this evening, we will have the presentation of Certificates to more than 20 people from parishes all over the Archdiocese, who have completed the Pathways into Ministry programme.

It is a joyful evening for each one of you, for your families who have supported you, for our Office of Mission & Ministry under the direction of Patricia Carroll, and for the Team led by Peter Siney who have overseen all the efforts people have made on Thursday evenings and beyond, over the past two years. It is a joyful evening for us all. Congratulations.

In his letter, today, celebrating Lay Ministry Sunday, Archbishop Farrell notes that our Readings for the liturgy today stress the value of our vocation, all of us, as baptised Christians:

‘In the First Reading we hear the hope-filled message: God opened the door of faith’ to so many, through the mission given to Paul and Barnabas to put ‘fresh heart’ into the people (Acts 14:21-27).

The mission to help open the door to faith, in our time, is the mission of the whole People of God… no one should doubt but that the Lord continues to call people today to share his mission of service of the gospel.’ 

The 24 Pathways certificate recipients with Fr Gareth Byrne. Photo by John McElroy

The Lord continues to call people today, to share his mission of service of the gospel, ‘to put fresh heart into the people’. What a lovely phrase: to put fresh heart into the people. Throughout our lives, on our journey of faith, we are in constant need of renewal, of refreshing our hearts, deepening our understanding, learning from our experience, opening ourselves to hearing the teaching and healing message of Christ, listening to him and to each other in new ways. This is the basis of our diocesan initiative – Building Hope in a synodal manner: praying together, listening carefully to each other, discerning and planning, and then putting what we have learned into action, as a community of faith.

As Archbishop Dermot says referencing today’s gospel reading:

Only with the committed generosity of priests and people around the Archdiocese can we find new and creative ways to engage everyone in developing their faith, and build hope together: ‘By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are my disciples’ (John 13: 35).

The religious education we received as young people at home, in school and in parish, was an introduction to reflecting on the mystery and meaning of our lives before God. But when you think about it, what we learned in school, while foundational, is not sufficient for all of life. There is a need for ongoing religious education and faith development throughout all of life, appropriate to adults, and to adult engagement, building ourselves up and building up our parishes and partnerships of parishes.

This is why Pathways is so important. It is an opportunity, an important resource for adults who would like to learn more about their faith. I know, as one of the education leaders on the programme, that each year people say: I am so glad I had this opportunity, I never had the chance before to really hear about and take in the full meaning of… for example… the Sacraments…. The Social Teaching of the Church… Ecumenism…

I suppose, we are only ready to fully hear about and take in the love that God has for us… when we are ready. Each Christian is called over a lifetime to learn how to love, to love God, and to love all those he has given us – including ourselves. One contemporary author puts it this way:

For all of us, our task is to learn how to love. This is the way to enter into our humanity, and to share God’s life. The task of education in the Church is to help us develop a Christian imagination and sensibility, the capacity to read and respond to the world in the light of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ – reading and responding to ourselves, our neighbour, and to our culture.’ (John Sullivan, ‘Lifelong Education in the Church’, 2021, p. 118)

Pathways certificate recipient Catherine Moore with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren Cillian, Lorraine, Cathal, Aisling, Dara and Oisin Mullally. Photo by John McElroy

We all need to become more aware of our faith, reflective together and forward-looking.

Pope Leo gave us a great summary of what it means to be Church in his opening remarks on the balcony of St Peter’s, speaking to the world for the first time as Pope:

‘Together we must look for ways to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges and encourages dialogue, a Church ever open to welcoming, like this Square with its open arms, all those who are in need of charity, our presence, our readiness to dialogue and our love.

…we want to be a synodal Church,’ he said following on from the teaching of Pope Francis, ‘a Church that moves forward, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.’

So, what can I do? How can I respond? What is the Spirit asking of me in order to put fresh heart into the people?  Over the past two years 109 lay people from the Diocese have completed the Diocesan Certificate in Catechesis to become parish catechists, and this year 34 people have participated in our new Youth Ministry Leadership Certificate. 120 Funeral Prayer Leaders have been trained across the Archdiocese and the Pathways into Ministry, adult education programme, with whose graduating class we are celebrating this evening, continues to help adults develop their faith.

The new Diocesan Pastoral Council, too, with a majority of lay participants, called to advise the Archbishop on pastoral initiatives, was commissioned here at the Pro-Cathedral this morning, and we are all delighted to begin this new journey together – a very joyful event looking to the future of the Archdiocese.

Let us all ask ourselves, then, with Archbishop Farrell and with each other – what can we do to open the door of faith to others, in practical and life-giving ways, knowing that it is God who makes all things new (see Apocalypse 21: 5).

…and let us pray that the whole world will listen to Pope Leo who today at his inauguration in St Peter’s Square said: ‘This in the hour for love’.

‘If this criterion, of love’, he said, in the words of Pope Leo XIII, whose memory he invoked by taking the same name, ‘were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return.’

We pray for new beginnings today in our own hearts, that we might all learn how to love, and we pray for peace in the world:

‘This is the hour for love’.

Charity Nwajei, Irene Roche and Kate Herman

Eamonn Griffin, Catherine Moore and Emer O’Leary