What have we come here tonight to see, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has asked at the Ordination to the Priesthood of Jason Yeap and Errol Lobo.
Celebrating the Ordination Friday 19 April at St Mary’s Cathedral, Archbishop Costelloe was joined by concelebrants, Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn and assisted by Deacon Patrick Moore.
Echoing the question by some of the disciples of John the Baptist to Jesus to ask him if he was the one for whom everyone had been waiting or if they should instead be waiting for someone else, Archbishop Costelloe said we have come to see, and rejoice with, these two men, Errol and Jason, as they commit themselves to being exactly what we all need them to be.
“Men whose words and whose lives, like John the Baptist, speak to us of God, draw us closer to God, and remind us of the central place which God seeks to have in our lives, and which we need God to have in our lives,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“So that we, the Holy People of God, can be a community whose words and whose lives speak of God and who make clear to everyone we encounter that only in God will we, and they, and our society, find the balance and the peace and the joy for which we all are searching,” he said.
The second of five children – Perth born Jason’s parents Anne and Thomas, are from Malaysia.
Originally trained in civil engineering at the University of Western Australia, Jason embarked on a professional career before feeling the stirrings of a deeper calling.
Reflecting on his hopes for his new life as a priest, Fr Jason said he hopes to become more aware of the needs in the local area by being accessible and available.
“And sincere with what I can offer. Primarily it will be pastoral care and the sacraments, but I’d also like to be able to provide any practical assistance in terms of referrals to social or other services to address any practical needs,” Fr Jason said.
Errol Lobo, hails from Mumbai, India, with a rich tapestry of faith woven into his upbringing.
Raised in a devout Catholic family, Errol’s journey to priesthood began with a quiet yet persistent call from God during his university years. Errol, like Jason, completed a degree in engineering.
Despite a life that was comfortable and fulfilling, Errol sensed a deeper purpose beckoning him.
Speaking in the days before his Ordination, Fr Errol said he hoped to be able to reach out to the poor and those on the margins of society.
“As Pope Francis has urged priests to ‘Simply be present to all people and journeying with them, as a sign of the Lord’s closeness to them, to remind them through my own humble ministry that they are infinitely valuable to God and to the Church’,” Fr Errol said.
Continuing his homily, Archbishop Costelloe explained that Errol and Jason will become, in all the reality of their gifted and yet fragile humanity, living signs – we might almost say living sacraments.
“Pointing us to the presence of the Lord Jesus who continues to say to us, as he did to his first disciples, “Come to me if you labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:28-30).
“In this way, these two young men will imitate John the Baptist to whom I referred at the beginning of these reflections,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“He knew that it was not his role to draw people to himself but rather to point them beyond himself to the Lamb of God.
“He knew, too, that for this to happen he must grow smaller so that the Lord Jesus might grow greater in people’s lives.
“Tonight, Jason and Errol take on this awesome responsibility and this daunting challenge,” Archbishop Costelloe emphasised.
Fr Errol has now been posted as Assistant Priest to the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Parish, while Fr Jason has been posted as Assistant Priest to the Cathedral Parish.
