Priestly ordinations not only reflect the diversity of the global clergy, but also stand as reminders of how everyday persons are called to holiness, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said at the ordination of three new priests on Saturday. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
August 8 was also the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first saint.
In his homily at St Mary’s Cathedral, Archbishop Fisher said St Mary MacKillop was an example of how everyone can heed and spread Christ’s Word and become “holy, holy, holy followers of Christ”.
“MacKillop took Christ’s words seriously enough to keep riding out into the bush, starting and supporting things, sending sisters forth and leaving the rest to God,” he said.
“That was the secret to her sanctity, and a reminder to us all that holiness can be cultivated in the most ordinary circumstances.”
Archbishop Fisher also commended the newly ordained priests, Fr Lukasz Golab, Fr Peter Van Khuong Tran and Fr Stephen Howard for entering a life where God has made them “living instruments of Christ, the Eternal Priest.”
“The call to holiness goes out to the whole world, and today it addresses three men from different countries, one from Poland, one from Vietnam and the other a ‘Hillsbilly’ of Sydney,” he said.
“In our epistle today, St Paul has some fashion advice for you: as you engage in those new priestly tasks, clothe yourselves in the alb of compassion, kindness and humility, in the cincture of gentleness and patience and in the stole of forbearance, forgiveness and peace.”
For all three men, it was an emotional day.
At the beginning of Mass, the Archbishop asked the faithful and other clergy to pray for Fr Tran, as his extended family from Vietnam were denied visas to attend the ordination, while also acknowledging how the grief of losing a brother informed Fr Howard’s decision to discern his priestly vocation.
Fr Howard was visibly moved as he spoke before the final blessing, especially when he referred to “our loving Mother Mary.”
“We would like to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph, who built together the house of Nazareth in our hearts, so we may become just like their son,” he said.
“Quietly, secretly, patiently, they have loved us and watched over us. And for the precious gift of priesthood, we give thanks and praise to God, our provident Father, to God the Holy Spirit, to God the Son, our Lord and lover, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, whose love is stronger than sadness, than sin, than war, than suffering and stronger than death.”
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Three priests ordained for the Sydney Archdiocese (By Alex Woolnough, The Catholic Weekly)
