The Tribune

PARISHIONERS from all walks of life, and friends from abroad, filled to overflowing St Anselm’s Catholic Church earlier this month to celebrate with Monsignor Preston Moss his 50th anniversary of ordination to the Catholic priesthood. The parish church, nestled in the heart of Fox Hill, was also celebrating its 80th year.

Msgr Moss was ordained “a priest at a time when our church had undertaken the difficult challenge of renewing itself,” Archbishop Patrick Pinder, who delivered the homily, told the congregation on June 4. “This all followed in the wake of, and according to, the mandate of a phenomenon we know as the Second Vatican Council.

“The waves of renewal,” said the Archbishop, “affected different people in different ways. In those challenging days of this renewal a promising, young Bahamian presbyterate was almost completely lost. From among them only one Bahamian priest out of seven remained. And he remained for 50 years!

“But those years,” continued the Archbishop, “especially the earlier ones, could not have been easy for the one young priest who remained. There must have been questions and criticisms and perhaps even words and gestures of disrespect from friend and foe. No doubt during that painful passage when all left and he alone remained, young Fr Preston must have sought solace and comfort and wisdom in Sacred Scripture. No surprise he would be drawn to words like these:

‘Consider the generations long past and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken? Has anyone called upon him and been ignored? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful: forgives sins and saves in time of trouble.’ (Sirach 2:10-11).

“Again, these words are the narrative of a vocation to the priesthood which has lasted 50 years. That is longer than any other Bahamian Catholic priest of this Archdiocese. His ministry, his commitment, his endurance, his perseverance is Sacred Scripture proclaimed eloquently in human flesh,” said the Archbishop.

“Monsignor Moss became a Catholic as a teenager. He brought to the Church many talents which would flourish in his ministry. He is a man of enormous compassion. He possesses an exquisite sense of pastoral judgment. He is a marvellous preacher. That is pretty well-known. What is perhaps less well known is that he is a very fine musician. He is also an excellent cook. Indeed, Msgr Moss is a connoisseur of many things, many things, especially vacations,” the Archbishop said.

Msgr Moss told of the moment when he first considered a vocation. He said when being instructed to become a Catholic in 1956, he found himself one evening at St Francis Cathedral looking at Fr Brendan Forsyth and Fr Prosper “instructing us in the faith and the thought came to me that if these men could leave their home to come and serve our people, why can’t I?”

He said that a few weeks ago, on April 24, just after noon, he was called to visit a parishioner who was seriously ill. “After ministering the Sacraments to her,” said Msgr Moss, “and as I was getting into my car I was suddenly overwhelmed with an awesome gratitude. With tears welling up within me I found myself saying to the Lord, ‘I am grateful to you for having made me a priest. I am grateful that you have sustained me there 50 years and did not cut me down in my weakness or my sin, but allowed me to go on ministering.’ There came before my eyes the love of God’s goodness and the people He had put in my life to help me along. I asked for the grace to complete whatever His will is for me.

“As I returned home and prayed the midday prayer, from Psalm 22, I was again overcome with gratitude when I prayed the words of the psalmist, ‘Yes, it was you who took me from the womb, entrusted me to my mother’s breast. To you I was committed from my birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”

He said it was this experience that framed for him the context of how he was to celebrate his jubilee. “It’s all about God’s most gracious love in calling me to share in His Son’s priesthood and to serve our people. It’s about the love I have received from God, from those who have prepared me, gone before me and inspired me, and the love and prayers I have received from you which enable me to respond and to persevere. My grandmother told me after being ordained a deacon in 1964: ‘Junior, you’ve put your hand to the plough. Ask the Lord to keep it there even when it bleeds.’ I thank God for those who have gone before me. I thank you all.”

Msgr Moss said that the awesome grace given him “has been the tremendous privilege to have served the people” to whom he belonged and loved.

Archbishop Pinder pointed out that “we preach much more convincingly by our actions than by our words alone. It is good to know the priest. It is essential though to know Christ whose minister the priest is. I believe Monsignor Preston Moss has been a rare and worthy example to us in this regard. For that reason and for many others, there is this great outpouring of love, admiration, appreciation and gratitude today.

“What is the value of his example in the life of our country today? We live in a democracy. But a democracy is not merely a machine we can set on automatic and allow to do its work properly. No, a democracy is a community of persons. For it to work well, for it to flourish, requires that its citizens live certain virtues all the time. Among those virtues are honesty, hard work, civility, respect for law, respect for life, respect for time, commitment and even sacrifice.

“You can develop your personal score-card to measure how well you do at these virtues. If you observe them, you strengthen our democracy. If you avoid them, you weaken our democracy. Whatever you do will have its effect good or bad for all of us to experience,” said the Archbishop.