It is You who open heart and mind to the Divine call

On Saturday I had the great joy of attending the Ordination Mass for the two new priests of the Diocese of Columbus.  It was truly an awesome experience to witness these two young men promise to serve God in the priestly capacity for the rest of their lives – to see them lie prostrate on the floor of the cathedral during the litany of saints, to see the Bishop lay his hands on their heads, and anoint their hands with Holy Chrism.  What sacrifice, what courage it takes to say yes to God.

One of my favorite parts of attending ordinations is the processional and recessional, when all of the seminarians, deacons, and priests of the diocese process in and recess out of the cathedral.  It never fails to lift my spirits, seeing all of those men present at one Mass.  So often we only think of and see examples of the negative things going on in the Church, but being at an ordination and seeing the absolute joy of the men being ordained and all of those in attendance is something that everyone should experience.

On Sunday, I was able to attend the first Mass of Thanksgiving of Father Ty Tomson, one of the two men ordained on Saturday.  I have known Father Ty for many years, and to see the fruition of his path to the priesthood was amazing.  At the end of Mass, when Father Ty presented to his father the stole he wore to hear his first confession, and then the manutergium, the purificator used to wipe the Chrism from his hands at ordination, to his mother, I was truly moved to see the love expressed by a son to his parents.  The parents of every priest are presented these gifts by their son, and then upon their deaths they are buried with them, so that at the second coming of Christ when they are called forward and asked by Christ what they did for His Church, they will be able to present the stole and manutergium to Him and state that they gave their son as a priest.  If that isn’t a powerful statement, I’m not sure what is.

What have we given for Christ’s one true Church?  What will we be able to report to Christ on that day of our final judgment?

The Catechism tells us that: “No one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it by God. Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God’s call to the ordained ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.”  (CCC 1578)

These men are truly called by God, and possess the courage and wisdom, given to them by God, to persevere through the many challenges that confront them on the path to the priesthood.  These challenges definitely do not stop at ordination.  

I believe that the prayers of the faithful are so very crucial for ours priests and future priests.  We must always support these men with our prayers, for it is no small thing that they do.  Without priests, we have no Eucharist – which is a thought almost too scary to consider.  But we must consider it, and confront the question head on. 

To us men out there – have we truly listened for God’s call in our life?  Have we taken the time to pray quietly, having the courage to ask God what he wants from our lives?  Have we humbly submitted ourselves to the will of God?    

To the women and parents – have you encouraged your sons, brothers, nephews and friends to listen to God’s call?  Have you actively encouraged them to consider becoming a priest? 

Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) conducts a survey of the men being ordained to the priesthood that year.  You can see this year’s report here.  On page 22 of the report, it shows that nine in ten ordinands (89%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life. Of those responding ordinands who reported that they were encouraged to consider the priesthood 66% say they were encouraged by a parish priest, 44% by a friend, 42% by their mother, 38% by a parishioner, 27% by their father, 22% by a teacher or catechist, 20% by another relative, and so on.  It is absolutely vital that we take the time to encourage the men around us to consider this vocation.

Please join with me today in this prayer for vocations from Blessed Pope John Paul II:

Come Holy Spirit...
It is You who open the heart and mind to the Divine call;
it is You who make effective every impetus
towards good, towards truth, towards charity...
Open the hearts and minds of men,
so that the new flowering of vocations may spring forth
the fidelity of your love, and all may know Christ,
the true light come into the world,
to offer every human being the sure hope of eternal life.
Amen.