On July 3rd., the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, I had the privilege of preaching the sermon at Ordination to the Priesthood of the Revd. Carl Williams in the Catherdal Church of the Holy Trinity, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

A slightly edited version of that sermon follows.

*** It is a pleasure being here in Trinidad after an absence of 36 years! The long absence had nothing to do with not liking the place or its people, for quite the opposite is the case.

But rather it had to do with lack of opportunity, until now! So when the chance came about to be here this time I did not have to be asked twice!! Though my reason for being here has a lot to do with Carl Williams, of course, yet there is a slightly selfish element to it that I readily confess.

I have thought long and hard about what to say on this very special occasion in the life of Carl Williams and the people of the Cathedral congregation.

In the end I decided that it might be helpful for me to speak of the priests who have influenced my life and the bearing that might have upon Carl as he enters the priestly life.

There are three people who played a significant role in the shaping of my understanding and practice of Priesthood.

(1). When I was a teenager there was an Irish Priest who was Residentiary Canon of the Cathedal in Bermuda, William or Liam Manning by name.

He was a quiet, gentle man, of great strength and integrity; a man of prayer, who brought about a number of significant changes in the church in Bermuda in a very quiet manner.

At that time the Church life was divided along racial lines.

This meant segregated seating in church, separate choirs and Sunday schools and even separate seating registers for such things as baptisms, weddings and funerals.

At the Cathedral he changed all that, slowly and quietly.

He started an interracial group of servers, of which I became a member.

He was a fine parish priest, not least because he gave me a lot of time.

He was never too busy to listen to my teenage concerns and to advise appropriately, whether in the confessional or outside.

We talked of many things including what I intended doing with my life in terms of a career. Eventually he asked the crucial question, "Have you thought about being a priest?'' Since I had, I then went away and thought and prayed about it again.

On January 27th, 1961, I knew that this was what God wanted of me with absolute clarity. No real doubts about that since! Canon Manning, who later became a Bishop in South Africa, was a superb teacher, pastor and passionate lover of God and people. I rejoice and thank God for him.

He is never far from my thoughts and prayers. I am so happy that I was able to see him in South Africa the year before he died.

(2.) At Codrington College, where I did my theological training, there were many who made important impressions on me, but none more so than Fr. Anselm Genders, the Principal. Prin, as he was called behind his back was and still is a thought ascetic man who taught all of us valuable lessons.

The one I would mention today has to do with vocation.

I cannot forget his penchant for quoting the Scripture: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you'' John 15:16. This was by way of reminding us, lest we got too cocky or began to think our calling was all about us, that in fact the choice was not ours, but God's. We merely responded to the call of God.

Our sense of vocation had, over time, to be tested and eventually confirmed by the Church before we could even dream of being ordained.

Bishop Genders, as he now is, was quite clear about all of this and would tell us frequently that because we had come to Codrington it did not mean that we were going to be ordained.

At the time this was somewhat disconcerting, but on reflection absolutely right! There were no guarantees! (3.) I served my title in a mining villiage in Yorkshire, and my Vicar was called Milton Lindley.

I think of him every day as I vest for Mass and say the prayer as the chasuble is put on: "O Lord you have said my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Enable me to bear it so that I may obtain your grace.

This has special meaning, for as the preacher at my ordination as priest, he used as his text the words of Our Lord from St. Matthew's Gospel: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and burden is light.'' Matt. 11:29. Fr. Lindley insisted on two things of his curates that we failed to do at or peril. 1) To be present at the daily offices, which were always sung to plainsong. Only illness or some good cause was acceptable for absence from the offices. 2) To visit the people of the parish. "Keep your numbers up'' was his catch phrase, and every Monday at our staff meeting we had to give an account of the previous week's work.

If the number of visits fell below a certain level, he would want to know why!! From Fr. Lindley I learned not only the supreme value of the daily offices, but also the importance of keeping in touch with the people in my care.

It seems like an extraordinary coincidence that all the priests of whom I have spoken have so much in common, though they each turn up at different times in my life; I see the hand of God in that! They all are to varying degrees passionate about God, about the faith and about sharing that faith with others.

They also had at the heart of their lives a spirituality that was centred on the divine office and the Mass.

That my spirituality reflects a similar pattern is no accident.

Carl, this is a day which you have looked forward to for a long time.

This is a day of which you have prayed and worked; it is a day when you begin a new and vital ministry within the Body of Christ.

You are fulfilling the solemn and holy vocation you have felt called to by God; to be priest in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, There are doubtlessly many aspects of the priestly life on which I could well speak at this time; such as the work to be done as a reconciler, healer, teacher and preacher.

However, there is but one that I will comment upon now, and briefly.

Be a man of prayer, that is, say your prayers every day, keep in touch with the God who created, redeemed and sanctified you and all men.

This will mean making time, in the midst of a life that will be often busy and demanding, to say the daily offices as well as giving time to personal prayer.

I take for granted that regular and prayerful celebration of the holy Eucharist will feature prominently in your routine.

Unless you are so centred and disciplined in your spirituality, nothing and I do mean nothing, you do will have much subtance, though it may well so appear.

For if your life of prayer goes by the board, you will be functioning in your own inadequate strength, rather than that of God.

I am rather fond of some words of the saintly Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, who writes in his book The Christian Priest Today: "We are called, near to Jesus and with Jesus and in Jesus, to be with God with the people on our heart.'' This sums up splendidly for me what the priest is to do and to be; once this aspect of his life is right everything else will fall into place.

-- Bermuda Diocesan News, August, 1999 Bishop Ewen Ratteray