From Archbishop Donoghue

Ordination of Michael Onyekuru
August 5, 2000
Sts. Peter and Paul Church
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Dear Friends in Christ,

When we read the Gospels, and we hear of the great miracles that our Lord worked, it is completely natural that a thought comes to our mind - and this thought finds its expression in a question that every priest ahs heard many times, whether asked out of sorrow, wonderment, or hope: Why aren’t there miracles any more?

Yet often it is the case that miracles happen in our very presence, and we don’t even see them - or if we see them, we often miss the mark completely in explaining them - it was good luck, we say, it was chance, happenstance, a case of the right circumstances at the right time. So subtle is the power of God to intervene in the affairs of men, that miracles do occur, on a daily basis, and we fail to see them, fail to appreciate them, and what is far more serious, we fail to return to God the glory that He is due, and the thanksgiving that we owe Him for all the favors He sends us.

Today, we are not going to let that happen, for there is no question in my mind, and there is no hesitation in what I am going to say to you, that the Ordination of any man, but especially today, the Ordination of our brother Michael to the Priesthood, is a miracle for which we all have gathered - to witness, to understand, and to thank God for sending upon us, and upon the present and the future of His Holy Catholic Church.

This is a miracle for many reasons; it is a miracle for the love of the mother, who understands the need of Jesus Christ to have His helpers, His priests, to offer the sacrifice of the Mass in His name, and who pray that the seed of vocation in their sons may spring into full-grown fruitfulness in time, and who encourage and protect their sons, as the seed is watered by grace, and grows under the warming light of education, formation, self-discipline and experience; it is a miracle for the generous giving of fathers, who understand that their sons wish to give them, not perhaps the grandchildren of their own loins, but countless children, fostered in the life of the Sacraments, encouraged by the selfless example of this one son, who has left his own, but who has gained in return so many others, so many who call themselves the children of God and His Church; and it is a miracle for the generosity of the man himself, who renounces aspirations to wealth and power and worldly success, to follow our Lord Jesus Christ upon the way of the Cross, the way of giving up self for the sake of others, the way of total commitment to unselfish love, where all is given, but all is gained.

We have yet to measure the further ramifications of the miracle we gather to witness today, for by the grace of God, and with the prayers of the Church to sustain him, how many will be the instances of faith, of hope, of charity - instances of the salvation of Jesus Christ and the Gospels, which our brother will offer in the future to the men and women, young and old, who will come to him for the sustenance that only religion can offer, and the reassurance that only is visible, as we live out our lives enshrined in the armor of our holy Rituals, and in the light of the Sacraments, and offering up to God our song, the timeless outcry of our prayers and supplications.

All of this, and all of these motivations, and these acts of human goodness are to fulfill the words of Jesus Christ, when He says of that love which stands before all other loves:

"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.

“And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundred-fold, and inherit eternal life.”

Dear friends, in a world where millions and millions of men do not receive, do not follow this calling, what greater miracle could there be, that but a handful in comparison do receive the call to the Priesthood, and even further, that today, this one, this son and brother named Michael stands among us, ready to renounce all, that he might gain all, and be one with the Lord Jesus Christ, and with his eternal Priesthood, the ministry of that love which excels above all other loves?

Let us think, then, during this Mass and throughout the days to come, of our own obligation sustain our brother in his new life, offering him all our prayers, and showing him that support and constancy which he will need, as he begins this life-long ministry, this sacred duty which knows no rest, no surcease, his Priesthood in union with His Savior Jesus Christ.

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Dear brother, for now I would end with this instruction to you alone, witnessed by all who have gathered to accept the gift you make, but intended now to counsel you on the essential understandings that you must have and remember always, if you are to stand against the evil that the Evil One throws against all who would align themselves with our Lord, and who would walk in the steps of His Priesthood. I speak now, 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 build 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 perfect-ness, 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 a little child, my brother and son, to have the kingdom and to draw others into the kingdom.

And bear upon your shoulders the poverty of Christ, the Son of the Father – for the secret of His power is that God’s love flowed through Him 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 up, 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:

Then Jesus said to the young man, "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, brother and son, and be not foolish. Give away all, that your all may be but one thing – the person and the spirit of Christ our Lord, who is the very treasure of heaven, and who will be all things to His servant who gives all for His sake.

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 guide, and without the guidance 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 son and brother, “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 now praise God in all that we do, and especially in this Ordination of our brother Michael to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. And let us know and freely acknowledge, that a great miracle has been done today for our sakes, a great miracle for which there is no adequate recompense - but a miracle nonetheless, for which we now, with the strength that comes from the love of our Church and the living of the holy Sacraments, thank God the Father in Heaven, from the bottom of our hearts.

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