Fr. Michael Lomiri The volunteer Priest

Ability is a skill, it makes science advance... Availability is a virtue; it conveys a message of submission to God's will and total dedication in building his kingdom.

KOVATA Parish in Sirovanga is not the easiest parish in the Gizo Diocese. It is composed of 21 Villages along a very long stretch of east Choiseul coast. In some parts the parish extends a long way deep into the island mountainous bushes. For this reason a decision was taken in the last assembly of 2005 to divide the parish into two.

When Fr. Michael volunteered to go to cover the place left empty by Fr. Simon, the Incoming Novice Master of the OP 1 was deeply touched by his generosity and availability. He was aware of not being a young man any more, he was aware of his painful and disturbing leg wound, and yet he volunteered... no one else did. 1 ordered him jokingly to climb the 117 steps and never to come down again, soon I would send him a young priest to assist him in the large pastoral area assigned to him.

He immediately set for visiting the villages and the school causing his leg wound to give him more troubles. He died on the battle field, a champion of availability to God's will generous to the last.

Fr. Michael has thought the diocesan priests a new value: obedience to God's will does not simply mean do what you are told. It means inner quiet and peace needed to discern it in prayer, openness and trust to discuss it with the bishop and then courage to volunteer in doing it without waiting to be told, no matter what the cost is... even in danger of death.

Only deeply attentive people to God's will are able to do this and only those who are prayerful can find God's will, Fr. Michael indeed was a quiet and prayerful person, respectful for God and His will as well as for every person he met especially the poor and the simple who have always been his favourites

Proof of his generosity, humility, and prayerfulness could be found in his Breviary which he prayed daily very devoutly. The holy images in his breviary contain prayers for Generosity, Humility, courage and deeper faith.

Fr. Michael was not perfect, he was not born holy, he struggled through his life's personal History. He struggled in his vocation, he struggled in his apostolate, he struggled with his health and he never gave up. He is a winner because he fought to his very end refusing to sit quietly and rest, choosing service to his ministry no matter the cost. In his moving . Wk. to the "come and see" vocation  pre­seminary candidates last January, he elaborated in his vocational struggles, recognizing as the source of his strength the absolute certainty that God was calling him...

In one of his private conversations with me he lamented a lack of interiority in general in young priests, manifested in the lack of visibility of the priest during prayers time with the simple prayers and simple people ... This made him suffer because prayer was too important in his life. I am certain this is the real challenge of Fr. Michael to our diocese as we focus on growth: "renewal is not doing lots of different things; renewal is going deeper in our motivations and intensity of love for our Master matched with unparallel passion for our neighbour's souls, here and now, no matter what the cost is"

Thanks Fr Michael; you gave us a model to up to...

Thanks also to Fr Albert his good friend, for volunteering to take his place in Sirovanga ... You learned well from Fr Michael ... That speaks of continuity of the same message Fr Michael gave us... we are with you Albert, He is with you, you are not alone there. This decision you made seems to be a true inspiration from a friend you treasured so much... imitate him He substituted you in Noro as went for Holiday, now you substitute him as he went to heaven... (Please do not follow him there too soon...

May Fr Michael intercede for us all in our common effort of growth and renewal.

+Luciano Capelli, sdb

Bishop Gizo Diocese