From Archbishop Donoghue

Ordination to the Priesthood
June 3, 2000
St. Thomas Aquinas Church
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[See Georgia Bulletin account]

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the Catholic Church, nothing begins without the Faithful making the Sign of the Cross, and we do this for two reasons – first, to remind ourselves of the Trinity, of the marvelous three-fold love by which God in His totality, has created us, loved us, and now provides for our well-being; and second, we make this sign of the Cross to remind ourselves that the heart of this relationship that we have with God finds its meaning in sacrifice, or more especially, in that sacrifice which we see in the love of Jesus Christ.

This pattern of our spiritual reality – the awareness of God’s three-fold Being, and the power which flows from Him clothed for our human understanding as love, is reflected in all that is beautiful and true about our Church – about our Church’s life. And this certainly holds when we think and speak of the Sacrament we celebrate today, the Sacrament of Holy Orders. For with this Sacrament we clearly see, on many levels, the operation of the Trinity, as the men before us – Luis Isaza, Eric Hill, and Tony Jean – answer now God’s call to the priesthood, Christ’s call to loving service, and the Holy Spirit’s call to effective and certain leadership – and all for the followers of the Lord, the Son of God, who has done all good things for us, that we might have all good things in return.

As the true Church of salvation in the world, it is well for us to remember on this day just how the power of God operates through this three-fold gift of Holy Orders – and we should take a moment to remember these basic aspects of our faith.

On the plane of divine reality, or more simply, according to God’s plan for man’s salvation, it unfolds in this way: The love of God which conquers man’s sins, has opened itself to transmission from above, through the actions that we call the offering of sacrifice. Throughout the Old Testament, the record of God’s first covenant with mankind, this is the way that the priests and people maintain contact with the Father-Creator in heaven – not by appeasement or vain attempts to placate God’s anger, but in humble recognition that the glory of God is above all things, and that man finds his meaning only within that glory – in how he reflects it, in how he infuses earthly life with its power, and in how, by the freedom of his human will, he opens himself to being filled with the power that comes from on high. This is the first and most fundamental of our actions before God, the Father – and the priesthood of the New Testament, of the new Covenant, the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Son, and the second person of God, is the final and perfect fulfillment of all sacrifices offered, for the sake of the Father’s glory, and for the sake of mankind’s salvation. And such was the love of Jesus Christ, for those He knew, and for those not even yet born, that He gave us a priesthood for the ages - a priesthood whose sacrifice is His own – to make available His Body and Blood, and in His name, to forgive men and women of their sins – of whatever would bar them from the reception of divine love. And we se, through the ages, that in spite of persecution, of inner rebellion, and of the apathy which can so easily overtake any man, or any woman, the Holy Spirit has cherished and protected the priesthood of His Church – first, because as was always the case, God is glorified in the sacrifice which we offer to Him through our priests, and second, Christ the Lord, has promised that we will have His Body and Blood to console us until the end of time, and until that dawn of eternity will make Him present to us forever and ever.

This is how the priesthood of our Church, as given by this Sacrament of Holy Orders, reflects the Trinity in its historic and transcendent reality.

But there is a closer level of reality expressed by what we do here today as well.

For just as God sits in loving protection of His people, as they progress and mature on the way to salvation, so too do these men who prepare now to accept His call to priesthood, have behind them, loving fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers and friends – loving families, as the Church understands families, who have watched over them, who have been always nearby to rescue the stumbling stem, or to utter words of encouragement in times of doubt – and we would be remiss, if we did not see in this reality of human existence, another kind of reflection of the Trinity, of the love of God, and make sufficient thanks to these families, even as we thank the Father in every way for His goodness to us. For they have also prepared a gift for us, for the Church – their sons, these men, who will now become our priests, and offer the Sacrifice of the Mass on our behalf.

So too, is the gift of these men reflective of the love of Christ, the Son, and the second Person of the Trinity. For Christ is not compelled by the Father to offer Himself – rather, he is moved by love, by that most powerful of energies in the universe, the first reflection of the Father – moved to give His life in service, moved when called to die not for Himself, but for the salvation of many – and again, we would be short in our meditation on this Sacrament of Orders, were we not to pause now, and thank these men for the gift that comes from within each of them – motivated certainly by the love of the Lord, by the love of the brave and noble Savior, by whom they have been moved, and in the steps of whom they wish now to follow for the rest of their lives on earth – but nevertheless, their gift belongs to each of them, and by the merit of Christ Himself, their gift is worthy of all the thanks and appreciation that we can summon. And so we do, as a part of this great Sacrament, say our thanks to them, and bless them for what they are doing – for the glory of God, and for the love that Jesus Christ has taught them.

And finally, on this level of personal understanding of the Trinity, it remains for us to acknowledge the love of God’s Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent down on His Church after He had gone back to the Father, to become King of Heaven and earth. It is the Holy Spirit, Who looks after our daily lives – Who moves us to prayer when our own spirits weaken – Who urges us to the Sacraments, when our spiritual lives are touched by evil - by greed, by despair, or by apathy – those sins which dull for us the glory of God’s divinity, and render useless, by the choice of our own wills, the all-powerful love which He wishes for us, and has made so easily available and obtainable. It is the Holy Spirit who will now rule the days of these men forevermore – who will instruct them in the truth, not just as it is in theory, but as it must be brought to bear in the human situations – the conflicts, the sorrows, and the triumphs of all those whose care these men will now pursue as priests of the Catholic Church. We bless God for this power – that we are not adrift in a sea of circumstance and chance – but that we are instead, awash, buy the waters of Baptism, in the will of the Holy Spirit for each one of us, to whom we are known by name, and who numbers, as Scripture teaches us, the very hairs on our head.

It is a glorious thing we do today, dear friends, and which is done through us - this celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and this celebration of the three-fold love of God as it permeates our existence and our reality - for these meanings we have considered, and for many others meanings that we could trace from now on, if time were not of consequence, and if the point were not today the actual ordination of our brothers and sons, who wait here before us, patiently, for this culmination in their struggles, their studies, and their arduous application over the past years of stringent formation.

But we would not be done, and my duty as the bishop of this local Church would not be fulfilled, if I did not pause now, in the presence of your prayers and good-will, to remind these men of another three-fold reality, and another reflection of God’s triune love for His people and Hid Church.

Dear brothers and sons, I speak now, finally and briefly, of the three-fold counsels of our Church, the three-fold virtues, habits, disciplines, taught us by the life of Christ, and upon which all who devote their lives to religious service must found their careers, their ministries, and in which they must bury their own egos, their pride, their “self-ness.”

Immerse yourselves from this day on in the purity of God – His love, which knows no motivation but its own chaste perfectness, and which will be reflected henceforth in your utter respect for all, by uniting yourself in holiest union with no one person, but with all persons – just as God, through the gift of free will, has become obtainable by all, and singles out no one to the exclusion of others. Chastity, celibacy, purity – of intent and of practice. Remember what Christ said:

“Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Be little children, my brothers, to have the kingdom and to draw others into the kingdom.

And bear upon your shoulders the poverty of Christ, the Son, the Second Person – for the secret of His power is that the love of God flowed through Him with no hitch, with no reservation, with nothing kept for Himself, but with all given to the help, health, and uplifting of others. Own nothing so precious that you would not instantaneously give it, if it means the happiness of another, if it means the leading of another into the truth and the peace of Christ’s faith.

Remember what Christ said:

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Be not sad, brothers and sons, and be not foolish. Give away all, that your all may be one thing – the person and the spirit of Christ our Lord, who is the treasure of heaven, and who will be all to His servants who give their all for Him.

And finally, tie yourself to the Church’s teaching, to her guidance, to her Tradition and to her wisdom, for apart from the Church, the Holy Spirit does not govern, and without the governance of the Spirit, their is only the confusion of human speculation, and the bottomless pit of unanswered questions. Be obedient – to the Church, to your bishop, and to the will of the Holy Spirit moving through both.

Remember what Christ says:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

Be obedient to the truth, my brothers, “and the truth will set you free,” from anything that would enslave you, and take you away from the Lord whom you are now called to serve with your total being.

Dear friends, let us glorify God in His triune majesty, and let us pray now for our brothers, who in the most special way, now come before His Church to take upon themselves the yoke of Christ’s love, the guardianship of His Spirit, and the praise, on our behalf, of the Father n Heaven, whose love is our only beginning and our only possible end. We bless Him for the Sacraments, and especially today, for this Sacrament of Holy Orders by which so much is made clear to us, and by which we are so elevated into the truth. May the power of its celebration remain with these chosen men from this day forth, and may God find them, at the end of their earthy days, good and faithful servants, and worthy to take up their abode with Him in heaven above. This we pray for, and ask for, as we do all things worthy,

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

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Ordination of Fathers: Luis Guillermo Córdoba Isaza , Eric J. Hill and Thony Roody Jean