Priest jubilarians reflect on the gift of vocation

50 years a priest


Msgr. Kenneth Hedrick

Of the many and varied types of ministry and service priests are and must be involved in, I have always been particularly attracted to the liturgy and to preaching and teaching.

As the director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship for 20 years, I have had amazing opportunities to assist in the planning and celebration of liturgies in parishes, at St. Louis Cathedral, at national meetings and conventions, and even for an International Stewardship Conference in Rome!

In the ministry of the Office of Worship, I have also led formation workshops for those serving in liturgical ministries. Helping adults to understand the liturgy better, to probe the wisdom of the Scripture and the teachings of our church, and to read and discuss papal encyclicals is challenging and exhilarating.

It is a joy to work with adults open to learning more about and seeking to deepen their faith. Breaking open God’s Word in preaching, crafting and delivering good homilies has always been a priority for me as I seek to help people to embrace the Lord’s presence with and among us, to grow in faith, and to live that faith in greater service.

Celebrating the living presence of Christ among us in the liturgy, listening to the Word of God, reflecting on it, preaching and teaching on it – these have always been at the heart of my 50 years of priestly service.
 

Father Edward Vacek, S.J.

I rarely think of my priestly ordination as a personal honor. It was, rather, what the Society of Jesus and the church required if I were to do the work God had in mind for me.

It is, so to speak, a religious credit card given to me to serve others. Some need a confession heard, some a wedding performed. For 35 of those years, I had the privilege of teaching Jesuits as well as many women and men in our Boston College theology school of ministry. Those students have gone forth as priests and teachers and social justice ministers.

Through my scholarly and pastoral publications, God has also enabled me to help form the mind of the church for our new era of Christianity. In brief, I have tried to cooperate with God’s challenging involvement in our history.

Jesuit Father Edward Vacek is The Reverend Stephen J. Duffy Chair in Catholic Studies at Loyola University New Orleans.
 

25 years a priest

Father Deogratias Ekisa

“Thank you for bringing Jesus to us.”

This remark, made by a parishioner in a remote village in Uganda after I celebrated their twice-yearly Mass, summarizes what being a priest means to me: Bringing Jesus to others.

Whether by celebrating the sacraments for parishioners or teaching the finer points of theology to seminarians, whether by assisting my bishop with clerical work as his secretary or fundraising for the missions, whether by serving my diocese as vocations director or as master of ceremonies, I hope I have been a channel for others to encounter Jesus or know him a little better.

As I celebrate 25 years of priesthood, I make my own the first words of Benedict XVI as pope: “The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments comforts me, and, above all, I entrust myself to your prayers.”

Father Ekisa will celebrate his anniversary with a reception May 21 at Notre Dame Seminary and also celebrate a Mass and dinner on July 4 with high school seminarians at his alma mater, St. Pius X Seminary, in Nagongera, Uganda.



Father Raymond Igbogidi

What my life as a priest has meant to me: A life of encountering people of different ages, stages, states and needs in different countries on different continents.                                                              

Serving as a priest has been a very humbling experience, an experience of being privileged, of being trusted by so many people to share their faith and their concerns, often in the most vulnerable situations of sickness or bereavement. I often sense my own unworthiness to be a priest, but I know that God grants me all the graces I need to serve his people.

As I remember the past 25 years, I feel extremely humble, and my heart is full of gratitude for the diverse experiences I have lived as a priest: in education, as the rector of a minor seminary in my home diocese of Warri, Nigeria; as a formator preparing young men for the priesthood with the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society; and, mostly, as a shepherd and pastor in different parishes in Nigeria and most recently at St. Christopher the Martyr in Metairie.

I feel God’s presence with me always, especially through the love shown me by the parishioners I am privileged to serve.




Father Tom McCann

“Be humble shepherds with the ‘odor’ of the sheep!” – Pope Francis

As a priest and hospital chaplain, I find these words of the pope both inviting and challenging. Daily pastoral visits to patients who are ill, administering the sacraments, reminding them of Jesus’ healing presence in an often frightening and lonely experience, and celebrating daily Mass in the hospital chapel all continue to be grace-filled opportunities to take on the odor of our hospital flock.

Yes, there are times patients reject my visits, leaving a sour smell in my heart, so to speak. However, I try to remember that chaplaincy service reflects Jesus’ unconditional love for them.

This “special ministry” of joyful chaplaincy flows from humble prayer, from my relationship with the Divine Healer, Jesus. Chaplaincy is rooted in a daily prayer connection to Jesus, who shepherds and heals souls, bodies and minds.

I thank God for the call to take on the odor and the humanity of our hospital flock!

Father McCann is a chaplain at Ochsner Medical Center’s main campus in Jefferson.
 

Father Mark S. Raphael

In the first verse of the 115th Psalm, we find these words: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your Name be the glory.” This is where the life of faith begins and ends. I remain grateful to all who have prayed for and supported me for the last 25 years of priestly life. May the blessings promised to the compassionate be yours in abundance.

Father Raphael is pastor of St. Louis King of France Parish in Metairie.