The ordination of Fr Peter George Flynn OFM Conv was a joyous occasion. The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fairview Strand, Dublin, was packed with friends, family, brothers, parishioners, and well wishers from across Ireland and beyond.
Presiding was Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Paul Dempsey, who noted that though this was his second ordination Mass it was his 15th ordination – having once led a five-and-a-half-hour ceremony in Nigeria.
Incense filled the church – enough to set off the fire alarm – but it did not shake the reverence of the moment. The Franciscan friars processed in with their soon-to-be ordained brother, praying over him with the laying on of hands, and eventually congratulated him with joyous hugs. That same joy lingered as Fr Flynn gave first blessings to the long line of well-wishers.
In his homily, Bishop Dempsey reflected on the moment of prostration during ordination: “As I lay there with the choir singing the litany, the line from the Gospel came out of the blue: ‘You did not choose me, I chose you.’”
After Mass, Fr Flynn said: “The day has been hectic—but there came a point when I realised it was all in the hands of Christ. And I would now be in the hands of Christ in a very changed way from now on.”
He added: “I started listening to each saint and imagining them interceding for me… It made me realise there are countless people in heaven and on earth praying for me.”
