Ordination to the Priesthood of Tim Collins

St. John’s Cathedral, Limerick, 11 May, 2025

Tim, you are about to be ordained a priest. What a wonderful day to be celebrating this sacrament – Good Shepherd Sunday when we remember the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, the One who gives us eternal life as we have just heard proclaimed in the Gospel. What a wonderful year to be taking this step -a Jubilee year that speaks so much of hope and the year of the election of a new Pope that marks a new moment in the life of the Church. You are the first to be ordained a priest in Ireland in the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. Your ordination brings much joy and hope to our Diocese.

There is so much I would want to say! But Pope Francis used to encourage us to keep our homilies to 7 minutes even if, for special occasions such as today, I might get away with a little longer, especially because I have decided to take three points that our new Pope Leo has made in recent days since becoming Pope.

First. In his first homily, Pope Leo XIV spoke of the importance for those in ministry of knowing how to set themselves aside. He used words that could also be taken to heart by you: “move aside so that Christ may remain, make yourself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.” The ministry of priesthood that you are to receive today is all about Christ radiating and working through your life. The priesthood is Christ’s. He is the only true priest, the Shepherd that leads people to springs of living water as the Second Reading today puts it. All the baptised share in the priesthood of Christ, but ordained ministers are disciples called to be endowed through the sacrament of Holy Orders with a specific participation in the shepherding of Christ building up his community, the Church. It is the Church, the People of God, the Body of Christ that then continues his mission in the world.

Ordained ministers are apostles, sent to act in the name of Christ so that people may have life. They proclaim the Word, celebrate the sacraments and offer pastoral care to those entrusted to them. It’s a great public, representative service of shepherding. There is, however, a risk in it. We can be tempted to think we are the source of the word, that we own the sacraments or that the community must be shaped according to our ideas. The truth is that we are merely useless servants. Our task is let ourselves become instruments of Christ’s work. The best way to set ourselves aside is to decide to base our life and ministry on love. In the Gospel we heard Jesus say the shepherd “knows” the sheep. The word “knows” in that context means “loves”. Love only has eyes for the beloved. To love is the best way to set ourselves aside. Ministry is, therefore, never about “my priesthood”. That’s a phrase that always jars with me when I hear it used. Pope Leo’s words are so apt for you, Tim, on your ordination day. You are to work, yes, and to work hard, but your work is all about love of others and helping others have the opportunity to know and love Christ.

A second point as to do with unity. Pope Leo has taken as his motto a line from St. Augustine’s treatise on the unity of the Church: In Illo uno unum. In the one Christ we are One. As we heard in the Gospel, Jesus was rooted in his unity with God the Father: “The Father and I are one”. The People of God is united in Christ in that unity that is the Trinity. Our unity as Church is essential to the effectiveness of mission. Jesus himself told us: “by this all will know you are my disciples if you love one another” (Jn 13:35) and again, Jesus prayed the night before he died, “may they all be one, Father, as you and I are one, so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). Unity, of course, is not to be confused with uniformity. True unity will always be enriched by the colours of diversity as in the life of the Trinity.

A priest is a man whose charism is that of generating unity in diversity and diversity in unity in his ministry, in his parish and in his diocese. A priest has a charism of unity, but he knows he himself does not have all the charisms gifted by the Holy Spirit. His task is to facilitate unity among charisms, while knowing that’s not about straightjacketing charisms into his plans.

The priest is present in the community re-presenting Christ who wants us to be one. The priest is the reminder of our origins and destiny in Christ’s plan of unity. To carry out this role, Tim, always remember that you yourself must be united with your bishop, with fellow clergy and with the lay faithful around you. Unfortunately, because of individualism that is so rampant, and a faulty theology that underestimates the significance of journeying together synodally, priests and perhaps even bishops (!) can risk taking a DIY approach to ministry. Our missionary impact is reduced when we forget that Jesus is present not just within us personally but among us in the presbyterate and in our parishes and in our diocese. We are to be one in Him who is the One Shepherd in our midst.

Tim, you are to model your life on Jesus the Good Shepherd who knew how to lay down his life to gather the scattered tribes into one. Unity costs. In the liturgy today, you will receive the bread and wine from me as a sign of the Eucharistic sacrifice you will be ordained to celebrate and at which you will preside. You will hear me say: “Know what you are doing and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross”.

The Cross. A priest’s life is certainly made up of many wonderful, deeply fulfilling experiences of outreach, companionship and closeness to people in key moments of life, especially in times of need. It is a very meaningful way of life that perhaps few understand. But the sun doesn’t always shine in the day-to-day life of a priest. Misunderstandings, the cut and thrust of interaction with a variety of personalities and characters, the weariness of daily perseverance, the monotony of routine, the challenge of obedience, the indifference of many to the golden spiritual treasures you have to offer, the contradictions we so often face the expectations in today’s cultural Catholicism, can often discourage. Yet, these are the moments of the Cross. These are opportunities for you to embrace the Cross.

Pope John Paul II said some years ago to a Bishop friend of mine to remember that when you embrace the Cross, it’s not an empty Cross but one that full, full, full of Christ on the Cross. He will be your consolation and in embracing him, you become with him, the Good Shepherd, a Christian and a priest who spiritually generates unity.

A third and final point. We were all struck by Pope Leo’s opening words on the Balcony of St. Peter’s Square: “Peace be with you”. These are the words of the Good Shepherd, risen from the dead, on the first Easter Sunday morning. Pope Leo went on to emphasise the importance of peace and building bridges, dialogue, working for justice and reconciliation. In doing so, Pope Leo is wonderfully reminding us, as Pope Francis did so often, of the bigger picture. The Church is not an end in itself, nor are its sacraments or pastoral arrangements or liturgies, no matter how beautiful or well organised. The People of God, the Church, the Body of Christ as a whole has a mission - to be an instrument of unity with God and among humankind, thereby communicating and building peace. In this the Church is to be a light for the nations as our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us. The Word, the sacraments and the Church community life are directed towards the big mission of the Church.

Tim, always remember the bigger picture. Your vocation is a noble one. It is serving a wonderful cause – to be a servant of all of humanity. Through the gift of celibacy, your heart is extended in love to create and build up a universal family. While you serve specific people in a particular parish or context, always keep your heart open to all. May you always think: “I live for universal fraternity”; “my love reaches out to everyone”. You can remember the great example of Pope Francis in his great outreach to everyone, everyone, everyone. Your life, Tim, is to declare to everyone the wonderful deeds of Christ who called our world out of darkness into his marvellous light (cf. 1 Pet 2:9). In this, you are to always be a sign of hope.

With these three points in our soul – move aside, focus on unity through the Cross and remember the bigger picture, let us move now, in the company of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, Mother of Priests, into the ordination rite by singing the “Veni Creator Spiritus”, a hymn calling down the Holy Spirit sung throughout the ages at special events such as an ordination.