Find your garden of prayer

Archbishop Emeritus Rivas to Fr Gregg Durham

By Kaelanne Jordan

mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org

“There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist.” With these words, Archbishop Emeritus Robert Rivas OP set the spiritual tone for the ordination of Rev Br Gregg Jude Durham O Carm to the priesthood on Saturday, May 24. The St Joseph RC Church overflowed with reverence and joy as the Carmelite brother was ordained into a vocation that Archbishop Rivas described not as a career, but as “a call, a way of life—not a job. A state of being, not just a function. A permanent, lifelong commitment, not a temporary style of service. An identity, not just a role.”

“We can act like priests, minister as priests, preach as priests—because first and foremost, we are priests. Being comes before action,” Archbishop Rivas underscored.

Reflecting on what it means to live this vocation fully, the Archbishop shared a timeless piece of pastoral advice from the late Archbishop Anthony Pantin, words he’s carried with him throughout his own 54 years of priesthood: “Brothers, there are three things I want to say to you,” the late archbishop once said. “Three words: kindness, kindness, kindness.”

“Always be kind to your people and remember—the people come first. You cannot go wrong with kindness,” Archbishop Rivas said.

He emphasised how deeply those words have shaped his ministry and urged Rev Gregg to carry that same spirit into his priesthood. “People remember priests long after they have passed, or may have changed from one parish to another, for their kindness, availability, and care,” he said. “The two qualities I have noticed that make a priest a true servant of his people are kindness and compassion. When we are kind, compassionate, and selfless in our service of others, we touch their lives—and we begin to smell like the sheep.”

Archbishop Rivas then encouraged Fr Gregg to root his priesthood in Carmelite spirituality, grounded in prayer, contemplation, and community. “When a Carmelite brother is ordained, he has the advantage of the support of a community of brothers, sharing a common charism which includes prayer, community, and service,” he said.

The Archbishop beseeched Fr Gregg to “find your Carmel—your garden of prayer, solitude, and contemplation. Your Carmel is your well from which you must drink and grow in holiness.” He added, “…holiness is the most beautiful face of the Church. The best of what you are going to give as a priest will come from that well of grace.”

He added that saints from the Carmelite tradition were surely rejoicing: “Mary and Joseph, Elijah and Elisha, Teresa of Avila—your favourite—John of the Cross and John Vianney are all smiling right now, and their joy is mixed with ours.”

Following the ordination rite, the Very Reverend Mario Esposito O Carm, Prior Provincial of the St Elias Province, offered remarks of gratitude and encouragement on behalf of the Carmelite community.

He told Fr Gregg that the Carmelite Order expects “an ontological change in you—almost that you will be unrecognisable—but I don’t think that’s what will happen,” he said with a smile.