Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba, Horizons, no. 55, August 2019, p 4:
Emptying of Self to Pour out Love. Homily from the Funeral for Fr Joseph Patrick "Pat" Hall, by Fr Hal Ranger

Whenever we gather as believers in God, disciples of Jesus, we set aside some time to listen and to reflect upon what God has said and is saying to us. Through the Words of Scripture; through the events of our daily lives; through the special experiences we are celebrating, this day the life among us of Pat Hall!

To begin with, we have listened to words addressed a long time ago to the Christian Community in Corinth. Life is a journey that begins in the silent safety of our mother's womb and continues into this world and beyond. Paul describes this world as life in a tent. Sometimes we feel at home in the tent, at other times we feel the uncertainty of the tent and sometimes the tent is a very fragile home – as tents are!

We live by faith not by sight. Faith in a God who loves us unconditionally and faithfully and we yearn throughout life in this world to feel completely at home with the loving God who called us into life. We believe, but seldom see! Pat Hall experienced very deeply the uncertainties of life in the tent, but he lived by faith and now he is at home. He is secure and safe in the knowledge and acknowledgement of the truth about God and about himself. We thank God with him.

Pat left a request in his will, more a directive that we should listen to and take to heart this day words written by Paul to the Christian people of Philippi: words Pat treasured and lived by. These words are a call to them and to us to allow God's Spirit to tenderly unite and draw us all into thinking and working together with a common purpose. No competition, no conceit, mindful always of the gifts and needs of others rather than our own.

Jesus' emptying of self, of all self-interest, is the mark of his divinity. God is the one who is continually emptying Himself to pour out love and life into the universe and Jesus tells and shows us who God is and what God is like by emptying Himself. Paul is saying to each of us, "Have that same willingness to do as God is doing, as Jesus did." Pat Hall read and embraced this call daily: he invites and challenges us today to do likewise; and the special gift he had to share was his own struggles, his own anxiety, his own uncertainties.

There are massive questions to be asked and to be answered around suffering, especially the suffering of innocent people. We're lost for answers, searching for anything we can say to bring comfort, to understand the mystery. The questions, sooner or later, have to be faced by all of us.

I want to put forward a few things to be pondered and shared. Is suffering, and ultimately dying, ever a punishment from God? I think not! Is suffering rather part and parcel of living, of being daughters and sons of a God from whom comes that eternal cycle of giving birth, emptying oneself, dying, new life. I think so!

Suffering and death are the consequences of being part of that cycle. I believe God suffers; God is as devastated as we are in the face of suffering. Our challenge is to embrace the opportunities and fruits of loving whatever the costs, whatever the suffering involved.

More than anything else I want to, with you, and on behalf of many hundreds of other people, thank Pat Hall for finding many ways of generously offering his struggles, uncertainties and anxieties as a gift to others. By being himself he brought insight and good out of us and left us enhanced. For affirming so many people, not just supporting them, in the midst of their mental and emotional struggles because they felt as well as knew that he understood. They came to understand that he felt as they felt and understood. He has truly been a figure of the suffering Christ among us!

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Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba, Horizons, no. 55, August 2019, p 5:
Fr Joseph Patrick "Pat" Hall, by Fr Michael Cooney

As a small child in Warwick I stood in awe of new priests as they would appear in St Mary's Church for the first time. One such priest was Fr Pat Hall. Many years later I came to know the Hall family when my first priestly appointment was to St Thomas More's Parish in Toowoomba, then under Fr Bill Hall (brother to Fr Pat) as Parish Priest. I learnt much from Fr Bill's support and guidance in my early years of priesthood.

Since coming back to Toowoomba in January 2016 I found myself neighbour to Fr Pat Hall at Vianney Village in the grounds of Lourdes Home for the Aged. I came to know Pat well and found him to be a much loved neighbour and friend.

He was a true gentleman and the essence of kindness to myself and the many visitors who came to see him for guidance and for reminiscing of past life experiences. This was a true sign of his popularity and keen interest in people of all age groups. He had a beautiful priestly ministry right up to the time of his death on Monday, June 10th at St Vincent's Hospital, Toowoomba.

Early in his priesthood Pat suffered a major breakdown with a deep sense of personal unworthiness to continue as a priest. However with the help of the St John of God Brothers, the fatherly guidance of Bill McCormack and the encouragement of many friends, Pat recovered sufficiently to live his priesthood faithfully. He had an overwhelming kindness to any person who suffered and he was able to turn what was a dark cloud in his life into a wonderful gift to help hundreds of other suffering people.

Pat served in the parishes of Warwick, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dalby, Charleville, Wallangarra and Millmerran from where he retired to Vianney Village at Lourdes Home in 2007. I came to know Pat well in the last four years, we enjoyed many a ginger beer and his witty banter. He had a very sharp memory for older Toowoomba generations and told many amusing stories about earlier life in Toowoomba.

Pat's generosity was shown to me on many occasions. A few minutes before the last State of Origin football match he came over with a stubby of beer and a Mars bar for me to enjoy during the game. He had to give you something! Most of all he gave the gift of himself.

We will all miss Pat greatly. We gently commend him to his loving God and we pray together: eternal rest grant to him O Lord, may perpetual light shine on him. May he rest in peace.

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Prayer Calendar: Deceased Priests who have ministered the Catholic Faith throughout Toowoomba and districts, 1864–2025, Compiled by Annie Carrett, Diocesan Archivist, 2001, Updated by Gabrielle Saide, Diocesan Archivist, 2023:
Rev Joseph Patrick (Pat) Hall, died 10 June 2019

Joseph Patrick Hall (Pat) was born in Toowoomba on 20th March 1931 the youngest of the nine children of William Robert Hall and Mary Agnes Gabbett. He is survived by his sister Carmel Hall and many nieces and nephews. He was educated at St Saviour's Primary School and St Mary's Christian Brothers College Toowoomba. Pat decided to follow his brother, Frank to the Seminary and in 1948 together with Peter Murphy travelled to Brisbane by bus to enter Pius XII Seminary. His older brother Fr Bill Hall had studied at Springwood and Manly College. Two of his sisters Margaret and Carmel had entered the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary.
Pat was ordained to the Priesthood in St Patrick's Cathedral on 5th July 1955 by Bishop William Brennan. His first Clerical appointment was to St Mary's, Warwick. Early in his Priesthood Fr Pat suffered a major breakdown with a deep sense of unworthiness to continue as a priest. With the help of the St John of God Brothers in Richmond from 1957 to 1959 and the fatherly guidance of Fr Bill McCormack and the encouragement of many friends, Fr Pat recovered sufficiently to live his priesthood faithfully. (Eulogy) From 1959 to 1970 he was Curate at St Patrick's Cathedral. His next appointment was to St Joseph's, Dalby from 1970 to 1976. From Dalby he went to Charleville as Parish Priest until 1983. He was Vicar Forane in Charleville from 1976. His next parish was St Mary's Wallangarra from 1983 to 1992 and then to St Francis de Sales Millmerran until Easter 1998 when he retired. Fr Pat was much loved by the communities in which he ministered. This was never more evident than when he would travel long distances to attend celebrations and funerals of friends and former parishioners.
In 2000 Fr Pat travelled to Brisbane regularly to attain a Diploma in Catholic Psychiatric Pastoral Care. He had a great gift for communicating with people who were suffering with any type of mental disability. He regularly attended the meetings of the GROW Movement at the Toowoomba Clubhouse which was established in 1996 to help address a shortage of mental health services for people in the Toowoomba community. He not only supported these people but affirmed them in the midst of their mental and emotional struggles because they felt as well as knew that he understood. He has truly been a figure of the suffering Christ among us. (homily)
Fr Pat's faith in God was unshakeable, his commitment to his priestly duties was unwavering. The first reading at Fr Pat's Funeral Mass from Paul to the people of Philippi were words he treasured and the homilist summed them up in this way:
These words are a call to them and to us to allow God's Spirit to tenderly unite and draw us all into thinking and working together with a common purpose no competition; no conceit; mindful always of the gifts and needs of others rather than our own; self-effacing.
This was the Fr Pat Hall we all knew.
Ref. C.V., Archives, Eulogy Fr Michael Cooney, Homily Fr Hal Ranger.

Reproduced by permission of Bishop Ken Howell.