Fr Ron Wallis, an ordained Anglican priest who has come to the Catholic Church under the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, made his Final Profession in the Third Order of Carmelites. Fr Paul Cahill (Prior Provincial) was the celebrant of the Mass and received Fr Ron's Profession. Fr Paul was accompanied by Marion Haigh who represented Christine Wade (Moderator).
Daphne Smith, secretary of the community, sent the following report:
Mother Nature decided once again to flood Rockhampton. The internet, and phones were down. O Yes! We had it all, and then we learned that Fr Paul Gurr OCarm had broken a leg and Christine Wade was not in the best of health. Colleen, our Formator, was ready to take off and live in Elijah’s cave for the rest of her life! It seemed we just had everything against us. Then we were told that our Provincial, Fr Paul Cahill OCarm, would be coming for Fr Ron's Profession accompanied by Marion Haigh, a member of the Formation Team. We breathed a sigh of relief - at last we could start making arrangements.
We met up at one of the local restaurants to chat and enjoy the food, but mainly we wanted to get to know Fr Paul and Marion and make the final arrangements for Fr Ron's Profession.
Paul Eckel asked Fr Paul and Marion if they would like to meet our oldest member, Mavis Crane, who is 93 and housebound. She is a beautiful and holy lady.
We all agreed to meet again that night for Mass at St Marys Church. Ahh! It felt good just to up and leave, knowing we didn’t have to do the washing up!
Being the month of May Fr Ron wanted to start the Mass with a hymn to Our Lady. Both the Church and the organ playing was just beautiful, thanks to Shirley and Carmel.
Fr Paul celebrated with the special readings and Gospel from the Carmelite Mass with Paul as Altar server. After making his Final Profession, Fr Ron was presented with a candle and Icon of our Blessed Mother and we finished the Mass with the hymn to “Our Lady of Mount Carmel”. It was also inspiring to see that quite a number of parishioners had come to witness this great event.
Then it was time for a cup of tea and something to eat, and a little more talk. Then we decided to let Fr Paul and Marian rest up for their long journey back home.
With our thanks, appreciation, and blessings to Fr Paul and Marion for such a beautiful evening together.
Daphne Smith, TOC
Secretary, Rockhampton Lay Carmelite Community
