Dom Gregory Corcoran, Subprior
Diamond Jubilee of Profession
8 September 1966 – 2026
A little more than sixty years ago, two very young men knocked at the door of our monastery. It was a joy for the young Abbot and the Community, but it soon became quite a job for the Novice Master because these young boys were – to say it nicely – full of energy. Their hearts were burning with zeal for Christ. They wanted to serve the Church. It was the time of the Second Council of the Vatican. A process of aggiornamento had begun. This raised immense hopes among Catholics while being followed with attentive curiosity by Christians of other denominations. Our two young novices had “great expectations” when they sang together, exactly sixty years ago, the Suscipe which you will sing again in a moment: “Suscipe me Domine… Receive me, O Lord, according to your promise and I shall live; and do not disappoint my expectations”.
It was the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, which has been the patronal feast of our Abbey for nearly nine hundred years. The two young monks gave themselves to Christ for the service of this monastic community. And serve they did! The late Dom Cuthbert Johnson was abbot for twelve years. You have been prior for around twenty years. You even were canonical superior of the house for around three weeks. You are still subprior and councillor, and the very young doyen of our family. Something tells me that you have not quite reached retirement age, yet.
Of course, Our Lady has something to do with the sixty years of fidelity for which we give thanks with you today. She is the Mother of all those who are brothers and sisters of Christ. She is at the heart of the mystery of life. Wherever a new life is conceived, a new birth is welcomed, a new child of God joins the communion of God’s loving family, Mary is present. Somehow in the background, she witnesses to the gift of life which comes from our Creator and Father. Whenever a young man gives his life to Christ in monastic life, Mary is present, helping this sacrifice to be life-giving for him, for his community, for the Church and for the world.
We have just heard the Gospel telling us of the long series of generations which lead to Christ. Genealogy at its best is a contemplation of the gift of life coming down from our heavenly Father through human generations. Today, we remember your Dear Parents and we welcome with joy many members of your family. You are certainly good at keeping in touch with your siblings with a mixture of emails and good old landline phone conversations.
You have also many friends: some of your age, a few older than you, many, too, much younger (most of them are too busy to be with us today). There is also the group of those whom you affectionately call “my widows”. You understand the weight of solitude, and you know the comforting power of a shared presence, a warm smile and a kind conversation around a pot of tea, or a chocolate, preferably with a piece of cake.
And you have brothers in monastic life. You remember the fathers and brothers of old. You are good at keeping their memory alive and alert to hand over stories of the old days. These come so naturally in your conversation that the novice master has to explain to newcomers that in spite of the appearances, you did not actually know Dom Delatte, Dom Guéranger or Queen Victoria. Also, you like community life and the constant dialogue of ages and generations which is one of its charms. What can be better than a session of apple-pealing in the cloister when the harvest has been blessed by the Lord?
Above all, you have a Father in heaven. He is never far from your heart. You rely on him with a trust which is getting always more obvious. You have long reached this region of monastic life where the things of God become simpler. We are loved with a divine love which is at the same time immense and very simple. We can be trusting children because the Father’s mercy is without end and His care of every minute.
When Mary was born of St Anne, a new reality appeared in our world. Unknown to all, this little girl was filled with the life of God in such a way that no obstacle coming from sin could hinder the gift of God in her. Her birth announced another birth: the birth of her son Jesus. It spoke, too, of many other births: birth of the Church on the morning of Pentecost; birth of the Christian on the day of her baptism; birth of the monk on the day of his profession. May this day be for you, Dear Fr Gregory, like a new day of birth when you enter anew the mystery of life which comes from the Father, by the grace of our Mother Mary. And may it be followed by as many days as it pleases God, before you are called to that Day of Days which will have no end and for which you long with a heart filled with peace. Amen.
Abbot Xavier