Pentecost Sunday
Ordination Mass of Rev. Tiernan Burke
St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh
24 May 2026
My friends,
The eminent German Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, when speaking of living the Christian life in these times observed that,
“The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he/she will not exist at all.” Suggesting to us that intentional living of the Christian life will call for believers to be people of reflection and prayer. In a culture that continually catechizes us into perpetual sequence of stimulation and distraction, we will require a contemplative mind and centred prayer to stay in touch with the essence of the “message of Christ in all its richness,” which Paul always prayed might find home in us. (Col: 3:16)
The Christian of the future will be a mystic or not exist at all – it is a sobering thought but one worth considering deeply on this Ordination Day of Tiernan Burke, our brother in Christ, who today having reflected deeply, prayed fervently and prepared diligently over many years has been nominated and accepted for Ordination to the Priesthood. It is a source of deep joy for us all that he has made this journey in faith to conclude with his joyful acceptance into the Presbyterate of the Diocese of Cloyne.
This journey to Priesthood Tiernan has not made alone. He himself, has articulated eloquently his gratitude to so many in his message of thanks in today’s booklet. For Tiernan and indeed for all of us who have made this journey before him, we acknowledge the formation and example of our families and the communities in which we grew up, in which we found support and encouragement for the vocation we felt called to. That same support and encouragement is urgently in need today especially in times when priesthood can be perceived as a waste of a fuller life.
The priesthood is in truth an extraordinary vocation. It is a progressive personal immersion into the mystery of Divine Providence at work in the heart and soul of the one who answers the call. Through this immersion in the ways of God ones very person becomes an agent of grace, comfort and inspiration way beyond our imagining or hopes.
In that sense alone, the priesthood, a ministry embodied in the person of the priest is a divine mystery beyond our understanding yet is indispensable to the life of the Church. It is therefore understandable when communities or parishes almost mourn the absence of ‘their’ priest. it’s a loss that’s intangible and beyond words.
My friends, Tiernan is well aware from his formation of the challenges any joys that are before him as he takes up his ministry as priest. the context for his ministry is a culture with deep Christian roots but roots which are being tested and often torn by the sheer pace of change wrought by global factors by way of economics, politics and technology – all reflected in the concerns ‘round the impact of Artificial Intelligence.
Tomorrow the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, publishes his 1st encyclical Magnifica Humanitas which is dedicated to the protection of the human person in the age of Artificial Intelligence – which is no longer just a subject for moral/ethical reflection but a reality that runs through the life of the Church itself - its communications, its educational institutions, its doctrinal processes, its diplomacy. To pretend otherwise would be a denial. Leo XIV is not pretending.
My friends, you will appreciate that the choice of this Pentecost Sunday for Tiernan’s Ordination is a deliberate choice to engage intensely with the spiritual dynamic of this Easter Season. The essence of the parting at the Ascension was the invitation to mission to the world.
Why are you men of Galilee standing there looking into the sky?... Go therefore make disciples of all the nations… Baptize them … Teach them… and know I am with you always.
As the Father, I send you, receive the Holy Spirit. Through his Spirit, Christ is united to all who acknowledge him as Lord, and in whose hearts he lives through faith. In the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, “Only by his own presence in us in this way could he give us the confidence to cry out, Anna, Father and make it easy for us to grow in holiness and through our possession of the all-powerful Spirit fortify us invincibly against evil.”
For all generations the threshold is through our baptism into Christ, in the context of family, parish and the wider community of faith. It is an immense challenge to cultivate a deeper understanding of the sacred and its importance in persona life and in society. Currently, we are drawing from the reservoir of Christian Spirituality of our forebears. We, with our neglect of the sacred and the spiritual, risk becoming an increasingly sterile and vacuous culture driven solely by ambition and acquisition.
“There are a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit: there are all sorts of service to be done but always to the same Lord…
The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.” (1Cor 12)
Tiernan, your many gifts have been given to you for a good purpose. Your call to Priesthood gives you the responsibility to exercise these gifts in the service of his people and to do so in a spirit of the love and generosity of the Good Shepherd. Your call therefore is immeasurably deeper than that of a spiritual functionary, as the world might look upon it rather to be an instrument at the service of Divine Providence for others.
In the words of today’s Instruction,
“Share with all mankind the word of God you have received with joy. Meditate on the law of God, believe what you read, teach what you believe and put into practice what you teach. Let the doctrine you teach be true nourishment for the people of God.”
Your ministry will perfect the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful by uniting it to Christ’s sacrifice which is offered sacramentally through your hands know what you are doing and imitate the mystery you celebrate.
Remember always the example of the Good Shepherd who came not to be serve but to serve, and to seek out and rescue those who were lost.
