30.09.2012
Two New Priests Ordained in Dublin & Glendalough
Revd Yvonne Ginnelly and Revd Martin O’Connor were Ordained to the Priesthood by Archbishop Michael Jackson in Christ Church Cathedral this afternoon, Sunday September 30.
The cathedral was full of family, friends and well wishers from all over the dioceses and beyond including the parishes of Monkstown and St Ann’s where Yvonne and Martin have served as Deacons and where they continue to serve their titles.
The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Connor, the Right Revd Alan Abernethy. He spoke of the tensions and paradox of Ministry. Drawing on the Readings and the Gospel (Isaiah 61:1–3a; 2 Corinthians 5: 14–19; and John 20: 19–23), he said it was the most amazing joy to be a priest and said that as priests they stand where Christ stands. He reminded Yvonne and Martin that their ministries were not theirs or his or even the Church’s, it was God’s and they were fulfilling His mission by being there for those who need it most.
The Bishop said they must receive the Holy Spirit. “There’s the ultimate paradox and tension in Ordained Ministry. We cannot do it… We must receive the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Recalling he words of a fellow East Belfast native, Van Morrison, “If only I could learn to live in God more”, the Bishop asked Yvonne and Martin to “guard and cherish” their own spiritual lives and to preserve them as that was at the heart of ministry. But he said that this was another of the tensions of ministry as the reality of a life of ministry was that the sole could be neglected. “The inner life, our life with Christ, is the most precious gift we have so guard it and cherish it,” he said.
Bishop Abernethy concluded by urging Yvonne and Martin to be prepared to be brave, to give beyond measure and to be refilled at every Eucharist.
Revd Yvonne Ginnelly is originally from Tullamore, County Offaly. She moved to live and work in Dublin, initially with Damer Court where she attended St George’s and St Thomas’s Church on Cathal Brugha Street. She then became Head of Boarding at Rathdown School where she is in charge of 109 boarders. Her interests include hockey, horse riding and watching polo cross. She is married to Ivan and spent the last year as a deacon in Monkstown Parish where she will continue to serve.
Revd Martin O’Connor is a native of Dublin. He grew up in North Strand Parish and later moved to Coolock where he worshiped in St Doulagh’s. He attended Mountjoy School and then worked in the ESB for 36 years spending most of that time in the IT department. He left under the voluntary severance scheme in 2003 and then worked with Bishops’ Appeal as Education Adviser for seven years. His interests include football, politics and development issues, having been involved in Electric Aid while working with the ESB. He is married to Christine and served his year as a deacon in St Ann’s, Dawson Street, where he will continue to serve.