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Ordinations:
a time to rejoice
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
In his first epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes: “Whoever wants
to be a bishop aspires to a noble task” (Tim. 3:1). He then proceeds to
list various qualifications. Rare the priest these days, however, who
aspires to the Office of Bishop. While a privilege, it is also a burden
of expectations that never seem to be met. There are treasured moments,
however. Ordaining men to the sacred priesthood clearly stands at the
top of that list.
In the 23 years I have been privileged to be the bishop of
Lafayette-in-Indiana, I have ordained 40 men priests. Five of those
priests were ordained for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis during the
interim between Archbishop O’Meara and Archbishop Buechlein. Three have
been religious order priests: Father Martin Day, O.F.M., Conv., Father
Joseph West, O.F.M., Conv., and Father Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. The other
32 have been ordained for our Local Church. Six of those 32 have since
left the priesthood. And, there were seven years when no one was
ordained for our Local Church.
Praise God the number of men responding to God’s call to the diocesan
priesthood has increased in more recent times. Four men have been
ordained since 2005 (2001, 2003 and 2004 were dry years) and three more
will be added to the presbyterate on June 16: Father Dan Duff, Father
David Hasser and Father Chris Roberts.
The ceremony of ordination is most impressive. A man has already
committed his life to the Church by being ordained a deacon. That is
when a candidate knows for certain that he has a vocation. In Catholic
theology (supported by sacred Scripture), a man does not choose to be a
deacon or a priest. Rather, God chooses him. That was a point made
dramatically by Jesus at the Last Supper: “It was not you who chose me,
it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit” (John 15:16).
Ordinations take place within the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. As at baptism and confirmation, each candidate is called by name.
The ordaining bishop asks if the candidates for ordination are worthy.
He welcomes the response: “After inquiry among the people of Christ and
upon recommendation of those concerned with their training, I testify
that they have been found worthy.”
The ordaining bishop, in the name of the Church, responds: “We rely on
the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, and we choose
these men, our brothers, for priesthood in the presbyteral order.” A
homily or instruction then follows. That in turn is followed by
questions put to those about to receive the sacrament of holy orders:
• Are you resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to discharge
without fail the office of priesthood in the presbyteral order as
conscientious fellow workers with the bishops in caring for the Lord’s
flock?
• Are you resolved to celebrate the mysteries of Christ faithfully and
religiously as the Church has handed them down to us for the glory of
God and the sanctification of Christ’s people?
• Are you resolved to exercise the ministry of the word worthily and
wisely, preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic faith?
• Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of
his people, and to unite yourself more closely every day to Christ the
High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a perfect
sacrifice?
Each candidate then promises respect and obedience to the ordaining
bishop and his successor. This is followed by the praying of the Litany
of the Saints as the candidates for priesthood prostrate themselves on
the floor of the cathedral as a sign of their submission to God’s call
to holiness, their unworthiness to minister in persona Christi (in the
person of Christ) and their dependence on the grace won for the Church
by our Savior, Jesus Christ. The bishop concludes the litany with this
prayer: “Hear us, Lord our God, and pour out upon these servants of
yours the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the grace and power of the
priesthood. In your sight we offer these men for ordination: Support
them with your unfailing love. We ask this through Christ Our Lord.”
During the litany, as the intercession of great saints of the Church is
invoked, the words often verbalized by the ordaining bishop in his
ordination instruction hang in the air: “Meditate on the law of God,
believe what you read. Teach what you believe, and put into practice
what you teach.”
Pope Paul VI in 1968, to remove any question about the precise part of
the ceremony wherein the sacrament of holy orders is received, declared
that the laying of the bishop’s hands upon the individual candidates
constitutes the “matter” of the sacrament and these words the “form” of
the sacrament: “Almighty Father, grant to these servants of yours the
dignity of the priesthood. Renew within them the spirit of holiness. As
co-workers with the order of bishops, may they be faithful to the
ministry that they receive from you, Lord God, and be to others a model
of right conduct.”
If the ceremony ended at that point, if there were no vesting in the
robes of the priesthood and no anointing of hands, the sacrament would
be received.
Nonetheless, each newly ordained priest is clothed in the vestments of
his office, his hands are anointed with sacred chrism, he is presented
with a paten and chalice, and, starting with the bishop and then
individually from each priest present, he receives the sign of peace.
Ordination is a moment of pride for families. It is a moment of humility
for the man called to the priesthood. It is a moment of great joy for a
Local Church as the newly ordained are welcomed into the fraternity
which is the priesthood and, like all the sacraments, a sign of God’s
love and care for his people.
As we look forward to the ordination of Father Duff, Father Hasser and
Father Roberts, I ask you again to pray most fervently and daily that
those whom God is calling to the priesthood of our Local Church will
hear the call, muster the courage to respond in the affirmative and
begin their formation. I do not doubt the “vocational call” is there and
in numbers. But, I also realize that call is difficult to discern in our
culture. That is why I urge people to recruit men they can imagine as
priests to prayerfully discern if God is calling them to the priesthood. |
