Over these past days, tributes have poured in from every section of society through the media and in person. Last night we experienced a powerful testimony to Fr. Gerry’s contribution to Peace, Reconciliation, Ecumenism. So many of Gerry’s achievements are in the public domain. His great qualities of friendship, humility, kindness have been acknowledged. I won’t attempt to repeat these achievements. There are, however, many aspects of his life that I could share; his love of poetry. His love of long walks in nature. And of course as a Limerick man, he was a hurling and rugby fanatic. But today I would like to share with you something of the last days of Fr. Gerry’s life, which offer us an important insight to who the man was, and what lay at the heart all he did.

Vision:In today’s first reading, we hear God promise to pour his spirit on his people, that they may dream dreams and behold visions. Gerry was a dreamer, an idealist, a visionary. And so I bring us back to last Thursday, when he attended a book launch for which he had written a chapter on Ecumenism.

Gerry’s big dream of course was the ecumenical one. And his Redemptorist brothers here can testify that he missed no opportunity to talk about his dream for unity. Some indeed suspected he was secretly a protestant! Ken Newell last night said that no Catholic priest in Ireland was in so many protestant churches. This fame was both the source of admiration and some harmless fun.

A story is told of the time he was travelling and his car broke down. A local car dealer went to the rescue to discover Gerry had put petrol in a diesel car. His report to the community afterward was, ‘that fella, he might know something about protestants, but he knows nothing about cars!!”

But Gerry’s ecumenical dream was not a loft academic endeavour. In his own words, it was a journey, a pilgrimage, an experience. He likened it once to the great pilgrimage walk of the Camino de Santiago. It’s a long journey but you progress one small step at a time.

If any of you have done that walk in the north of Spain, you will know that feet get blisters. If you focus on your feet, you’ll give up. Rather, the promise of reaching Santiago can keep you focused, allowing you to walk through the problems. In the same way, while pursuing the ecumenical dream, Gerry’s doggedly refused to allow setbacks or conventional wisdom to distract from the goal of peace and unity. This empowered him to cross barriers, to do, literally what others would not dare to do. Sam Burch gave a powerful witness to that last night in describing their visit to the widow of Dennis Taggart, a murdered UDR man on the Shankill in 1986. Those things weren’t done!

Another oft quoted joke amongst ourselves was the quip of a fellow Redemptorist that Gerry Reynolds had both feet firmly planted in mid-air!! Yes, certainly some of Fr. Gerry’s ideas were impractical, but his ecumenical dream lasted the course because it was sustained, not by public opinion or pragmatism, but by something much deeper. It was sustained by Fr. Gerry’s conviction that the unity of the Church of Christ was already a reality, but one that our human and egocentric structures have obscured. His real task was not to bring it about, but to find ways to express it.

One of Fr. Gerry’s spiritual heroes was Fr. Paul Couturier, who was described as “a man who came out of the future.” In that sense, Gerry too came out of the future, and for him the future was ecumenical. If the churches are to witness to the redeeming life, death and resurrection of Christ, then they must witness together. His job, as a pilgrim, was simply to keep walking. He didn’t need to work out every detail but keep his focus on the end goal. Leave the details to God. Thus his great one liner to every question about the details. Don’t worry, let it all unfold!!

Mission:On returning from Dublin last Friday, Fr. Gerry celebrated his last mass, with members of the travelling community. He was tired, but this mass was important to him. He saw a need, a chance to bring people close to God and he willingly responded. Certainly, Gerry had his ecumenical commitments but life and ministry as a Redemptorist was expressed also in the parlours of the monastery, meeting, listening, blessing people, visiting the prisons, meeting families in need. Over these days the same stories are told and retold … how he helped families, his visits to the sick, the little ones, the poor, prisoners. Together with his family, his friends, his redemptorist brothers, these too grieve the passing of their priest, who for some was the very face of God. Indeed, to his own brothers in community, he was that face of Godly kindness, of fun. He loved any excuse to gather with his brothers, and if a drink appeared, it was he who proposed a toast to our health. He made our porridge every morning!!

To this extent, Gerry exemplified St Paul’s instruction to ‘contribute to the needs of others, practice hospitality. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly’

Prayer:Last Friday, after celebrating mass, Fr. Gerry was spotted slipping into the community oratory for quiet prayer. All are called to pray. Some of us struggle with it. Some master the discipline. For Gerry prayer was both a discipline and I suspect the very air he breathed. He was a man who shared God’s vision for unity. He was a man with an eye for the weak. But all this was fuelled by an immense commitment to prayer.

This is the side of Fr. Gerry’s life that mightn’t be so well known. Gerry was an ecumenist, and he deeply loved the other christian churches. But that did not lessen his love for his own church, and its many devotional and mystical treasures.• He loved the Eucharist. He spend hours alone before the blessed sacrament.• He was faithful to the daily prayer of the church.• Mary was for him the great disciple bringing us to her Son. He prayed the rosary.• He memorised the scriptures, especially the psalms and in the course of a meeting my recite one by heart.

Many people over these days have said, ‘he was a walking saint.’ That means different things to different people, but for me, my sense is that we lived in the company of a mystic. Through prayer, Fr. Gerry was plunged daily into the mystery of Triune God. This was the source of his goodness, his kindness, his vision and his dream. His ecumenical work, his outreach to the poor, his life in community were in fact tangible expressions of a God whose will for us all is powerfully singular - Shalom - peace. And in Fr Gerry, St Francis’ prayer became a reality - for an instrument of peace - walked in our midst.

As he lay dying, Fr. Peter Burns said to me … there are worse things than death. It is true, and I have no doubt that Fr. Gerry has been immersed fully into the mystery of his Triune God. He is at peace. No doubt smiling, greeting old friends and perhaps coming up with a few ideas to change heaven! As we open this year of Mercy, we entrust our good brother, Gerry, to the Father with whom there is mercy and fullness of Redemption.

Over these past days, many tributes were paid to Fr. Gerry’s life and contribution to peace and reconciliation. Paul Couurier, whom I mentioned earlier was one of the great influences in Fr. Gerry’s life. On the seats, you received his prayer for Christian Unity, which Fr. Gerry prayed daily. The finest tribute to his work and legacy would be to take this prayer and make it your own. Shalom is the will of God. In the footsteps of Fr. Gerry, we need to walk the journey and let it all unfold. I invite you now to stand and together, we pray for the unity of the churches.