Purpose: For Pat and I to be made into priests by the
bishop.
Main
Players: Bishop
Kevin Rhoades will preside and preach. He is the bishop of Fort Wayne – South Bend
(the diocese in which Notre Dame and South Bend are located). Seminarians will serve.
One
Key Moment: The bishop
laying his hands on mine and Pat’s heads.
This, together with a prayer he says after the priests repeat his
gesture, is the moment we become priests.
We read about this rite in the part of the Bible about the first
generation of the Church after Jesus’ time on earth (book of Acts).
Formality: Think
wedding.
This service fits into the same structure as
any Mass, with most of the special actions in the middle.
The gathering is reasonably standard, except
for the over one hundred priests who will process in to concelebrate the
Mass. Pat and I will process in vested
as deacons (diagonal stole), as that’s what we are. We’ll sit with our families for the first
part of Mass.
For the liturgy of the Word, we continue the
Easter Octave sequence of readings. The
readings are fortuitous in talking about the importance of preaching as a call
from Christ. Because this is an
ordination, we add a second reading about priesthood. This reading is from a letter of St. Paul and
stresses the importance of proclaiming the Gospel and God’s power despite, or
even through, a priest’s weakness.
Ordination puts “a treasure in clay jars,” is the image used. The readers will be Mary Ann Wilson, who we
studied alongside us in the MDiv, and Timothy O’Malley, who Pat and I have both
worked with in his role at the Institute for Church Life, a Notre Dame
institute that seeks to build bridges between the academy and the everyday life
of the Church. The Gospel will be
proclaimed by Fr. Paul Kollman, who I got to know in Berkeley and now directs
Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, which organizes opportunities for
Notre Dame students to learn through service.
Before the bishop preaches, Pat and I are asked
to stand and Fr. Tom O’Hara (the superior of the US Province of theCongregation of Holy Cross) will formally present for ordination. He relies on the testimony of some of the
people we’ve worked with as deacons. I
will be presented by the Klee family who worship at Holy Cross Parish. Kelly Klee is our Director of Music. Pat will presented by some of the staff of
Keough Hall, where he serves as rector.
After bishop preaches, he asks us to state our
resolve to exercise our ministry as priests faithfully. These questions span the three main aspects (munera) of priesthood: prophet (preacher
/ teacher / proclaimer of Gospel in word and deed); sanctifier (pray-er / minister
of the sacraments[1]);
servant-leader (servant of all, especially the poor / leader in and builder of the
Christian community). They also remind
us that we do not cease being followers of Christ by embracing his
priesthood. One by one, we also renew our
promise of respect and obedience to the local bishop and our CSC superior by
putting our hands inside his grasp; held in embrace, not locked in chains.
After that comes a rite we experienced before both at Final Vows and Diaconate Ordination: we will lay prostate, the
lowest people in the room, as the congregation sings, asking saint upon saint
to pray for us. The bishops concludes
with a prayer he says on his own, to which the people reply “Amen.”
Then, in silence, he lays hands on us, the
ancient sign of the passing on of ministry found in the book of Acts. Each of the priests present repeat this
gesture, a tender sign that they wish to share their priesthood with us. During this, the song Gabriel’s Oboe will be played from the film The Mission (which for both Pat and I encapsulates a lot of our
image of priesthood), followed by a simple chant Veni Sancte Spiritus (“Come Holy Spirit”). After the hand-laying, the bishop prays the
prayer of consecration. This prayer
begins by praising God, continues to discuss the Old Testament preparation for
the Christian priesthood, and then outlines the duties of priests (listen for
the three munera!) and prays that we will fulfill these fruitfully. The people’s Amen formally concludes the ordination: we are priests.
Hence, we are dressed wrong: we’re dressed as
deacons, but we’re priests now! Fr. Bob,
my pastor, will come and help me change into the proper dress for priests
during Mass. Fr. Jim King, the superior
of Corby Hall and director of Campus Ministry at Notre Dame, will do the same
for Pat. Rather than being diagonal, our
stole will hang round our necks as a yoke of service. This is covered by a chasuble (a kind of
cloak). These vestments will be ours to
keep. They were especially made by the
basilica’s seamstress, Patty Schlarb, who prayed for us as she made them. They are draped over the wall in front of the
family pews in such a way as we won’t be able to see the detail until we put
them on. We will discover what we look
like as priests by seeing each other.
After that, the bishop will anoint our hands
with sacred oil. Christ means “anointed
one” and we physically share in his spiritual anointing. This rite is especially connected with our
new role as sanctifiers. It then takes
bishop a little while to wash his hands!
The final part of the special ordination inserts is returning to receive
the chalice and paten that we will use to celebrate Mass. The prayer bishop says is, I think, one of
the most beautiful of the rite: “imitate what you celebrate.” Presiding at the sacrifice of the Mass cannot
simply be a set of rituals, priests must live sacrificially; proclaiming God’s
mercy in the confessional cannot simply be a formula, priests must be merciful;
etc. We exchange a sign of peace with
the bishop, and then we go into a regular preparation of the altar for Mass, to
transition to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The Eucharistic prayer is basically as normal
(listen for a few specific references to ordination). Pat and I join with the bishop for the first
time in concelebrating. While the
Eucharistic Prayer must be prayed by a
priest, it may also be prayed by many
priests joining their voices as one.
While it’s common to refer to what will happen the next day as our first
Masses, this is really the first time we celebrate the Eucharist as a
priest. We will assist with the
distribution of communion. Before the final
dismissal, Bishop may ask me and Pat to give him some of our first blessings as
priests. After the Mass, many people
will be asking us for this blessing.
After the final procession out, the choir will
sing some joyful postludes. We’ll share
some time outside, initially with our brother priests, and then with whoever
streams out! Then, we’ll head back into
the basilica for some family photos.
Others should head over to the reception (open to all) under the Golden
Dome. Fr. Pat and I will be there to
celebrate presently!
[1] Sacraments are visible signs of
invisible grace, normative ways in which Catholics’ daily lives and major life
transitions interact with the divine.
The seven sacraments are: baptism (anyone can baptize; deacons, priests
and bishops are ordinary ministers); confirmation (priests can confirm; bishops
are ordinary ministers); Eucharist (priests and bishops are the ministers of
this); confession (priests and bishops are the ministers of this); anointing of
the sick (priests and bishops are the ministers of this); marriage (the couple
are the ministers of this; deacons, priests and deacons receive the vows); and
ordination (bishops are the only ministers of this).
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