ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Our liturgical ceremony this evening, the solemn celebration of Vespers, takes place in the context of the Year of the Priest and everything that this year means for the entire Church. We remember first of all the beautiful expression of Saint John Vianney that the Priesthood signifies the love of the Heart of Jesus. Indeed it is through the ministry of priests that our Lord Jesus Christ brings His Church into intimate contact with His divine and human love. The word of God and the Sacraments administered by the priest infuse into our hearts the love of Jesus, symbolized and expressed in His Sacred Heart.

Our first sentiment in regard to the priesthood, this wonderful plan of God, is one of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of the Heart of Jesus—the great gift of His priesthood which He shares with those men whom He calls to serve His people in this sacred vocation. This evening we express this sentiment in prayer, proclaiming in our Canticle: “Sing praise to our God, all you his servants.”

At the same time as we praise God for His gift of the priesthood we express our gratitude to all those generous and faithful priests who exercise the priestly ministry day after day, year after year, making present the love of the Heart of Christ in the community of the Church. To all of them we repeat this evening the words of Saint Paul proclaimed to us in our reading: “We are bound to thank God for you always, beloved brothers.” Yes, we are deeply grateful to all our dedicated priests for this selfless service to God’s people in this Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We are also pleased that at this time our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has honored a number of these our brothers, designating them as Monsignors and expressing the gratitude of the universal Church for their partnership in the Gospel. There are indeed many other priests in our Archdiocese who would also be worthy of such an honor and they are all included in our esteem and gratitude.

We know the sentiments of those who have now been honored as Monsignors. These sentiments are expressed in Psalm 115, part of our Evening Prayer: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory for the sake of your love and truth....”

The greatest glory of the lives of these Monsignors will remain always the sacred priesthood, as proclaimed in Psalm 110: “The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.”

As I greet this evening all our new Monsignors, I acknowledge the immense amount of priestly and pastoral work they have performed in the years of their priesthood, beginning with Monsignor Daniel Kehoe who has exercised the priestly ministry for over seventy years. I am grateful for the work of our Episcopal Vicars, for the parochial service of our pastors, for the specialized ministry of our Chancellor, the Vice Rector of our Seminary and an Assistant Judicial Vicar. I thank the families and friends who support our priests and the numerous parishioners who, in sharing the joy of this day, express their own deep faith in the Catholic priesthood, which so beautifully signifies the love of the Heart of Jesus.

On this joyful occasion I ask our new Monsignors and all our priests to renew the sacred commitment of their priesthood, a commitment to holiness of life and to the constant service of God’s people, being exercised in close unity with me and my successors, with all our priests, deacons, consecrated religious and lay faithful, and under the governance of our Holy Father and especially our eternal shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ.

This ceremony today gives expression to great priestly love and a deep resolution on the part of our priests, at whatever stage they are in their life, to continue to live and pray and expend themselves for the advancement of the Gospel, the victory of life, the salvation of the world and the outpouring of the love of the Heart of Jesus—and all of this so that God will be praised and glorified in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Dear brother Priests: the People of God love and support you!