At the end of June, Fr David O'Malley SDB, our Province Schools and Education delegate, celebrated 40 years of priesthood. Br Stephen Mensah SDB pays tribute to his embodiment of the Salesian charism.

The corona pandemic has eaten into the core of every aspect of our lives. It has transformed the celebration of social events, if not eradicated them. However, the gift of priesthood, the 40th Priestly Anniversary of Rev Fr David O'Malley, is a tremendous treasure to the Church and the Salesian Society that cannot be hindered or undermined by a pandemic.

It was with great joy that the Salesian Community at Battersea gathered around Fr David on 28 June 2020, in the presence of God, to give thanks in bread and wine at the altar for a vocation well lived. As he mentioned rightly in his homily, "When you have this kind of experience, it is overwhelming and impossible to put into words. And I know it confirmed a sense of vocation in a way that it has still not left me." Indeed, the blend of his personality and vocation divulges his interior principle of life, namely, that his life is a thanksgiving to God. The Salesian Community at Battersea, under the leadership of Fr Tom Williams, expressed its love for Fr David by means of Table Fellowship: fellowship around the altar and fellowship around the dining table. There was a video presentation made to honour the occasion, a community photograph with the celebrant and a wonderful lunch with presentations and the cutting of an anniversary cake.

In David, one can see what it means to be a priest; not just a priest, but a religious, a Salesian. His simple lifestyle and joyful exuberance, his congeniality and welcoming spirit, his generosity and care, all these attributes blend with his sense of duty, initiative and deep sense of spirituality which make him a one-of-a-kind person, unique and loved. The young are always at the forefront of his mind, which is revealed in his reflections and informal talks. If it is appropriate to give him a title on a day like this, I would say, he is 'an archangel for young people'Indeed, it is not surprising that he chairs The Battersea Angels.

I would like to conclude with the prayer of St Theresa of Lisieux:

O Jesus, eternal Priest,

keep your priest, Fr. David O'Malley

within the shelter of Your Sacred Heart,

where none may touch him.

Keep unstained his anointed hands,

which daily touches Your Sacred Body.

Keep unsullied his lips,

daily purpled with your Precious Blood.

Keep pure and unearthly his heart,

sealed with the sublime mark of the priesthood.

Let Your holy love surround him and

shield him from the world's contagion.

Bless his labours with abundant fruit and

may the souls to whom he minister be his joy and consolation

here and in heaven his beautiful and

everlasting crown.

Amen.

Br Stephen Mensah SDB

Fr David speaks about his experience of vocation in a video produced for the celebration.