Ordination Anniversary

Eight years ago today, I laid my life at the altar, not fully knowing where the journey would lead. Looking back now, I see how much has changed in me, how much I’ve been stretched, challenged, and blessed along the way.

I’ve learned that the priesthood is less about what I do and more about who I am becoming in Christ. Some days I’ve carried the ministry with joy and energy; other days, I’ve felt tired, inadequate, even uncertain. Yet in all of it, God has been faithful. He has met me in my weakness, lifted me in prayer, and reminded me that this call is His gift, not my achievement.

I think of the faces I have encountered, the names that nourished my vocation, and the events and stories that have shaped these years—the Civil war in Sri Lanka since my birth in 1983; the Tsunami in 2004, the year of my joing the Jesuit Order; the loss of my grandma on the first day of my theological studies in Paris in 2014; the death of my priesthood companion, Fr. Nilan Prasanga Fernando, S.J., in 2018; the Easter Bombings in my parish church at Katuwapitiya, Negombo, Sri Lanka in 2019; the Covid-19 lockdown in 2021; the recession and people's struggle (Aragalaya) in Sri Lanka; the loss of my dad in July 2025 as I was defending my doctoral dissertation in the USA—and the people who welcomed me into their lives, who allowed me to stand with them in grief and in celebration. They’ve been living reminders that my priesthood is not my own but belongs to the people of God. Each Mass celebrated, each homily preached, each hand I have held in moments of sorrow or joy has reminded me that the priesthood is not my achievement, but God’s work through me.

Tonight, I feel both humbled and grateful. I know I still have so much to learn, so many places in my heart that need softening, so many ways I need to grow in love. But I also know the Lord has never stopped walking with me.

Eight years in, I want to keep saying yes with more honesty, more availability, and more trust. May I never lose the sense of wonder at this vocation.

Thank you, Lord, for calling me, for staying with me, and for making my imperfect offering pleasing enough.