19 Sunday Ordinary Time, 7 August 2011, Matthew 14:22-33

Fear

Gathering with you this morning for the first time is a privilege for me. We are, all of us, making a change. I have just moved here yesterday as Fr Kevin moved out to Rooskey. For the past year I have served as chaplain of IT Sligo, and it was with some surprise that I learned that I was to become curate here in Roscommon town. I am glad to be here with you and I pray that our getting to know each other over the time we have together will be mutually beneficial to us all.

I would like to offer you some brief biographical details – I am the youngest priest of the diocese. I was ordained in 2008 in my home parish of Riverstown, at the Church of the Assumption, Sooey, Co. Sligo. Before that, I was in Maynooth for seven years from 2001-2008, preparing for ordination to priesthood. And, before that again, I spent three years at IT Sligo studying Civil Engineering, which I still love.

I was educated at Summerhill College in Sligo, and completed my leaving cert there in 1998.
My hobbies include all things automotive, especially cars. For a number of years I volunteered as a marshall at the Sligo stages of the Circuit of Ireland Rally. And, in my teenage years I was a keen cyclist, winning an All-Ireland medal in the process, even if you wouldn't think it to look at me now!

Fear is an incredible thing. It has both positive and negative effects in our lives. It can save us from falling off a cliff, but it can also paralyse us and even stop us from taking the step that may sometimes be necessary to save ourselves.

Fear is what Mothers and Fathers drill into their children to stop them putting their hand into a fire. And yet, fear of water can paralyse a child trying to learn to swim.

Fear has both positive and negative effects on us.

Fear speaks to the Church that we find ourselves part of today. And, while we feel afraid of what is happening to our Church, we must also not allow our fear to paralyse us from taking the necessary steps to save ourselves.

It seems to me, from our gospel passage today, that the core activity of the Christian, when faced with fear, is to rely on God. And be reliance on God I don't mean that we ignore what is happening around us. What I mean is that we will find it most difficult to interpret the 'signs of the times' with 'eyes of faith' if we are not people of prayer.

Relying on God means placing our trust in God.

Relying on God means trusting that even in the midst of what can seem like a difficult and painful experience of truth, God is there. God is in the painful discoveries that we are making about our Church. And God is the reason that we continue to be people of faith.

Like the disciples out on the lake, we find ourselves afraid and overwrought, even sinking. And yet, all the while, Jesus is saying to us: "Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid."

I look forward to getting to know you all. Please pray for me as I get to know my new parish and community.