A Catholic priest went viral for his sermon about “The Fate of Ophelia,” a song Taylor Swift wrote for her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
Rev. Eric Mah pointed to the ballad as a lesson on feeling rejected, finding love, and having God by your side.
He posted his homily — which he preached at his parish, St. James in Colgan, Ontario — on his TikTok and Instagram handle Catholic Latte, and racked up 4.4 million views.
“It’s definitely been my most-viewed homily,” Mah, 48, told The Post.
Mah explained how Swift used Ophelia, the tragic Shakespearean character who likely drowned herself as a result of being rejected by Hamlet, “as an analogy for her past dating life before she met her current fiancé, Travis Kelce.”
“What she’s basically saying there is for the longest time I was lost, I was looking for love . . . all I found was rejection and pain . . . but then you came and . . . you healed my broken heart . . . so now I’m saved from a life without love,” Mah preached.
The priest, who has a bachelor’s in English literature and a law degree, then tied that into how God sees everyone’s pain and is there for them, even if they feel rejected.
“Just know, you are always accepted by the Messiah. You are always loved by God,” he said.
Fans showered the Canadian clergyman with love for his Swift callout.
“I love a Swiftie Priest,” one commented.
“Jesus and Taylor. Yes please!” another wrote.
Said another: “I’ve never wanted to go to church so bad!”
Mah said he’s noticed a lot of people on Instagram have tagged Swift when leaving their comments. “I’m hopeful that she will see it some day,” he said.
He came up with the idea to use the “The Fate of Ophelia,” off the songstress’ newest album “The Life of a Showgirl,” after he saw it was the No. 1 song in North America.
“It was such an unusual and provocative title, which led me to do some research into the Shakespearean reference, which in turn seemed like a great chance to speak about God’s love in a unique and accessible way,” he said.
“The congregation seemed pleasantly surprised to hear the reference,” he continued.
“There was a definite curiosity to see how the song would connect to the Gospel.”
The progressive pastor — who also hosts a podcast — is known for weaving references into his homilies from action flicks such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” to rom-coms like “The Proposal” and “The Break-Up.”
“When it comes to evangelization specifically, we forget often that an important starting point is getting people interested in what you want to share and meeting them where they’re at,” he said.
“A very useful and practical skill in this regard is being able to tap into something which is already captivating your intended audience on some level and seeing how you might use that particular insight to lead people to deepen their relationship with Christ and the Gospel.”
And by reading the comments on his Swift sermon alone, it’s obvious his blueprint works.
“That’s how our priests should act so more young people join the church,” one gushed.
“If only all homilies were this good. The way he’s relating to people and ‘sees’ his congregation,” another said.
Even the non faithful were inspired by his words:
“I’m not religious, but if he’s preaching Taylor Swift, I’ll show up every Sunday.”
The post The gospel according to Taylor: Catholic priest goes viral for Swiftie sermon appeared first on New York Post.
