In the Diocese of Lincoln, Memorial Day Weekend is synonymous with Ordinations Weekend. The longstanding tradition of having ordination ceremonies during this holiday weekend is well established. Also included in the weekend’s festivities are the First Solemn Masses of Thanksgiving during which the new priests and deacons exercise the powers of their ministry either at their home parish or another parish of their choosing.
Since most of our clergy were ordained around this time, there are many priests who are presently celebrating anniversaries. This is a good time for us all to be grateful not only for the gift of priesthood itself, but also for the perseverance of those who have been given this unique and holy gift. Prayers for priests are essential in this regard, and they are very much appreciated.
My class has the distinction of being the largest class ordained in one ceremony in diocesan history. There were ten of us who were ordained priests on May 27, 1989, at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ by Bishop Glennon P. Flavin (He served as Bishop of Lincoln for 25 years). Our class now celebrates our Silver Jubilee of Ordination to the Priesthood with three special blessings of note. First of all, contrary to the typical situation of classes from that era, none have died and none have left the active ministry. Secondly, our class actually grew by two members, both of whom were ordained by Pope Saint John Paul II on May 28, 1989, and both of whom were incardinated into our diocese by Bishop Bruskewitz later on. Finally, one from our ranks, Bishop John Folda, received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders last summer.
Being twelve in number is notably biblical in representation, but more significant is the privilege we have enjoyed as a group to provide the Church with 300 total years worth of sacramental ministry to the People of God. The most common refrain from my class at our Jubilee celebration with fellow clergy and seminarians after the recent Chrism Mass was one of gratitude. We are so thankful to God for the gift of Holy Orders that empowers us to support God’s children in marriage, consecrated life and single life in a multitude of ways. The privilege of continuing the work of Jesus by celebrating Mass and forgiving sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation ranks very high for us who recognize that none of what we do as priests would be possible without the vocational call we received from the Father and the grace and power of the Holy Spirit that strengthens and sustains us.
In a couple of weeks, many of our priests will begin to work in a different part of God’s vineyard because they have received a new assignment from the bishop, “holy orders” of a different sort, one might say. When we made the vow of obedience as we were ordained, we sacrificed some of our individual freedom for the good of the Church saying, in effect, “Thy will be done” as did Mary and Jesus and many saints before us. Much of the joy of priesthood comes from the freedom of not having to figure out how best to serve Jesus, but rather knowing that this can and will always best be accomplished simply by accepting where we are “sent” by the Holy Spirit through the bishop’s regular clergy assignments.
Please join my class in celebrating our gift of priesthood at a special Mass of Thanksgiving to be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln Tuesday, May 27, at 5 p.m. All are welcome to join us for Mass and visit with us during a reception after Mass. The Most Reverend John Folda, Bishop of Fargo, will be the Main Celebrant and Fr. James Meysenburg will be the homilist. We hope that many will be able to worship with us as we thank God for the inestimable gift of the priesthood.
