I am so grateful to God for this opportunity to celebrate Mass with you on this night where we give thanks to almighty God for the gift of ten years of priesthood in my life. I can remember that day ten years ago like it was yesterday. The gorgeous music from the organ, choir and trumpets, the applause of the people as we stood before them as candidates for ordination, and of course, the moment of the ordination itself. My heart was overwhelmed with a sense of awe as Bishop Campbell’s hands rested gently on my head in that ancient symbol of the handing on of authority. In that moment, I sensed in my heart the gravity of the mission to which I was being called. I remember the pure joy of standing up after the prayer of ordination by the Bishop, being vested with priestly garments for the first time and then being embraced by each of my brother priests with the sign of peace, welcoming me into the brotherhood of priests in the Diocese of Columbus. What an amazing gift!
But the abundant graces of that day aren’t all we can celebrate on this joyful evening. No, the graces of God were flowing long before then. Ten years before that day, I was a college student just beginning to open up my heart to God’s call in my life. I was blessed to have great brothers and sisters in Christ who helped me realize that I shouldn’t just be telling God my plan for my life, but asking God to reveal His plan for me. Some of those brothers and sisters in the Lord are here tonight. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. God’s grace was flowing through you to help me realize that His plan was better than my plan. I was so blessed to have the guidance of Fr. Jeff Coning, whose wisdom and friendship were such an important support for me during those years. You did a great job as Vocation Director helping me and many other young men in our discernment. Thank you!
Then I think of ten years before that. I was eight years old, seated with my brother and sisters around the table after dinner with my mom and dad, listening attentively to a story from Family Devotions for Kids. Those devotions always included a relatable story that helped me see how God was at work in my daily life. The Bible memory verses at the end that we all groaned about having to repeat helped get the Word of God embedded in my heart and mind. I can remember during that same time period, sitting with my family in the front right pew at St. Catharine, listening to Msgr. Sorohan preach about that weekend’s Gospel Narrative and watching Him raise the cup and paten that one day I would raise in that same Church. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for laying such a strong foundation of faith for me and planting those seeds that would one day flower into a vocation to the priesthood. I am so grateful for God’s grace flowing through you to all of us kids. And thank you to Billy, Julie, Amy and Laura, for supporting me so well with your love and encouragement through the years. I am blessed by you!
I think back to even before I came into the world, back to a prayer meeting where Fr. Don Franks, a young redhead at the time, prayed with my parents. They were struggling to conceive, but with his prayers and the mighty grace of God, they eventually had a house filled with five children! Praise you, Jesus, for the abundant grace flowing even before I was born.
So often, people remark that I look too young to be a priest, and they are probably right. But the truth is, it is because of the grace of God that I have been able to answer the call. God already knew what He would be about in my life before I was born. As we heard in that beautiful reading from the prophet Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. “Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “I know not how to speak; I am too young.” But the LORD answered me, Say not, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.
God has indeed blessed me with abundant grace to answer His call, to serve His people as a young, and now slightly less young priest. I am so grateful that He has equipped me for the mission of serving His people in the Church. Thank you Lord for your grace, which has been with me since before I was born!
The second reading reminds us of the greatest reason I have to celebrate these ten years as a priest:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
On that day 10 years ago, I knelt in front of the Bishop and he handed me a ciborium filled with hosts, and the chalice filled with wine, saying:
“Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered to Him. Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate: model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”
The Eucharist is what I was made for–by the undeserved grace of God, standing at the altar and saying those words of Jesus with His authority entrusted to me, so that day after day and Sunday after Sunday, I can make Jesus present to you all, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. I have been so blessed by Jesus throughout my life. He has always been there for me with His grace. As an infant, He claimed me as His adopted son through Baptism. He has fed me consistently with the Eucharist to strengthen me throughout my life’s journey. He has picked me up countless times when I’ve fallen through sin and renewed my relationship with Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And when He saw fit, He poured out the grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders upon me to be able to share those same gifts of grace with others, to make Jesus personally present to you!
Listen to that beautiful promise of our Heavenly Father through the prophet Jeremiah: “I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.” The Lord is for us, not against us, and has blessed the Church with the gift of the priesthood so that we might know His closeness and care. That is what I strive to be a vessel of in my priesthood, with God’s help.
I’m so grateful for those times of seeing God break the chains of sin in the confessional. My heart burns with joy as I consecrate the Eucharist to feed my spiritual family at the parish. I am humbled by the grace to preach and teach. Seeing you all grow in your relationship with God through my ministry brings me to my knees in gratitude. I praise God for the opportunity to rejoice with you, weep with you, and share the adventure of discipleship together.
Thank you Jesus, that you have called me to follow you as a humble servant. Thank you for inspiring me throughout these years by the example of so many humble priests who have shown me what it means to live out that challenge of Jesus: “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Lord, help me by your grace to continue to lay myself down in service to your people.
I can’t put into words the gratitude I have for the Lord’s call and grace. He has been so good to me, and I pray that you all experience His goodness abundantly in your lives. To close, I want to quote a poem that Fr. Tad Oxley quoted as part of his homily at my first Mass as a priest:
To live in the midst of the world with no desire for its pleasures;
to be a member of every family, yet belonging to none;
to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets, to heal all wounds;
to daily go from men to God to offer Him their homage and petitions;
to return from God to men to bring them His pardon and hope;
to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity;
to bless and to be blessed forever.
O God, what a life, and it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ! Amen.
+ Thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the gift of sharing in Jesus’ priesthood. Help all of us to draw close to You and remain with You always. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. +