FAMILY, friends and long-time parishioners flocked to St Stephen’s Cathedral to celebrate with priests celebrating anniversaries at the Jubilee Mass last Friday.
The 18 priests commemorating a major anniversary processed through a packed cathedral.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge celebrated the Mass and spoke about the journey of priesthood in his homily.
“By word and action, these men have followed Christ,” he said.
“They’ve been disciples and as priests have built up the house which is God’s Church.
“They’ve preached the Gospel.
“They’ve celebrated the liturgy of the church with many, many communities of faith in various parts of the diocese and in various parts of the world.”
Archbishop Coleridge said ordination was like signing a blank cheque.
“We don’t realise it’s blank, but it is,” he said.
“It’s only filled in by another hand as the years go on, and as it is filled in by that other hand, we realise our own limitations, our own weakness, our own woundedness – and it’s that moment that is the making of a priestly life.
“… Through the years, we enter more deeply into our poverty as priests.
“But in that experience, we also learn that the God who has called us supplies whatever we need in the most extraordinary way.”
Following Mass, the jubilarian priests had a chance to meet up with their friends and loved ones at a morning tea.
All-up, the 18 priests amount to almost 800 years of service to Brisbane archdiocese.
