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Seven deacons ordained at St Mary’s College, Oscott


Archbishop Longley with new Birmingham Deacons  Robert Carey and Jason Mahoney

Archbishop Longley with new Birmingham Deacons Robert Carey and Jason Mahoney

On the Feast of St John the Baptist, seven deacons were ordained by Archbishop Bernard Longley. They are: Christopher Ainslie from Hallam Diocese, Callum Brown from Salford, Robert Carey and Jason Mahoney from Birmingham, David Pearce from Brentwood, Matthew Roche-Saunders from Menevia and Nicholas Williams from Cardiff. They will continue to prepare for their priestly ordination over the coming year.

In his homily, the Archbishop said that God’s purposes had been fulfilled on their ordination day. He said that “the seeds of their vocation have been there since the beginning of their lives, according to the loving purpose of their heavenly Father.”

The Archbishop said that the Church thanked the parents, relatives and close friends for their part in helping the seven men “discern their calling” and “to recognise the mission to which the Lord has been calling them from the outset.” He added “Just as the scriptures recognise how Elizabeth and Zachariah understood the calling of their son, so the Church thanks you today, parents and families, for your part in nurturing these precious vocations to the priesthood.”

About the ministry which the seven men are called, the Archbishop said “You will be unhappy if you try to customise the diaconate to your own satisfaction. Instead you are embracing a way of living that is based on trust. You are called to accept this gift from the Lord and to adapt yourselves willingly.”

He stressed the need for a ministry of service, “the diaconal ministry is about service and it requires above all an attitude of service within each one who receives this calling. A calling which does not come easily, “Such a disposition does not come easily – it is acquired and it grows through the sacramental grace you receive today. It is enriched by prayerful reflection on the scriptures setting before us moving examples of service in the life of Jesus himself or in those he called to serve his holy people.”

The Archbishop especially thanked all the staff and seminarians who prepared the ceremony and the Rector and Staff for “their dedicated work of formation throughout the year.” He also thanked the trustees for their “gift of their time and expertise” and gave a special mention to Fr Paul Moss for his contribution to the Oscott community as a formator and tutor. Fr Paul took up new responsibilities in Rome earlier in the year.

The full text of Archbishop Bernard Longley’s Homily follows:

The Lord called me before I was born.

Today’s celebration marks the close of the Seminary’s year and it is therefore a moment to stop and give thanks for all that has been accomplished over the last twelve months here at Oscott. All our accomplishments begin with the Holy Spirit and it is the same Spirit who completes all our work and makes it fruitful today through the Sacrament of Orders. This is the sacrament for which our seven friends have been patiently and prayerfully preparing and now as deacons they will continue to prepare for their priestly ordination over the coming year.

The diaconate ordination is truly a moment of fulfilment which reminds us of the prophetic words of Isaiah: the Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. The purposes of God are fulfilled today – not in an abstract or general sense but in the lived reality of the lives of these seven men. The seeds of their vocation have been there since the beginning of their lives, according to the loving purpose of their heavenly Father.

St John the Baptist is a fitting patron for today’s ordination, since he too was aware of God’s purposes at work in his life and they were manifested to him through the inspired insights of those who knew him and were close to him. The parents, relatives and close friends of those being ordained today will have played a similarly important part in helping these seven men to discern their calling and to recognise the mission to which the Lord has been calling them from the outset. Just as the scriptures recognise how Elizabeth and Zachariah understood the calling of their son, so the Church thanks you today, parents and families, for your part in nurturing these precious vocations to the priesthood.

The diaconate ordination is also a moment of transition for those being ordained this morning. The Church speaks of your ordination as deacons as the beginning of a new phase in your formation which looks ahead to your ordination as priests. The Ratio Fundamentalis says that this stage in your formation is about being inducted into the pastoral life, with a gradual assumption of responsibilities in a spirit of service and it is about making a suitable preparation, with the help of a specific accompaniment, in view of priesthood.

Here, on either side of the altar, the chapel has two powerful symbols. These have been part of the setting for the years of prayerful formation that have brought you to this moment. The pulpit is where Blessed John Henry Newman preached his Second Spring sermon and where the deacon still proclaims the Gospel of Easter morning. The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, is a symbol of our Lord’s love for you and an invitation to imitate the way of his love in your whole-hearted service of others as deacons.

You are being ordained between these two symbols. The pulpit reminds you that you are to go out and preach the Good News with confidence and without fear. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is sending you to establish lives of loving service in the heart of the communities where you will live, built upon the model of his own loving-service.

The ministry which you receive today is not a ministry which you can shape and fashion according to your own preferences. You will be unhappy if you try to customise the diaconate to your own satisfaction. Instead you are embracing a way of living that is based on trust. You are called to accept this gift from the Lord and to adapt yourselves willingly to a way of life determined by him and trusting that he knows what is best for us.

The diaconal ministry is about service and it requires above all an attitude of service within each one who receives this calling. Such a disposition does not come easily – it is acquired and it grows through the sacramental grace you receive today. It is enriched by prayerful reflection on the scriptures setting before us moving examples of service in the life of Jesus himself or in those he called to serve his holy people.

It happens that your ordination to a life of service coincides with the release of a film about one of today’s great witnesses to the joy that comes from service. It is entitled Summer in the Forest and it describes how Jean Vanier created the first L’Arche community, receiving, supporting and cherishing the lives of people with learning difficulties as precious gifts from God.

In a phrase that recalls Mother Teresa’s advice, Jean Vanier says: We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. When you prostrate yourselves before God during the invocation of the saints in a few moments time ask for the gift of that extraordinary love to transform your words and deeds as deacons. When you get up again to begin your new lives of service you will receive the Holy Spirit and you will wear your stole and dalmatic as outward symbols of your newly-dedicated lives.

As you offer your lives today, prepared to live in celibate dedication to Christ and his holy people, we pray that you may persevere in this good intention to the end of your lives. May the prayers of our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, and of St John the Baptist, herald of Christ, support you today and in the days to come.

WELCOME

On behalf of the Rector, Canon David Oakley and the Seminary community I especially welcome all our guests today – the parents, families and friends of Christopher, Callum, Robert, Jason, David, Matthew and Nicholas who are being ordained.

While this is a very important personal moment for each of them on their journey towards the priesthood, it is also very significant for the dioceses of Birmingham, Brentwood, Cardiff, Hallam, Menevia and Salford. On this Feast of St John the Baptist we remember today the bishops, priests and deacons at whose side these new deacons will serve, together with all the Religious and lay faithful of each diocese.

THANKS

I wish to thank all the staff and seminarians who have prepared for today’s ceremony: the servers, musicians, Jude Belnas and all those who have decorated the chapel so beautifully.

On this final day of the Seminary’s year I thank the Rector and Staff for their dedicated work of formation throughout the year. I also thank my fellow Trustees for their support of the Seminary’s work and for the gift of their time and expertise.

I make a special mention today, in his absence, of Fr Paul Moss who took up new responsibilities in Rome at the beginning of this year. My thanks to Fr Paul for all that he contributed to the life of this community over the years, as a formator and tutor.

Finally, we congratulate our new deacons. We shall pray for you and we ask for your prayers.

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