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Priesthood Ordination - Awesome, Inspiring, Exciting, Incredible!
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| The Cathedral before practice |
On Friday evening – after a quick
dinner with the family of tuna-loaf and asparagus – I drove over to the
Cathedral in Springfield. Practice was
scheduled to start at 7:45, but I got there a little early (maybe 7:25 or
so). The doors were still locked so I
waited around until Mark Tracy (who is in my same ordination class and studies
at St. Meinrad) arrived and showed me the side door to the cathedral rectory,
which we knocked on and got in. Other
guys showed up over the next few minutes and then we were assigned positions (I
was given the job of holding the Roman Missal and Rite of Ordination for the
bishop). We then spent a few minutes
setting up chairs in the sanctuary for all the priests and deacons that would
be assisting/concelebrating/condeaconing (that last one is made up). We waited for a little while for both deacons
– soon to be ordained – to finish their dinner with the bishop and join us, and
then we began the long process of running through the Mass. Other guys thought that the practice was way
too long – and it was long, like 2 and a half hours – but the difficulty was
that there were so many different people with different responsibilities that
Fr. Alford (the MC, as well as vocation director) had to teach each person
almost individually what they would be doing, and so many things had to be
repeated and explained for multiple people.
For me, practice wasn’t that hard because I had done book-bearer before
(so I knew how to process, where to stand, how to hold the book, etc.) Thus, all I needed to learn was approximately
when I would be moving out to hold the book, about how long I would hold it,
and a few other things that I ended up doing (cleaning the bishop’s hands from
the chrism, helping to set the altar during the offertory, etc.) After practice finally finished up, we all
went to the Villa Maria, a retreat house owned by the diocese and the place
where we usually stay during diocesan events like this. I was sort of thinking about heading to bed
pretty quickly – it was already past 10 at this point and it had been a long
day – but when I got to the villa I found that there were a bunch of friends of
Steve and Seth – mostly from Mundelein – along with all the guys from the
Springfield diocese and so I ended up hanging out, chatting, enjoying some ice
cream and apple pie, sharing stories, learning names (well, sort of), and
otherwise just having a good time.
Anyway, it was a fun evening/night and I ended up hitting the sack
around midnight.
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| The chapel at the villa |
I woke up the next morning around
6:30 when the sun started shining through the window where myself and a few of
the other Bruté guys were sleeping. I
took a quick shower and headed across the building to the chapel – saying the
Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, and several other prayers before wandering
into the dining room where they had just begun serving breakfast. A smattering of other guys were up and we all
enjoyed a hearty breakfast of biscuits & gravy, fruit, eggs, hash browns,
cereal, juice, and cinnamon/blueberry/banana bread (I didn’t have everything,
but that was the selection). After
breakfast, I grabbed my cassock and surplice and drove over to the cathedral,
arriving around 9 AM. Mass was scheduled
to start at 10:30, so I had plenty of time, but it flew by as we were pressed
into service setting up the altar, lighting the candles, figuring out last
minute things that we would have to do, etc.
I squeezed into a collar that I borrowed from Braden Maher (a previous
graduate from Bruté who is 2 years ahead of me in formation at St.
Meinrad). I was extremely thankful for
the collar (because I don’t have one – that will probably wait until I get over
to Rome), but it was pretty tight (I guess that’s like the priesthood, it’s
always awesome, but some times are harder than others). About 15 minutes before Mass I went over to
the other side of the sacristy (where the bishop was vesting). I spent a few minutes fiddling with my collar
– it didn’t want to stay down, and I wanted to be able to breath – with little success… Still, I was really glad that I was
book-bearer because I was right there watching deacon Seth and Steve getting
vested – to be ordained priests in a few minutes – it was an incredible
moment! Both were excited and nervous,
though Dcn. Arisman got more talkative as the time approached and Dcn. Seth,
less talkative (they have very different personalities). Finally, the big moment came and we walked
around the outside of the cathedral and stood in the back ready to
process. The processional hymn, All Creatures of Our God and King, magnificently
thundered from the choir loft and the procession began! A minute or more later – with the servers,
deacons, and some of the priests already having gotten to the sanctuary the
bishop finally began to move (that was how epic of a procession it was)! I was in the very back of the procession, so
I got a spectacular view of everybody packing the cathedral watching the
procession snake up the center. Myself,
along with the deacons for Mass (recently ordained: Samuel Bagyo, and Adam
Prichard), Fr. Alford, and the two vimps (Wayne Stock – a Bruté grad, one year
in front of me, now at Mundelein, and Aaron Kuhn – a classmate of mine, at
Mundelein) genuflected with the bishop and then we went off to our respective
spots (mine was behind and to the left of the bishop). Mass began with an incensation of the altar –
during which I did nothing – and then the Confiteor, Kyrie, Gloria, and
Collect. My job, holding the Roman “action”,
but it was also tough on the arms. The
Confiteor and Kyrie weren’t bad, but then my arms started to get tired as I
held the book out in front and to the side of me so that the bishop could read
it. My left arm was more extended
(because I was holding the book to my left) and to make it worse, since the
ordinary parts were at the front of the missal, most of the weight was pushing
down on that arm. I tried not to grin as
the trumpets chorused out during the Gloria – it was awesome! – but I was
watching the ominous hints that my arms were tiring – mainly the fact that they
were starting to tremble – and had to grit my teeth to get through the last bit
of the Gloria. Thankfully, like the
collar, I had a good intention for which I was offering up all these physical
difficulties: Steve and Seth (soon to be priests)! Fr. Alford came over and flipped the book to
the collect, thankfully taking a bit of pressure off my left arm, but forcing
my tired arms to shove a bit harder against the missal, fighting against a
losing battle against the force of gravity…
Anyway, I managed to hold the book up for another minute and the
mercifully got to close the book, bow, and head back to my seat. The hardest part was done!
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| Fr. Steve Arisman making the promises |
The liturgy of the word went by
quickly and after Marty Smith (one of our recently ordained deacons) finished
proclaiming the gospel the rite of ordination began. This time I was holding the Rite of
Ordination – a smaller book than the missal – and even more awesome was the
proximity that I was to the men being ordained.
I was right there, literally a couple of feet from the bishop when the
candidates’ names were called out. Then,
after the homily, I was again right there during the promise of the elect when
Dcn. Arisman and Brown responded “I do” or “I do with the help of God”: to the
bishop’s requests to: “discharge the office of priesthood in the presbyteral
rank as worthy fellow workers with the order of bishops”, “exercise the
ministry of the Word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and teaching the
Catholic faith”, “to celebrate faithfully and reverently the mysteries of
Christ handed down by the Church, especially the sacrifice of the Eucharist and
the sacrament of Reconciliation, for the glory of god and the sanctification of
the Christian people”, “to implore God’s mercy upon the people entrusted to
their care by observing the command to pray without ceasing”, and “to be united
more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to
the Father as a pure sacrifice and to consecrate themselves to God for the
salvation of all”. And then, I was right
between the bishop and the candidates as they placed their hands within his and
promised “respect and obedience” to him and his successors. I didn’t have to hold the book during the
litanies (thank goodness!), but again, I was only a little ways away when the
young men prostrated themselves on the floor, begging, I’m sure, Christ’s help
in living “in persona Christi”, a totally new life that was now beginning!
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| Fr. Seth Brown receiving the chalice/paten my collar is working its way upwards... |
After the litany, the deacons (for
only a few more moments) again approached the bishop, who laid hands on each of
them, ordaining them priests and marking their souls with the indelible mark of
being an alter Christus. Then, as the Veni, Sancte Spiritus floated through the air, all the other
priests present – including one in a wheelchair (touching moment!) – laid their
hands on the newly ordained priests. Then,
myself holding the book, the bishop said the prayer of ordination and the new
priests were vested in stole and chasuble.
It was an epic moment, and one full of emotion, as Fr. Arisman and Brown
stood there in front of the cathedral full of people, now priests of Our
Lord! They were incredibly happy – the moment
for which they had been waiting for years had finally come and they would soon
be serving as priests in the diocese. I
moved forward again with the book, this time for the consecration of their
hands, and again was right there when
the bishop crossed their palms with the sacred chrism, anointing them for
administering the sacraments, celebrating the sacrifice of the Mass, blessing
people, and the other unique faculties of the priest. Fr. Steve and Seth then moved off to the side
and cleaned the chrism from their hands onto a maniturgium. I couldn’t see exactly what else they did (if
anything) because I was helping to clean the bishop’s hands, but the
maniturgium has special significance because later (the next day) it would be
given to the priest’s mother, a symbol of her giving her son to God as a
priest. Finally, both priests returned
to the bishop – myself again kneeling inches away – to receive the
chalice/paten/wine/bread from him. Each
one came forward, knelt before the bishop, and, as he said a short prayer, they
clasped the chalice (held by the bishop), symbolically receiving the sacred
vessels and bread/wine that they would use or offer at future Masses. It was one of the last parts of the ceremony
of ordination, but important because it reiterates the most important part of
their priesthood – the Holy Mass, in which the priest acts most like Christ and
gives the people Christ’s Body and Blood.
Finally, the bishop embraced the new priests and all the priests again
processed across to them and also gave them a kiss of peace.
The liturgy of the Eucharist was much
the same as in any other Mass. I helped
to set up the altar – carrying over the Roman Missal and stand, as well as
several of the sacred vessels as well as the hosts and wine. Yeah, there wasn’t anything “special” about
the offertory and consecration other than the usual miraculous transubstantiation
that transformed the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood… Actually, I couldn’t see very much because
the vimps were blocking my view of the altar (for the most part). All the servers received Communion from the
bishop, who then distributed the Eucharist to the people (along with plenty of
priests including Fr. Arisman and Brown).
Communion took a good while because there were so many people there, but
it gave me a little bit of time to meditate on the moment – not only the
Eucharist that I had just received, but also the vocation that I am discerning
and preparing for. Last year it was
really cool to be at the ordination – it was the first priesthood ordination that
I attended – this year it was even more awesome because it was starting to hit
me that I could – God willing – be in the exact same position in just four
short years. It’s a thought that excites
me and that was the thought that sent chills down my spine as I held the book
during all those moments of the ordination ceremony, but is also a thought that
worries me a little – will I be ready?, will I be capable? During those moments after Communion I gave
myself again to Our Lord, begging Him to make me worthy, ready, capable, holy,
strong, joyful, and everything else that I will need to be in order to be a
good priest, a good alter Christus. It’s an incredible vocation, one that has
blessed me immensely already in my discernment of it, and one that I still feel
called to, but that knowledge, that joy, and that confidence aren’t
enough. The call comes from Christ and
it is only through Him, and His grace, that I will ever be able to live out
that call.
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| Bishop Paprocki and Fr. Steve Arisman after Mass |
The end of Mass was unique because
before the final blessing the bishop received the very first blessings of both
Fr. Steve and Fr. Seth, a really cool moment as they each (one after the other)
raised their hands and prayed that God’s blessing might come down upon our
bishop. Then the Bishop gave his
blessing to them – and everyone else – while I held the Missal one last time
(my arms had held up pretty good, so this wasn’t terribly difficult). Then everyone processed out to the sound of Oh God Beyond all Praising, the entire
congregation enthused with the joy of seeing two young men transformed into
priests!
More to come! Sorry, these posts take a long time to write and I am in the midst of preparing to apply for my visa (tomorrow in Chicago), packing for vacation (Saturday in Washington State), and writing a letter to my sister (ASAP). Also, most of these pictures were collected from Facebook (obviously I didn't take them).
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