It was on 16 September 1975 – I remember it because it was a week before my 21st birthday – that I stood at the threshold of the Mill Hill Missionary College in the Netherlands to begin the first stage of my formation journey towards the missionary priesthood.

I still remember feeling very apprehensive: Have I made the right choice? What if I don’t like it or it doesn’t like me? Looking back, it was a very risky business but with the adventurous spirit of youthfulness I was surprisingly unfazed. ‘The Lord has brought me thus far and will not abandon me now,’ was my predominant thought.

I joined a group of eight first year students in a community of about 30. It was probably akin to joining the army in many ways; people thrown together from various parts of the world – different and sometimes difficult characters – as diverse a group as you could imagine, but all gathered for a common purpose.

All going well, it would be six years of formation before ordination which at the time seemed an age. It took time but with the help of the Lord, and my fellow students within the rhythm of seminary life, I settled into what was to become one of the happiest periods of my life.

I discovered who I really was in the sight of God and others, and what I had to offer and what needed developing. The best formation moments you can have are when your fellow students tell you the truth about yourself, which can be hard to hear at times!

Our studies in philosophy, theology, scripture, psychology, spirituality and several other subjects, opened my mind to a world of new possibilities. It was a very privileged time, which I wish everyone could experience.

Friendship with the Risen Christ is mirrored in our friendship with others. For people of faith, one informs the other. Over the following three years in the missionary college, I forged friendships that I still enjoy to this day. And although I have lost contact long ago with the majority of my fellow students, I think that if I met any of them tomorrow it would be possible to catch up very quickly. I am sure this is felt by all of us in all sorts of situations. Sharing a common experience binds us together in a way that outlives regular contact.

In writing this short description of my first encounter with seminary life, I hope I have conveyed something that is absolutely vital for ministry and mission: and that is the gift of joy.

‘The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus’, Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium. ‘Joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes but always endures … our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.’

Pope Leo recently reminded us that ‘to be enthused by the joy of the Gospel is not just for priests, but for everyone, and so we can speak of happy Christians, happy disciples, and happy missionaries.’

We cannot force joy into our hearts especially when we face seemingly hopeless situations, but I have witnessed for myself the joy that people can draw from friendship with God particularly when this is celebrated as a community.

The presence of a church building in areas of conflict, oppression and hopelessness can bring joy into people’s lives. The church becomes a sign of God’s presence among a suffering people, and it is within its walls that people will be given the courage to continue to witness to that presence outside.

In this country where there is an excess of church buildings, this sounds somewhat strange to our ears but go to Myanmar – or a refugee camp in Thailand, or an oppressed community in Pakistan, or a township in South Africa, or a tiny island of Catholics in a sea of adversity – we will hear this message loud and clear. Their joy springs from God’s presence among them and they need to celebrate this.

When our joy is tested remember the promise of Jesus: ‘I am with you till the end of time’.

When our joy is not authentic, we take time to refresh our friendship with Jesus with all our masks off.

When our joy is hidden, we pray for the courage to risk all to share it with others for the sake of the kingdom.

An when our joy is genuine, gentle and germane, just look around and see the world changing for the better before our very eyes.

Behold, the kingdom of God is close at hand.

Fr Tony