God’s ordination call will always remain a mystery

By Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond
Clarion Herald

Very often, we can say the same message in many different ways, and sometimes even using different words. So did Jesus. Jesus said, “Come, follow me.” He gave the same invitation to Cuong, Jorge and Austin, but in very different ways. And, in different ways, that call was confirmed in their hearts.

 Austin recalls Jesus asking Peter to follow him and to lead his people and to lead the church. Peter asks, “What about John? Isn't he better suited for this? Not me.” This conversation between Jesus and Peter led Austin to pray and to say, “Thank you for choosing me.” He didn't pass it on to John or anyone else. Thank you for choosing me in a spirit of humility.

Jorge points to many priests who were spiritual fathers to him, especially Father Geraldo Diaz. He says these priests reflected God's fatherly care and made Jesus' call – “Come, follow me” – clearer. In his priesthood, Jorge wants to be a spiritual father, walking with people in joy and in their sorrows.

Cuong heard Jesus say, “Come, follow me” through a priest that he knew and admired greatly, Father Joseph Tue. Through Father Joseph Tue he experienced a commitment to priesthood through his compassion. He saw him reaching out to God's people in the long lines of people going to him for confession. Cuong heard the call through this priest and his example, and through him, God said, “Come, follow me.”

The invitation of Jesus to these three men brings us here today. Today is a day of thanksgiving. First of all, we thank God for choosing you, my brothers, to serve as priests of his church. We also thank you for saying yes. No one forces you to do that, not even God. We also thank others who have encouraged you through the years and who have been a model for you in priestly ministry. Today we thank in a very special way your parents, living and deceased, for they gave you life, love, faith and guidance. We thank other members of your family, friends, coworkers, brothers, seminarians, priests, deacons, religious, faithful, laity. We thank in a particular way the seminary faculty of St. Joseph Seminary College and of Notre Dame Seminary. All of these have made the call, “Come, follow me,” more clear.

 No matter how many years you serve as a priest, may I suggest that God's call to you always remains mystery? None of us are worthy of the priesthood. Don't try to explain your call. Just say thank you for calling me. Be humble and realize that it's nothing that you have done but it is God, mysteriously, who has called you to this day and to many years of serving him.

What we do here today is deeply rooted in the Scriptures and in the formation of the early Christian communities after the resurrection of Jesus. The followers of Jesus grew in great numbers, and the apostles needed others to assist them. They could not do this ministry alone. And so, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they chose other men to assist them. In the second reading, they were called presbyters – priests. The apostles prayed over them, laid hands on them, called down the gift of the Holy Spirit and ordained them as priests of Jesus Christ to serve the church.

Isn't it interesting that 2,000 years later, we do exactly the same thing? These men, we believe, were chosen by God to lead his people. After many years of prayer and formation, the church today has confirmed their call to be priests. I will have the humble privilege to pray over them, to call down the Holy Spirit and to send them forth as priests of Jesus Christ, just as it happened originally over 2,000 years ago. 

Let us remember today that the priesthood to which these men become members is a three-fold ministry. My brothers, first of all, you will make Christ – who is the teacher and preacher – present today. Daily, you will share God's Word with others in teaching and in preaching. Let us remember that Jeremiah was sent by God to preach and to be courageous, but he had great hesitation. “I am too young,” he said. “I don't know how to preach.” Being too young is something that all three of you could claim. We don't use those excuses or any others.

Pope: Preach to hearts

Pope Francis said that you are to preach to the hearts of his people, not just to their minds. And he goes on to say that you ought to speak in simple ways the message of the Gospel. In so doing, you feed people with his message.

Secondly, you will make Christ the priest present by celebrating the sacraments. Today, your hands will be anointed so that you can consecrate, touch the sacred and anoint others, and you will speak in his name. Every time you celebrate Mass, you will say, “This is my body and this is my blood.” You speak in the name of Jesus. Every time you hear confessions, you say, “I absolve you from your sins.” You speak in the name of Jesus. You will anoint the sick and become a healing hand of Jesus.

Thirdly, as a priest, you will make the Good Shepherd Jesus present today. We encourage you always to walk humbly with people as Jesus did in the dark times. You will hold their hand as they cry. In good times, you will rejoice with them. In peaceful times, you will simply walk with them. We encourage you today and always in your priestly ministry to seek out the lost – those who have given up on the church and even on God; those who are away from the church for whatever reason. Like Jesus, give up on no one, for he didn't give up on anyone. Follow the example of St. Peter in today’s Gospel. When Jesus asked him, “Do you really love me?” – and he asked that question three times – we ask you, just like Peter, to show that you love him by your words, but also by your actions. 

You will be able to serve as a priest if you do three things. First of all, stay close to the Lord Jesus in prayer. Pray without tiring. You can only be fishers of others if you first realize that you have been caught by God’s tenderness, and because you have been caught by God’s tenderness, you want to share that with others and you want to act in his name. Prayer will make you aware of the tenderness of God, and you want to be for others the tenderness of God. That is your task. That is your mission. That is your ministry.

Secondly, you will be able to fulfill this important ministry as you lean on your brother priests. You need them, and they need you. We’re very blessed in our archdiocese to have a very strong fraternity of priests. You will be a part of that fraternal spirit. You join them in serving, in caring and in loving. 

Thirdly, may I ask that you go to confession regularly. Knowing that we are forgiven, we are empowered to forgive others. The more we accept God's mercy, the more pure we are to reach out to others and to share that mercy with them.

In all of this, stay close to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she offered Jesus to the world. You offer Jesus to the world, to others, and you need her prayers and her example in order to accomplish that.

Today is a day of faith, not only of thanksgiving. You know not the future, but today, you say yes to whatever God calls you to do, to whatever Jesus asks of you, in those challenging times, as well as in the peaceful times. 

We are here today as family and friends to assure you of our love and prayers. We offer those not just today, but all the days of your priestly life. Today it is our privilege to witness that you are ordained for the priesthood of Jesus Christ. It’s not your ministry, but his, and you will be able to share in the ministry of Jesus. We thank you, my brothers, for saying yes.

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].