By Jamie O’Brien and Phil Bayne
It’s almost impossible to fully grasp the extent of the good which our priests and indeed all our ordained ministers have done and continue to do for God’s people, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has said.
“As ministers of God’s grace, we’ve been drawn into the very ministry of Christ himself,” he continued, speaking to the nearly 200 clergy who gathered last year 26 November for the Annual Clergy Mass and Dinner.
The occasion was also a unique opportunity to celebrate the milestone anniversaries of the clergy.
The circular orientation of Trinity College Chapel provided for a welcoming and inclusive environment for the occasion as Archbishop Costelloe reflected on the Gospel of Luke and the ministry of the priesthood.
Acknowledging both the long serving and recently ordained members of the clergy, Archbishop Costelloe said they had committed to actively living their vocation with courage and fidelity, emphasising, “you have lived the reality of this extraordinary vocation which inserts us so deeply into the lives of God’s holy people.”
“Tonight,” he continued, “I invite each one of us gathered here to remember and reflect on all the ways in which each one of us has been able to help people encounter Jesus; the Jesus who describes himself as gentle and humble in heart, and whose gentleness, humbleness and humility we have been able to share with others.
“Be grateful for the ways in which, with God’s help, we have been able to express the compassion of Christ to those who come to us in sorrow, in confusion or in doubt; to rejoice in all the ways in which our ministry has cleared the way for people burdened by their sinfulness and frailty to experience the unconditional forgiveness and life-renewing compassion of the Father of mercy.
“This is who we are. This is who we are called to be. And this evening, I think it really is good for us to be together and celebrate each other with gratitude, admiration and joy.”
Reiterating the message in Luke’s gospel, Archbishop Costelloe said there was also a need for courage and resilience in the face of the various challenges faced by clergy and the ministry.
“This is also who we are called to be – men of courage and constancy in the face of opposition, men of perseverance and fidelity in the face of discouragement and disappointment, men of God in a world which often seems to have forgotten all about Him,” he reflected.
“So in this too, it is good for us to be together and to recognise and rejoice in our fidelity, the fidelity of our brothers, which in the end, of course, is really God’s fidelity in us, because God’s fidelity shines out even in the midst of our frailties and our failings.
“As we continue to strive to be faithful, whether we’re at the beginning of our priestly lives or closer to the end, the final words of tonight’s gospel remind us of where our strength really comes from.
“So as we look to Him, as we look to the Christ who has called us to the one who unites us with Himself, as we celebrate the unity this evening, we can confidently hope, not in ourselves, but in God’s grace, that we will be able to endure to the end and remain faithful – not so much because of who each one of us is individually, or even because of who we are all together, but because of who He is, and because of all that He seeks to do and be in us,” he concluded.
Clergy celebrating milestone anniversaries were presented with a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
Fr Geoff Aldous and Fr Liam Keating SMA were especially congratulated in marking their Diamond Jubilee of 60 years, having been ordained in 1965.
Speaking on behalf of the jubilarians, Fr Geoff said living a life of ministry in the Archdiocese of Perth has been a very special journey for himself, and for those also celebrating their jubilees.
Those celebrating their Golden Jubilee of 50 years (ordained in 1975) included Fr Greg Burke OCD, Fr Bryan Rosling, Msgr Thomas McDonald and Fr Nikola Cabraja.
Fr Patrick Lim and Fr Nicholas Perera marked their Ruby Jubilee of 40 years, ordained in 1985.
Father Phong Nguyen, Son Nguyen, Francis Nguyen, Charles Waddell, Eugenio Diaz, Francis Sundararajan, Doug Harris, Melvin Llabanes, James D’Douza and Peter Meo were the biggest group of jubilarians, marking their Silver Jubilee of 25 years, ordained in 2000.