MED used to enjoy telling how it all began. We had invited Fr Brian (then Rector of St Bede’s College) to take part in a Sports Persons Service at St Barnabas, Fendalton. Although a member of the Society of Mary, he had, out of courtesy, informed the Bishop of this request. He was instructed not to attend. MED was determined not to let the matter rest and to get together with Fr Brian as soon as possible, to express our disappointment at what had happened. A fortnight after the Service, we met over a meal at the Canterbury Club. MED and Fr Brian immediately made a strong connection, and warm bonds were forged at that gathering. This coincided with the Founding of The Willows, and MED had no doubt as to who the Club’s Chaplain should be. This was another of his inspired decisions. On many subsequent occasions, Fr Brian and I would stand shoulder to shoulder. Fr Brian graciously acknowledged how well we worked together and instinctively trusted each other. Another outcome of his firm friendship with MED was the opening of the doors of St Bede’s to future Willows-arranged gatherings and events.
Fr Brian served as Rector of St Bede’s College for eleven years (having been appointed while still in his thirties). Shortly after leaving that post, he attended a year-long Internship Programme at Loyola House at Guelph, in Canada. During this time, he would write occasional but lengthy and most interesting letters which were a delight to read, full of observations and captivating descriptions. Returning to these shores, he was responsible for the training and teaching of the Order’s postulants. He sometimes made use of my writings, and would laughingly joke that the next generation of Marists were being Anglicanized! He had a wonderful sense of humour. For some years he carried the responsibility of NZ Provincial of the Society of Mary, and then became Director of the Marist Spirituality Centre (Pa Maria).
Over the years, a great many of us have valued his company and his friendship, as well as his insightful, well-balanced spiritual guidance. I would bounce questions off him from time to time, and was always grateful for his thoughtful and caring responses. He was a pleasure to work alongside and share ideas with, and a marvellous companion on the journey of faith. His was a special spirit, with a quiet strength and deep inner resources. In Brian, you met someone with a love and understanding of the human soul, the heart of a priest. In one of the last reflections I sent him, there was a quote from a Catholic writer: ‘to act in the Name of Jesus means to act from the place where we are united with Jesus in love’. As I think of Brian, I realise this is a perfect analysis of his life.
We remember also his family and his SM colleagues at this time, knowing that faith, regardless of its strength, does not protect us from sorrow.