From Archbishop Donoghue

Priestly Ordination of John Francis Tiernan
August 8, 1998
St. Patrick's, Norcross
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Dear Friends in Christ,

From time to time, I believe it is very important for us to stand back, and to take a look at the most basic reasons for why we as Catholics do the things that we do. And on the occasion of an ordination, there are many things to remind us of our spiritual origins, and there are many events recalled, which describe the beginnings of our faith, and lay down the groundwork on which we are to proceed - not only through history, the history of time and space as they unfold and are revealed - but the groundwork for our procession through the spiritual life - the life of Faith - the life which leads from earth to heaven, and from desolation to salvation in the Risen Christ.

When God chose not to let mankind wander on its own, but to plant in the human race, the powers and capabilities that make man higher than the animals, and worthy of the friendship of God Himself, He also entrusted this message to special people - to people who would leave behind them the ordinary pursuits and accomplishments of human society - to people who would turn their lives over to the service of God - who would devote all their energies to the ongoing announcement of the availability of salvation, and to the celebration and reception of all the grace that God has made available for us to use.

One of those great messengers has spoken to us in the first reading - Ezekiel - and true to his calling as a prophet of God, he delivers to us those stirring words of God the Father, the source of all goodness that we experience here on earth. And from this great prophet, we are reminded that God has given those who call themselves His children a new heart - a heart not just of muscle and blood, but a heart filled with feeling, and the ability to share the feelings of other people - what other creature under the sun can approach even at a distance, the capacity of men and women to feel for one another - love, mercy, understanding, pity, compassion - and yes, even those darker sides of the human heart that cloud our eyes, that dim the light in our souls, and that try to let us be mastered by anger, by contempt, and at the worst, by despair. And God, give us a new spirit as well, that we may see the value of discipline, of law, of self-control, and of pursuing the sort of kindly disposition that allows us to get along with other people, even when we must suppress those strong feelings of the heart, and make them be quiet, for the sake of our own peace, and for the sake of having peace with others.

And finally, in those divine gifts so beautifully revealed in the prophecy of Ezekiel, God has given us a place for eternity in which to worship Him - in which to thank Him for His everlasting blessings, and to bring before Him, our imperfections and weakness, for Him to mend and heal, for Him to help us overcome. This is the Church, where and when we are gathered, and here, before this altar is seen most perfectly the fulfillment of His last promise - I will be your God, and you will be my people. In these words rings clear the intention of God to bring into the world a New Covenant, a covenant that will last for the ages, that will be His free gift to mankind, and that will depend only upon the free acceptance of mankind in return.

When Christ came, six hundred years after Ezekiel, the prophecy was fulfilled - and in and through His Body and Blood, all grace becomes available to men and women, who will keep His commandments, and who will model their lives on His. This was the announcement Christ made to the people gathered at His own synagogue in Nazareth - this is the announcement He makes to us today, gathered at our Church here in Norcross. We recognize today, and at every celebration of our Church the renewal of the New Covenant - the Covenant whereby, as members of Christ's Body, we seek to live as Ezekiel foresaw so long ago - our hearts filled with the same feeling that Christ had for the men and women of His own company - our minds filled with the same simplicity and honesty that Christ showed when He taught His disciples and friends, and dealt with the many types of people who filled the world of His own time - and our beings totally given over to the belief that we are God's children, and that He will be with us always - the same belief that summoned from Christ's heart and mind the greatest profession of Faith - "Thy will Father - Thy will, and not mine own be done."

To remind us of these things, and to make available every day of our lives, His saving Body and Blood, Christ gave - and gives us, the gift of the priesthood - the gift of the lives of men who are ready and willing to turn their lives over to the worship of God, and to the service of His people. He was not inventing something new, but rather, as with everything that He did and that He taught, He was bringing to perfection a gift already enjoyed - enjoyed by the priests and patriarchs and prophets of the Old Days, and now exercised and enjoyed and sometimes suffered by the priests and deacons of the New Days. These truths are brought alive today, as we gather to witness the ordination of our brother John Francis Tiernan to the order of priests. In all that we do, let us above all promise to pray for Father Tiernan as he begins this unique ministry - the principal ministry by which the grace of God is transmitted to His children, the men and women who make up His Church on earth. And let us thank God for the promises He has made to be with us always, and for the bountiful way in which He keeps this promise, through the gift of all priests, and of all others who follow the ordained or consecrated way of life.

My closing words this morning are for John, who now presents himself before the Church to ask for ordination, and whom I will presently, by the power that comes to me from Christ through the Apostles, anoint and bless and consecrate, as a priest of the Lord and of His Holy and Catholic Church.

My beloved son - I offer you these simple instructions, from the ancient wisdom of our Holy Mother the Church. You are now to be advanced to the order of the presbyterate. You must apply your energies to the duty of teaching in the name of Christ, the chief Teacher. You must share with all mankind the word of God you have received with joy. You must meditate on the law of God, believe what you read, teach what you believe, and put into practice what you teach; you must never - never - forsake the guidance, the wisdom, and the protection of our Holy Church.

As it now becomes your sacred duty, celebrate the Sacraments with the mind of Christ - baptize with faith, forgive and absolve with fair mercy, and feed the souls of the faithful knowing that what passes from your hands into their being is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and the source of all salvation. Lead the faithful into the ways of life exemplified and blessed by the Lord - the ways of poverty, of chastity, of obedience - and when death comes, be by their side to steady and ease their entrance into eternal life.

Do your part in the work of Christ the Priest with genuine joy and love, and attend to the concerns of Christ before your own, remembering the words of St. Paul:

I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Now, dear son and brother, trusting your soul to the care of our Blessed Mother Mary, who welcomed Christ into her own body, and who served Him and loved Him perfectly, according to the Father's will, throughout her entire life, I call you forward, to make clear before this holy assembly of God's people, and before His priests and Bishop, your intentions.

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