Farewell Mass for Fr Mark Freeman – 2 March 2026

First reading from Sunday Week 2 of Lent A, Gospel from Monday Week 2 of Lent

Welcome one and all to St Mary’s Cathedral.

In this homily, I am going to call Mark by the name which you all have known him, Fr Mark. Soon enough he will be Bishop Mark for the people in the Diocese of Ballarat. But for many of you he will always be Mark or Fr Mark.

There are moments in the life of the Church when the Word of God seems to speak with particular clarity into the life of a person. This evening is such a moment for Fr Mark.

In the first reading, we hear the call of Abram:

“Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you… and you yourself will be a blessing.”

This is not simply a story from long ago. It is the pattern of every vocation—and today it becomes the story of Fr Mark.

Like Abram, he is being asked to leave behind what is familiar: the land he knows, the people he loves, the communities where he has served, the memories and relationships that have shaped his priesthood. Tasmania has been his home, his field of ministry, his family of faith.

And like Abram, he goes not because the past is rejected, but because the future is gift.

The journey is not a loss. It is a blessing.

God’s call is never a punishment. It is always an invitation into something larger than ourselves. Abram leaves so that he may become a blessing. Fr Mark goes to Ballarat so that the blessing he has been for us may now be shared with others.

And there is something else about Abram’s story that is important. The call does not end with the departure. God and Abram continue speaking with each other along the way. The journey of faith is not a single moment of courage; it is a lifelong conversation with God.

That is the real heart of episcopal ministry: to listen, to discern, to walk with God day by day, and to lead others along that path.

The Gospel we heard takes us deeper.

“Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.”

Compassion is not simply kindness; it is sharing the heart of God. Because Father Mark once studied the early Church Fathers, let me quote a few of them:

St Cyril of Alexandria said that Christ wants us to “imprint on our minds that compassion is an attribute of the divine nature.” To be compassionate is to reflect something of God himself.

Origen went even further: “Compassion is the intelligence of the soul.” It is the wisdom that sees people as God sees them.

And St Ambrose described what that looks like in practice:
“The Gospel bestows love in place of hostility, benevolence in place of hatred, prayer in place of curses, help for the persecuted, patience for the needy, and grace without calculation.”

This is the kind of heart the Church looks for in a bishop.

Father Mark will remember our first years at the seminary in Clayton when we did a program call the Mystery of Christ. The Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops begins with that same beautiful vision. It says that a bishop must understand his ministry “in the light of the mystery of Christ, Shepherd and Guardian of souls.” And then it describes the man called to this office: a man of faith and discernment, a man of hope and serious commitment, a man of gentleness and compassion, a man of communion.

Those words do not feel abstract to us today.

Because here in the Archdiocese of Hobart, we have seen these qualities in Fr Mark.

We have seen his faith—steady, quiet, and deeply rooted.
We have seen his discernment—thoughtful, wise, and attentive.
We have seen his hope—especially in difficult moments.
We have seen his gentleness and compassion—in parishes, hospitals, meetings, and countless personal encounters.

And above all, we have seen his capacity for communion—his ability to bring people together, to listen, to build trust, and to strengthen the unity of the Church.

He has already been, for us, what Abram was called to be: a blessing.

And yet, like Abram, he must leave.

There is always a cost to vocation. For Fr Mark, it is leaving a place and people he loves. For us, it is letting him go.

However, the Church is larger than any one place. The blessing we have received is now entrusted to the Church in Ballarat and Western Victoria.

There is another truth in Abram’s story: when God calls someone, the journey is not undertaken alone.

God goes with him.

The same God who has guided Fr Mark through his priesthood here will guide him in his episcopal ministry. The same Spirit who has sustained him will strengthen him. The same Christ whom he has served as priest he will now serve as teacher, priest, and shepherd.

So today is not only a farewell. It is also a sending.

We give thanks for the gift Fr Mark has been to us.
We entrust him to the grace of God.
We ask that he may be for Ballarat what he has been for Hobart: a man of faith, a man of hope, a man of compassion, a man of communion.

We pray that the Divine words spoken to Abram may be fulfilled once more:

“I will bless you… and you yourself will be a blessing.”

Fr Mark, thank you for your priesthood among us.
Go with our deep gratitude.
Go assured of our affection.
Go with the certainty of our prayers.

And may the Lord Jesus who has called you now walk with you—every step of the way—as Shepherd, Guardian, and friend.

Most Rev. Anthony J. Ireland
Archbishop of Hobart
2 March, 2026