Homily at Ordination to the Priesthood of Rev. Padraig Hawkins
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Norwich
12 noon on 9 July 2011

Dear Padraig,

The love with which you are surrounded today is palpable – the love of family and friends, the love of those with whom you have been studying at Oscott, the love of the presbyterate of the Diocese and beyond, and, above all, the love of the local Church in the Diocese of East Anglia and, yes, of its Bishop, Michael*, who with you is at the heart of our prayers today.

Surrounded by the love of this local Church and through this local Church and its Bishop, you are called to share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ in a particular way. As the words of the Preface express so richly, “With a brother’s love Christ chooses you to share his sacred ministry by the laying on of hands. Christ appoints you to renew in his name the sacrifice of our redemption as you set before his family his paschal meal. He calls you to lead his holy people in love, nourish them by his word, and strengthen them through the sacraments. You are to give your life in his service and for the salvation of his people as they strive to grow in the likeness of Christ and honour him by their courageous witness of faith and love.”

Of course, you are not called to do this alone. Fundamental is your communion with your Bishop and his successors so that you exercise this priestly ministry as a principal co-worker of the Bishop. As the Lord shared the spirit of Moses’ leadership with seventy others (Numbers 11:11-12, 14-17, 24-25), so the priest shares with the ministry of the Bishop through whom Christ continues his work as Teacher, Priest and Shepherd. Hence the importance of the Promise of Obedience – to listen attentively and be attuned to the Bishop’s vision and direction for the priestly ministry.

If the communion of the Bishop with his priests is fundamental, then in that communion there must be an openness to the initiative and will of God the Father made incarnate in Jesus Christ. As Paul writes, “The love of God overwhelms us ……. It is all God’s work – his new creation – God’s work of reconciliation in Christ (2 Cor 5:14-20) – Christ who in the Gospel seals his relationship with Peter in his threefold acceptance of Peter’s love and in his commissioning of Peter to look after his sheep and to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17).

Yes, you are called to be an ambassador of Christ’s love and life poured out on the cross, an ambassador of his word of peace and reconciliation and forgiveness, a minister of unity.

And in the service of his people you are called to be a friend of Christ. In his homily on the sixtieth anniversary of his own ordination to the priesthood, on the Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict reflected on that friendship with Christ as priest – “Christ grants me the almost frightening faculty to do what only he, the Son of God, can say and do – I forgive you your sins. He wants me, with his authority to speak in his name, I forgive – not just words but an action rooted in his passion on the cross. He entrusts to me the words of consecration in the Eucharist. He trusts me to proclaim his word, to explain it aright, and to bring it to people of today – no longer servants but friends – the entire programme of a priestly life – wanting the same things as Christ and rejecting the same things as Christ.

Padraig, moments before your priestly ordination I have spoken of God’s initiative in all this. I am sure that you are conscious of God’s guiding hand, leading you to respond to his call within the family and on the path to and through your seminary training. Be assured that God will continue to lead you in his ways, in exciting and unexpected ways as his priest.

I have spoken of your special friendship with Christ as you become an alter Christus at the table of his word and sacraments. I have spoken of your communion with the local Church and with your Bishop. All this is God’s gift and not ours. For this reason, sustain your life of prayer. Keep it locked into the days and weeks and months and years of priesthood when the demands from all directions will be considerable.

Make time always for prayer. Make time for family and friends, especially priest friends, and make time for yourself so that you may be a strong and rounded co-worker with the Bishop, and share in the ministry of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve, and to seek out and rescue the poor and the lost.

Padraig, may God bless you all the days of your priestly life.

+ Rt. Rev. Peter Doyle

Bishop of Northampton

*Webmaster's note: Bishop Michael Evans, who had hoped to be present at this ordination, had suffered a severe stroke two days beforehand, and died two days afterwards. May God grant rest to his soul. One of Fr Padraig's first actions as a priest was to minister to his Bishop in hospital.