as Pastor of Saint Mary Parish, Taylorville, Illinois, and Holy Trinity Parish, Stonington, Illinois
Mass for Sunday of the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
September 6, 2026
Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki
Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: It is good for us to be here this morning for this Mass and Rite of Installation of Reverend Tomy Philip, S.A.C., as Pastor of Saint Mary Parish, Taylorville, Illinois, and Holy Trinity Parish, Stonington, Illinois.
Although Father Tomy officially began his new assignments as Pastor of Saint Mary Parish here in Taylorville and Holy Trinity Parish in Stonington, as well as Chaplain of the Taylorville Correctional Center earlier this week on September 1st, we celebrate this Rite of Installation liturgically today not only to ask God’s blessings on Father Tomy as he begins his ministry as shepherd of this flock, but also because it reminds all of us of an essential part of being a disciple: Disciples do not choose their own path, they follow Christ where He leads them. The word apostle comes from the Greek word apostolos, which means “one who is sent out as a messenger.” Bishops are successors of the apostles, and priests are collaborators with the bishops. As a successor of the apostles, I was sent here as Bishop of this Diocese in 2010 by then Pope Benedict XVI, himself having been given his authority as Pope after Christ gave it to St. Peter when He founded the Church: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
In a similar way, as a collaborator in the ministry of a successor of the apostles, a priest is sent and entrusted with the pastoral responsibilities of a parish by his bishop, and it is during the rite of installation that we celebrate here this morning that this handing over of the “keys of the kingdom” (albeit only a small part of Christ’s Kingdom) takes place.
At the same time, Jesus’ gift of responsibility and authority over His Church as entrusted to Peter, and my giving a part of that to your new pastor today, is not something that happens only to the Pope, or to bishop, or priests. Every one of us has been entrusted with a small part of Jesus’ Kingdom. For some of you, that is upholding Christ’s reign in your family, as you work, or among the people you are friends with. For all of us, Christ has given us the responsibility, and dignity, of caring for and protecting His Kingdom in our own hearts.
One of the ways that we do this happens every Sunday when we profess our faith by praying the Creed. For Saint Peter Himself, it was only after his profession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” that he was made leader of the Church. Today, in a special way, all of us, with your new pastor, will recite the Creed, professing individually and together our common faith in Christ. By that profession, I officially ask your pastor to take on the responsibilities of these parishes with the heart of Christ. But every time we profess the Creed, every time we pray those words that billions of Christians have prayed down through the centuries, we each renew our own commitment to Jesus! Does He reign over our hearts? Is He the Lord of our time? Of our bank accounts? Of those He has entrusted to our care? If Jesus is truly Christ the King, then He must be the only king of our lives, and that should be evident in the way we live*.*
Of course, our prayer together this morning is not just a recommitment to the Lord, it is also to give thanksgiving and worship to God, who daily provides for us. Before officially installing your new Pastor, we offer thanks and gratitude to God for Father John Burnette, who served as your Parochial Administrator for the past two years, guiding you through a challenging time. I especially commend Father Burnette for his leadership in raising the funds to pay off the parish debt and I thank all those who responded so generously. We wish Father Burnette well as he returns now to Senior Priest status with the honorary title of Pastor Emeritus of Saints James and Patrick Parish in Decatur.
I now thank Father Tomy Philip for his own fidelity to the Lord and his willingness these new assignments as your Pastor here at Saint Mary Parish in Taylorville and Holy Trinity Parish in Stonington, as well as Chaplain of the Taylorville Correctional Center.
Tomy Philip was born on May 24, 1974, in Kerala, India, and was ordained a priest on May 5, 2004, as a member of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (S.A.C.), commonly known as the Pallottine Fathers and Brothers, named after their founder, Saint Vincent Pallotti. After completing his seminary studies in India, he obtained his Licentiate and Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Father Tomy served in parish ministry in India and in Rome. He was Vocation Director for the Pallottine Fathers in Kerala, India from 2005 to 2009. Here in our Diocese, Father Tomy served as Parochial Vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield from 2024 to 2025 and as Parochial Administrator of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Newton and St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Sainte Marie for the past year. He also was temporary Parochial Administrator of St. Jude Parish in Rochester for a few weeks this summer.
Father Tomy will serve you now as pastor as we continue forward into this Third Millennium of Christianity, so I think it is fitting to call to mind a theme suggested by our late Holy Father, the Great Pope Saint John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, “On Entering the New Millennium,” which I quote as follows (nos. 30-31): “First of all, I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness.” I always mention that quote in my homily at the Installation Mass for every new Pastor that I have appointed. Even if you have heard it before, it is worth repeating because it is so basic and essential: All pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness. If we forget that, it will not take long to stray off course from what we should be doing in parish ministry and why we are doing it.
Holiness consists of following Jesus as His disciples, as people who listen and learn from Him, and who put Him first in our lives. In a real relationship with Christ, we discover that everything we have was first a gift from our Heavenly Father.
Saint Peter wrote of this realization and consequent conversion in these words: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). This is why stewardship naturally flows from the authentic disciple. We cannot help but make return to the Lord of all the good things He has done for us.
In his Inaugural Mass in Saint Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025, for the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Leo XIV said, “Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds . . . For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to Him! Welcome His word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to His offer of love and become His one family: in the one Christ, we are one.”
In today’s Gospel passage from Saint Matthew (Mt 18:15-20), Jesus addresses the reality that people may believe in Him and follow Him, but it does not mean they will always remain in harmony with each other. Jesus offers a step-by-step method for dealing with such disagreements. We start with a private exchange of views, but if this fails to bring about reconciliation, then others are brought in to try and resolve the issue. Finally, the last resort is to bring the matter to higher authorities.
Our second reading today from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 13:8-10), is the basis for my episcopal motto, Lex Cordis Caritas — the Law of the Heart is Love. Saint Paul tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law and the Prophet Jeremiah tells us that God has written His law in our hearts, hence, the law of the heart is love.
So, what does all this mean for us today? Well, each of us is confronted with a choice. Will we turn away from wickedness, as the Prophet Ezekiel says in our first reading today (Ez 33:7-9) and love our neighbor, or do we seek to satisfy our selfish desires? Do we believe in Jesus and choose to follow Him, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), or are we led along by the secular culture of our time and place? We do not make this choice merely once in our lives. We make this choice day by day and moment by moment.
Now, your parishes have already begun following Christ as disciples and stewards, so when Our Lord comes to us again today in this Eucharist, each of us is invited into an even more complete following after Him. Jesus asks your new pastor for trust, for courage, and for prayer in continuing God’s mission in these parishes. But your pastor cannot do this alone; he needs the commitment and cooperation of all of you. Today it is my joy to join you all in our worship of God and to receive the gift of His Son in this Eucharist. I pray that all of you will work with Father Tomy Philip in seeking to be intentional disciples of the Lord and generous stewards of the gifts entrusted to us for the growth of the Church as we journey together toward our inheritance in the glory of Heaven. Therefore, dear parishioners of Saint Mary Parish in Taylorville and Holy Trinity Parish in Stonington, I urge you to strive for holiness, to work and pray with your new pastor. Support him, help him, pray for him, and most of all, love him as he loves you and as Christ calls us to love each other.
May God give us this grace. Amen.