Humble, awesome pastors

I attended Father Gerard Keane’s funeral mass last Friday afternoon and it hit me emotionally without me quite understanding why. I didn’t know Father Keane that well but he is the last of a group of Irish Jesuits who were the mainstay of the Church of Saint Ignatius during my formative years. I would say my faith and spirituality has been shaped a fair bit by the succinct and reflective sermons of this particular cohort of Jesuit priests that spoke of God’s mercy and forgiveness to me.

He was the last of this cohort of Irish men who gave their lives over to God in order to pastor sheep in a foreign land, making this land so unlike their native land a home. With Father K’s demise, I feel as if a precious piece of my childhood is gone forever and that saddens me. Those were days of innocence and a mundane, much simpler existence. And yet, the fruitfulness Father Christopher spoke of remains although the man has departed. He and his brethren have made many of us Singaporeans devout Catholics who understand the joy of being God’s children. They have given us a sense of belonging. We have experienced a gentle, loving Father’s guidance in our lives. We have sought Him in the silent landscapes of our hearts and met Him. We have found Him in all things, especially the humble, very human man Father K was, who had a heart set on His Father’s heart.

Just this morning I awoke to news that Father Ignatius Huan had lost his battle with cancer in the wee hours of the morning. Again I am saddened greatly. Having had to privilege over the years to attend retreats and seminars facilitated by Father Ignatius, I feel the loss of this humble, gentle, and wise priest. He was such a wonderful teacher and a great example of a man who walked to the beat of the Lord’s drum. He gave me heart to walk the narrow path and be a powerful witness, a sign of contradiction in today’s world: to love as Jesus loved without caring if everyone else thought I am foolish or overly rigid to follow the precepts of Mother Church so wholeheartedly.

In the climate of paedophile priests and priests who behave without integrity and Christian love, I salute priests like Father Keane and Father Ignatius, and I thank God for their lives which have been poured out as an offering to Him. These are men who put their talents to good use, never allowing pride to affect their judgement, and who remained level-headed and humble. They went boldly where few would have trodden. There were huge sacrifices and immense personal costs they undertook willingly. Lonely days and nights were a surety. They were His missionary disciples who have transformed the world and made it a better place. Good and faithful servants!

Thank you dear Father Keane and Father Ignatius. Rest in peace, in eternal rest and perpetual light. Till we meet again.