Golden Jubilee Mass of Thanksgiving
St. Colman's Cathedral
Cobh
Celebrant: Bishop Wm Crean
Concelebrant Jubilarians: V. Rev Anthony Wickham, Canon Donal Roberts and Canon Donal O'Mahony
21 June 2026
Are we there yet! Are we there yet! Is the instinctive question of the child who finds the journey long and can’t wait to get to the promised destiny.
If the truth is acknowledged, that’s how many of us live our lives. It seems like we’re impatient with the present and can’t wait for the next new happening. It’s understandable. It is also why we build into life formal moments of pausing to take stock and remember; be they anniversaries, birthdays or jubilees like this moment. Milestones are what it says on the tin – markers on the road travelled and whatever stretch that lies ahead.
This evening is such a milestone as Jubilarians. But not just our personal journeys as individuals but for our families from whom we have received so much by way of prayer, support and friendship. We remember our parents with a profound sense of gratitude. May they know the reward of their goodness.
This evening is also a milestone moment for those with whom we have served as colleagues and co-workers and through whom so many lives were enriched, healed and made whole again. Our thanksgiving together is a fulsome expression of acknowledgement of God’s providence and blessing at work in and through us. We acknowledge and appreciate your good wishes and prayer.
Fifty years in the grand scheme of things is not a long time but for most of humanity it is a big chunk of the life journey. It prompted the Poet, Patrick Kavanagh, to put pen to paper on his experience of times passing. His reflection is in one of his lesser remembered poems, “Song at Fifty.” You know Patrick Kavanagh was a cranky man for a lot of his life, but he mellowed with time and that’s reflected in his “Song at Fifty.” He, looking back, lets go of his younger fiery self to embrace a sense of contentment and grace; through a deeper appreciation of the present moment, and recognising the beauty of the banal and ordinary of everyday.
It begins,
“It came a pleasant surprise
To find experience
Where I had feared that I
Had no such currency…
So I take my cloak of gold
And stride across the world,
A knight of chivalry
Seeking some devilry.”
Let me not lead you to believe that this group of Jubilarians are in search of devilry! Merely that we share in Kavanagh’s new-found joy, serenity and contentment that comes from 50 years of life experience in ministry.
Speaking of that experience of 50 years, spanning the final quarter of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st century, it has been akin to a rollercoaster ride. Thrilling, at times, nerve testing and damn scary too. To say we’ve lived through interesting times is an understatement. The shift in the spiritual dynamic of Ireland in those 50 years has yet to be unpacked because it is still unfolding before our eyes and indeed within our lives.
For those in priestly ministry the shock and shame of the abuse scandals have been a dark cloud through which no light can penetrate. We have been tried and tested in the fire of opprobrium. It has purified and refined us. It has made us more humble in our approach and given us an appreciation of the deep hurt and suffering of the victims of sexual abuse. It has weakened our prophetic voice and led to perceptions of irrelevancy and redundancy
Sadly, it has led to the rejection of the institution of the Church by many who professed Christian faith. Taking the long view of history, it would be tragic if it leads to the rejection of Christian faith and belief. In our current situation our greatest treasure is our long and deep heritage of Christian faith. No one can deny it has made and shaped us to be the people we are.
If we abandon this legacy as many have done and actively seek to suppress its vision and wisdom from national life as many are doing, thinking we can do so without consequence and loss we are deluding ourselves. If we abandon the fundamental human values rooted in the dignity and worth of the right to life, then inevitably, so much more of the edifice of society will crumble ‘round this and future generations.
My friends,
It is this fundamental conviction that motivates our involvement in schools and the work of renewal in parishes and pastoral areas. We are a people of hope. We try to take to heart the words of Peter (1 Peter 4:10).
“Each one of you have received a special grace
So, like good stewards responsible for all these
different graces of God put yourselves at the service of others.”
To celebrate this jubilee with you is a great joy and privilege for us and for all those in the ministry marking anniversaries. We thank you from our hearts for your prayers and support. Our lives have been blessed, though often marked by sin and failure which we acknowledge and ask forgiveness.
For a young person to say yes to priesthood or religious life calls for personal courage and mature faith. Please remember them in your prayer.
No matter what calling in life we have taken according to our best lights, the fruits of so much of our efforts we will never see. Still, we continue to plant seeds in hope.
To conclude might I borrow from a reflection attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, now saint….
“It helps now and then to step back and take the long view… We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work…
This is what we are about.
We plant seeds that one day will grow
We water seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise
we may never see the results …
We are prophets of a future not our own”
For what has been we give thanks
We go forward in faith with our gaze fixed
on the horizon of hope for what
lies ahead
Amen
