By ISABELLA McCAFFERTY
The Diocese of Palmerston North celebrated its annual Jubilarians’ Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Tuesday, October 11.
This year’s jubiliarians were Fr Joe O’Sullivan (65 years), Fr Dominic Heslin (60 years), Fr Paul Kerridge (60 years), Fr Joe Grayland (30 years), Fr Anthony Zaw Htun (20 years), Fr Simon Story (20 years). All apart from Fr Heslin were present to celebrate the occasion.
In his homily, Fr Kerridge (Central Hawkes Bay) recalled the story of the cracked pot to illustrate how even our flaws can be used for good. “Sixty years of being a priest has taught me to embrace my flaws. And even more, to rejoice in them.”
Fr Kerridge told those gathered that God lets nothing go to waste, and encouraged all to not be afraid of their own flaws. Sharing his own realisation of this, he said “If I couldn’t see any flaws, I had no need for God. I did it all on my own”. Rather, he reiterated the need to let Christ into our lives and “let him do the work that we are not capable of, and that we were never meant to do”.
Fr Kerridge finished by acknowledging that it was the love of the diocese that has held him together as a priest over the last 60 years; “we’re all cracked and we rely on love . . . to stop us falling apart”.
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