The
following is the text of the homily given by Bishop Martin Drennan on
the occasion of the mass of thanksgiving marking his retirement, which
took place in Galway Cathedral on 6 November 2016.In 1850 American writer Nathaniel Hawthorns published a story call the ‘The Great Stone Face’.
It is about a gigantic and noble face which nature had carved on the side of a mountain overlooking a village. An old legend said that one day one of the villagers would come to resemble that majestic and saintly Sone Face. A young man from the village had a special longing for such a person to show up. He was so fascinated by the face that he spent many of his leisure hours gazing at it, seeing there peace, strength and compassion. It reminded him of God. Time passed and the young man became an old man. One day the villagers were stunned when they realised that his saintly face had become the exact resemblance of the great Stone Face.
We become what we pray, become what we see, what we gaze at. If we see only what is negative we become negative. If we see what is positive then we become positive. If we gaze at God we will become God-like. If we look on the face of God and desire the peace we see there, he will enable us to be merciful.
Today’s gospel asks us to look on God as a God who gives us life now and at the other side of death. It is not a stone face that we gaze at but a face rich in mercy, life and peace. For the past eleven years we have been helping one another to see that face of God and to become what eyes of faith let us see there. Through prayer and working together we become blessing for each other. So today is a time to give thanks for what has been, not a time for regret because it is over. During the past year Pope Francis has been reminding us to see God as a God of tender compassion. In his wisdom the Pope has highlighted the beauty of the mercy of God and the need of our world for that gift.
Where is that great gift most needed today? A few examples may help. When an alcoholic says that everyone talks to him about his drinking and no one ask him about his thirst, he is alerting us to what happens when truth and mercy become separated. Truth is important. Stated bluntly it can sound harsh, but spoken in compassion it opens the way for change. If truth is cut off from its gospel roots it loses its beauty.
Truth needs mercy if it is to be at its best. Likewise, justice needs to be tempered by mercy if it is to keep its gospel flavour.
Shortly after I was ordained priest I came into contact with an elderly priest who had a gift of finding a good word to say about every parishioner who died. In some instance a bit of genius was required. I recall his skill when a young man who had caused trouble, and more trouble in the parish, was killed in an accident. At the funeral Mass the sermon was short, but the relatives were pleased with the message, ‘he wasn’t always as bad as he sometimes was’. It was clever, it was true, it was justice as he expected God would dispense it. Justice and mercy need to go hand in hand.
All of this deserves a bit of thought because in today’s Ireland we are running the risk of separating great values like truth, justice and equality from their gospel roots and letting them to be experienced as harsh, cold realities. In recent times we have been hearing much about equality in our society. We can expect more debate on that important topic. Yes, we are all equal before God, equal and with different gifts.
The gospel fosters equality that respects difference, rejoices in difference, an equality that is compassionate. In short, truth, justice and equality are wonderful ideals. When joined to mercy that are immensely more humane, more inspiring. In the gospel message we have a priceless treasure to offer to the world.
The oil tycoon, John Paul Getty, had a simple formula for success in life. Three things are needed; rise early, work hard and strike oil. When we get older we tend not to rise as early as before, not to work as hard as we once did, but we can still strike oil. Every time we connect with the face of God and he fills us with this peace, his strength, his mercy, we have struck oil. When we become more like God we have struck oil.
When my face reminds another of the face of God, I’ve struck oil. Our best thanks to God is to continue to seek his face, to become what we see, to remind others of God and inspire them to long to see his face.
My formula will be: don’t work too hard; don’t rise too early; but make sure you strike oil.