Institution of the Ministry of Acolyte: 14.03.25
St. Peter & Paul’s Church, Portlaoise @ 7.30pm
Permanent Diaconate Team: Msgr. John McEvoy, Margaret Farrell & Deacon David O’Flaherty
Introduction:
I am very conscious that for many of you this evening and for those tuning in on Portlaoise Parish webcam, this is a regular Lenten Evening Mass offered here in the beautiful surroundings of St. Peter & Paul’s Church, Portlaoise. The Season of Lent is always a renewed invitation to begin afresh.
Ten days ago we were blessed with dust and ashes, did the ashes stick, did the dust remind us of our vulnerability, of our propensity to sin in a broken and bruised world?
Pope Francis as he continues to lead our Church from his hospital bed, reminds us we have a ministry no matter where we find ourselves. And indeed sometimes in sickness and pain, that ministry is all the more prophetic and heroic.
Tonight we gather to confer the Ministry of Acolyte on five men who are currently in formation for the Permanent Diaconate to serve in our diocese.
I welcome John Delaney, John’s wife Fidelma, their children Laura, Shauna, Ciara, Alisha, their grandchildrenNoah, Miya, Callum and John’s mother Kathleen.
I welcome Declan Prendergast, Declan’s wife Bernadette and their sons Conor and Ned.
I welcome Sebastian Kopijka, Sebastian’s wife Malgorzata (Gosia) and their sons Maciej (Mathu) and Tymoteusz (Timothy).
I welcome Michal Mizgala, his wife Justyna and their sons Franciszek and Antoni.
I welcome Jody Callan and his wife Julia.
I welcome all of you here, priests, deacons and people, family and friends, parishioners and those joining on the webcam, as we are all challenged to forgive before coming to the altar and so we pray …
Homily:
Formation is very much a term associated with the modern age. The Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis the seminal document which guides seminary formation, reminds us seminarians beginning formation are very much ‘uncut diamonds’. The document written in 2016 tells us they are “to be formed both patiently and carefully, respecting the conscience of the individual, so that they may shine among the People of God”[1]. For all of us priests present, we remember those early days of formation, and how at sea we were with concepts and methodologies.
Tonight we have before us five men, John, Declan, Sebastian, Michal and Jody, who are undergoing formation for the Permanent Diaconate. They have been on this journey for the past four years, the first one in discernment. There were others with them on that journey, who for different reasons are no longer pursuing the road to Permanent Diaconate but remain hugely engaged and involved in their parish and their faith.
Formation teaches us many things, because we best approach formation in the persona of an ‘uncut diamond’. Often when a former seminarian who later has a very successful career is interviewed, he most likely will reference his days in seminary as the most formative.
The Season of Lent is a formation journey of forty days for all us, the baptised. Formation is critical. Lent allows us to dust ourselves down and prioritise what’s important and what can wait. Tonight’s reading from the prophet Ezekiel followed by the responsorial psalm reminds us of the kind of sacrifice that pleases the Lord. And then Matthew’s gospel stops us in our tracks to the altar at Communion Time, is there someone I must be at peace with first?
Acolyte is not a word in common usage these days. It is defined as someone who assists a priest celebrating Mass, someone who has a part to play in a religious procession. An acolyte is a good companion. Someone who makes the Eucharist their special concern. That concern begins and ends in personal prayer. It continues with the preparation of the altar and the presentation of the gifts at Offertory time. And its further enhanced by ministering at Holy Communion and most importantly bringing Communion, carrying Jesus , to the margins, to the peripheries. I often remind the Permanent Deacons ministering in our diocese and the five of you, still on your formation journey, that the peripheries, the edges, the margins are your special concern. Those we find there may make us uncomfortable, but our presence there is ongoing formation. We never stop being formed. The ‘uncut diamond’ will always need refining.
Taking on the Institution of Acolyte for some of you may be as far as you go in your journey of formation; for others a stepping stone towards Permanent Diaconate. In a world fraught with crises, ranging from global conflicts, economic tariffs and a toxic politic discourse that risks leading to deep societal division; Pope Francis offers hope as the antidote to despair. He frequently underscores that hope is not passive optimism, but an active force that inspires real change. Hope is not a cheap hope. It allows us to dream and dream big.
Tonight I’m inviting John, Declan, Sebastian, Michal and Jody to dream big, become an acolyte and live it to the full. Don’t just see it as a step or a progression to ordination, see it for what it is of itself. Being an acolyte has its own calling. It is not a mere formality on the road to something greater. It is not something to be dispatched with if one is ordained to the Permanent Diaconate. It remains a core part of our baptismal call to service.
This night Pope Francis spends his 28th night in the Gemelli hospital, from his hospital bed he leads our Church, as I mentioned in the introduction we minister where we find ourselves and sometimes in our brokenness, we are ministering with the greatest strength. At a recent Sunday Angelus Address, delivered on his behalf he reflected “I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord”[2]. May all of us allow these days of Lent to teach us how to trust in the Lord much more. And may the five men who are now to just about be instituted as acolytes, grow in their trust in the Lord every day as they fully live out the ministry that is about to be conferred on them.
[1] RFIS, Introduction, pg.1, 2016.
[2] Sunday Audience Address, Sunday 02 March 2025