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From Archbishop Gregory  |
| Wilton D. Gregory, |
Ordination to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ
Saturday 31 May, 2008
Christ the King Cathedral
Atlanta, GA
Wilton D. Gregory,
Archbishop of Atlanta
“Every High Priest is taken from among men”. Some of the ancients might very well have suspected or a few perhaps might even have believed that high priests – those ministers who were entrusted with sacrificial responsibilities – were somehow of divine origin or had heavenly pedigree. Our priests – as deeply beloved as they are – are very much ordinary men – average individuals – coming from backgrounds that are well known to all of us. They are similar to us in every way, including being sinful and weak.
These priests are taken from ordinary people in order to accomplish extraordinary – even Divine responsibilities. They are chosen in the Holy Spirit to continue the ministry of the One High Priest Who rightfully and eternally claims true Divine Origins.
Welcome to one of the happiest moments in the life of this Archdiocese. Welcome to our guests who come from near and far. Welcome to the family, friends, and colleagues of these eight very human and ordinary men who are destined to be caught up in an extraordinary journey of Faith and Service. Welcome to Archbishop John Francis Donoghue our retired Archbishop, to all of our priests and deacons who care for the People of God in North Georgia with such devotion and dedication. I welcome especially the representatives from the seminary communities where these men have been educated and formed.
The Priesthood of Jesus Christ is the motivation of our joy and the very reason for our celebration today. We are a people singularly blessed because Jesus Christ is our Perfect High Priest. Furthermore, He has shared His Priestly Office with the entire Church. All of God’s People are themselves sanctified by the Priestly Office of Christ. In spite of that, some of us through no merit of our own have been selected to share in a profoundly different way in the sacrificial and ministerial dimension of Jesus’ Priesthood. We very ordinary men are the beneficiaries of the Church’s call to Ordained Ministerial Service for the People of God. It is the work, we believe, of the Holy Spirit who ensures the continuation of Christ’s Priesthood within the Church.
To the families of these eight men, I offer a heartfelt word of thanks for the love, support, and encouragement that you have given to these men. The Archdiocese of Atlanta is deeply grateful to you for the gift of your son, grandson, brother, nephew, or uncle to become our Priest this day. Continue to pray for them so that by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they will be faithful, generous, and zealous Priests in the image of Christ Himself whose Priesthood they will soon share.
My sons, during the past 3½ years, I have had the good fortune to spend personal, individual, and private time with each one of you. It is critically important for the Bishop to know well the men that he ordains. After all, I must answer before God Himself for the quality of men that I call to and ordain to the Priesthood. I believe that you are worthy of this office as Father Ballman has just assured the entire Church. I also know that you are not perfect – just as by now you must certainly know that I am not perfect. But we all know and believe that God’s grace is far greater than our weaknesses and short-comings. If you surrender your life to the Spirit of God, He will fashion you into the Priest that Jesus Christ wishes you to become.
A priest must be a man who is always mindful of his humanity. You have to be in touch with the feelings, the fears, and the questions that belong to all of us as men. Yet a priest is always equally conscious of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit working in his life. A priest relies on the prayers of God’s People even as he remembers those very same people in his daily prayer for the Church. As we speak to God personally each day in the Liturgy of the Hours and especially in and through the Eucharist we are reminded that we are never alone – we live in continual conversation with the Father of Jesus who never fails to hear the prayers of His Son.
It is because of that intimate dialogue that you hold with the Father and through the power of the Holy Spirit that you can speak in the very name of Christ the Words that sanctify God’s People. You speak in Christ’s name and the Father always listens. You will utter words over bread and wine – and the Father hears. You will whisper the words of absolution and the Spirit will remove the burden sin from the hearts and shoulders of your brothers and sisters. You will anoint the sick and suffering and they will be touched and comforted by Jesus Himself. All of these things will happen because the Spirit will come upon you – that same Spirit that came upon the youthful Mary thus enabling Her to give Christ to the world.
My sons, these wondrous things you will do while remaining very much an ordinary man taken from among people who will look to you in the hope of finding Jesus. The Priestly Office that you are about to receive identifies you with Jesus in the supreme action that He took as the Son of Father – the surrender of His life on the Cross. Priestly service is intimately and inextricably linked to the Cross and therefore you also embrace celibacy as a vehicle of identifying your life with Christ.
There are many other ways to live in the world – all of them can lead to deep holiness. Surely you know of the great sanctity that husbands and wives attain in living out their marriage vows. The single people who live chaste lives as single men and women are also signs of holiness for the Church. We celibates, however, embrace a simple life in imitation of the One who chose to dedicate Himself completely to the Will of His Father and to be a sign of that Kingdom that will come in the Father’s own time. In our sexually charged society, celibacy will often be terribly misunderstood, but for those who have an eye for the Reign of God, it remains an indication of that Kingdom where the Father will reign and the Son will summon all those who have deigned to follow him surrendering themselves and their hearts’ desire for the sake of that Kingdom.
In a few moments you will promise me and my successors obedience and respect. Both qualities are necessary for our healthy relationship. Obedience without respect is subservience and unworthy of a true union of friends. Respect without obedience is an empty promise. Taken together they indicate that we will attempt to live in such a fraternal union that the Church will be edified by our love for one another and our commitment to serve all of God’s People in joy. I, for my part, must also promise each one of you, as I do today, to love you as a son and support you as a brother so that you will never doubt that you have a secure place within my heart.
“Every High Priest is taken from among men”. May the Holy Spirit come mightily upon these ordinary men so that the Church will find in them truly holy and generous servants in the image of that High Priest who in Himself combines perfect humanity and Divinity. Amen.