ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Your Eminence, Cardinal Bevilacqua,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers about to be ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ:
             Armand, Richard, Augustus, Bernard, Robert,
Dear Deacons and Religious,
Dear Parents, Family Members, Friends of the Ordinands,
Dear Lay Faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,

            We gather in the name of Jesus Christ and in the unity of His Church to celebrate the Ordination to the Priesthood of five of our brothers. The presence of all of you is so important in showing the relationship of the priesthood to the entire community of God’s people. The presence of our priests is particularly important in showing the unity of the presbyterate in this Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

            Our candidates for the priesthood understand that they are not alone. They exult today in the solidarity of the entire Archdiocese—those present and those who are with us in spirit and in prayer, including many contemplative religious who are interceding for our deacons even as this ceremony takes place.

            Dear Ordinands: the joy that you bring to your families today is a sign of the joy that your ministry is meant to bring to the entire people of God.

 But what is this ministry? What is this priesthood? In what does it consist? Let us reflect briefly on this holy subject.

            In just a few moments, after the laying on of hands, you will all hear the prayer of the Church with which the handing on of the priesthood will be accomplished. In those decisive words the Church prays: “Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to these your servants the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness....”

            It is very impressive that, at the very moment when the Church transmits the power of the priesthood, she asks the Father to send forth upon the Ordinands the Holy Spirit. And the Church identifies this Spirit as the Spirit of holiness—the Spirit who alone can make these men holy and enable them, by the example of their manner of life, to instill right conduct in others. In the very act of transmitting priestly power, the Church speaks about the holiness that comes from the Spirit of God, the holiness that is so necessary if the priest is to fulfill his priestly ministry.

But, once again, what is this priestly ministry? The word of God this morning gives us so many insights into why our priests exist—who they are and what they are to do.

            In our reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, as we recall God’s word to him, we also see that it is verified today in our new priests to be. We believe that God chooses. We believe that the prophecy spoken to Jeremiah applies to these men today: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” And, reflecting further on the words of the Prophet, we hear God continue to speak: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them.... See, I place my words in your mouth!”

The proclamation of the word of God, dear Ordinands, will always be the eminent priority in your priesthood. You will speak the word of God in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient, when acceptable or not acceptable. It will never, however, be your personal message. It will always be, as God says, “whatever I command you, you shall speak.” It is the work of a lifetime to proclaim joyfully, faithfully, energetically the word of God that has been revealed and committed to His Church and that is to be guarded and taught by her.

            Even as you proclaim the word of God, day in and day out, you will return to reflect on the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke which has been proclaimed on this your ordination day. You will remember that the proclamation of the word of God reaches its climax in the sacramental proclamation of the Eucharist. Saint Luke describes for us the scene of the Last Supper. Jesus “took the bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my Body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, which will be shed for you.’” The words “Do this in memory of me” are central to your existence as priests and to your ministry as heralds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

            In the sacramental proclamation of the Mass, you will renew the death and resurrection of the Lord and you will faithfully fulfill His command “Do this in memory of me.” The Eucharistic celebration will always take place through the power of the Holy Spirit. And, in order to be suitable ministers of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, you will need the Holy Spirit—“the Spirit of holiness”—which the Church invokes on you today and communicates to you sacramentally.

            The Second Vatican Council, dear brother priests to be, which you have studied and love and which you must always support and follow, puts it this way: “Priests fulfill their chief duty in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In it the work of our redemption continues to be carried out. For this reason, priests are strongly urged to celebrate Mass every day, for even if the faithful are unable to be present, it is an act of Christ and the Church” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 13).

Your life, dear brothers, is the Eucharist and your Eucharistic ministry is what the Second Vatican Council calls “an act of Christ and the Church.” All the activities of your life will require an immense amount of pastoral love—the pastoral love that you already show by being willing to lay down your life for the people of God, the type of pastoral love that is needed for celibacy to be authentic and joyful, the pastoral love that Jesus wants you to give to all His people.

 But Vatican II still has a word of deep insight for you. It tells you solemnly that your pastoral love flows mainly from the Eucharistic Sacrifice and that this Eucharistic Sacrifice is therefore the center and root of your whole priestly life (cf. ibid., 14). Never forget this truth, dear brothers, and do not neglect to put it into practice. The Spirit of holiness is given to you in ordination, but, forever after, this holiness must be exercised and kept alive through the Eucharist.  

            As priests you will serve the people of God in so many relevant ways, but after the Eucharist there is nothing more important than the ministry of reconciliation as exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. There is no greater human fulfillment than to touch human hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the merciful and compassionate Redeemer. God has willed to keep alive in the Church the great gift of His mercy through the Sacrament of Confession, and only the priest can serve the People of God as the minister of forgiveness and pardon.

In speaking to the Bishops of the United States, Pope John Paul II encouraged them to promote the Sacrament of Penance and he charged them to encourage their priests to do the same. I am relaying this charge to you today. But the Holy Father also encouraged the Bishops themselves to utilize the Sacrament of Penance as penitents. The same is true for you, dear brothers.

            Our human weakness will always be with us and we will always need God’s forgiveness. God has not chosen you to be priests because you are perfect or sinless. He has chosen you to be priests, so that, conscious of your own human weakness, and renouncing sin, you can bring, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, forgiveness to others. This forgiveness was won for all of us by Jesus when He shed His Blood in sacrifice “so that sins may be forgiven.”

            And so you see, dear brother priests and all of you dear people of God, how profound is the reflection of the author of the Letter to the Hebrews which we have heard proclaimed: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” The author of the Letter to the Hebrews goes on to spell out God’s plan, saying that every high priest “is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.” This is no excuse for sinning or for remaining in sin, but the priest’s weakness and humanity are part of God’s plan to reveal His mercy in the Church and in the world.

Weakness and sin call for repentance, for a purpose of amendment and a strong resolution to integrity of life. But realizing his own humanity and weakness, the priest, as God’s word testifies, “is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and the erring.” For all those redeemed by Christ, repentance and ongoing conversion of heart are absolutely necessary. But the acknowledgment of weakness and sin brings about two things in our lives: (1) humility, which makes us praise God’s mercy and forgiveness, and (2) compassion in reaching out to others who are in need of encouragement, forgiveness, and mercy.

            The forgiveness of sins that was brought about by the Blood of Jesus, poured out in sacrifice and offered in the Eucharist, is applied to individual hearts in the Sacrament of Penance. You must, dear brothers, profit from this Sacrament, use it humbly and offer it generously to the people of God.

There are numerous other aspects to your priestly life. You are called by the Church to praise God through the Liturgy of the Hours, through different forms of prayer, through the reading of the word of God and through the oblation of your will made in union with that of Christ. Remember that you are called to be witnesses of Divine Mercy-the love of the Father that passes through the Heart of Jesus and comes into contact with human weakness. And so your special love must always be with the poor and needy, with the sick and dying, with those in pain and sorrow and with those in sin.

 Dear Ordinands, as you open your hearts to “the Spirit of holiness”—God’s Holy Spirit—to receive ordination to the priesthood, realize that you will never be alone. The entire Church is with you and the entire Church will remain with you in the years to come to support you, to encourage you and to be supported and served by you.

 At this moment the Church asks of you fidelity—fidelity in your personal commitment to Jesus Christ, to His Gospel and to His Church. She asks for your fidelity to prayer. She asks you to love Jesus Christ, His Church and His Mother Mary. As the Mother of priests she will be with you always in your efforts to lead lives of integrity—to be truthful, just, courageous, merciful and chaste.

 This is truly the hour for you to trust in the power of the Paschal Mystery, to trust that all the weaknesses and sins of the world are not equal to the power of the living Jesus Christ, the one who invites you to a life of holiness and who says to you today “Do this in memory of me.” Amen.