Priesthood Ordination

of Deacon Keith Salisbury

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

June 3, 2006

by The Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt

Acts 10: 37-43

2 Corinthians 4: 1-2, 5-7

John 10: 11-16

Lord, whose love in humble service

Bore the weight of human need,

Who upon the cross, forsaken,

Offered mercy’s perfect deed;

We, your servants, bring the worship

Not of voice alone but heart:

Consecrating to your purpose

Every gift which you impart.

The kerygma of St. Peter in today’s first reading is a shorter version of the first kerygma he preached to the Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost. In today’s setting, he is addressing the Gentile audience composed of the centurion Cornelius, his family, relatives and close friends (see Acts 10:24). In a few sentences, Peter summarizes the ministry of Jesus as well as his Passion, Death and Resurrection. He gives testimony to his own commissioning to preach and bear witness to the living presence of the Risen Jesus and the redeeming gift of the forgiveness of sins which is only received through the power of his name. In direct apostolic succession, this message, that witness and the power of his forgiveness is what constitutes the essence of this ordination ceremony. For in the very context of this ordination rite, what St. Augustine called “visible words,” that is words that are experienced as well as heard, we can perceive that you, Deacon Keith, are being set apart in the sense of being consecrated for a special, profound and sacred service to God’s people.

The people of God have, over time, come to expect that a priest symbolizes the transcendent presence of God in the midst of mankind. They sense that by this ordination, you, Keith, become, in the words of Fr. Robert Barren, a “bearer of the mystery.” This is particularly true when you preside at the Holy Eucharist, preach the Word, or celebrate the Sacrament of Penance in Persona Christi Capitis. But it is equally true when you are visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, defending the immigrant, socializing with your brother Knights of Columbus or visiting a religion class. In whatever moment of priestly ministry you find yourself, you are there bearing the mystery of Christ’s redeeming love to God’s people.

This dimension of your vocation, I suspect, led you to recommend today’s Gospel with its focus on the Good Shepherd, who “lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:11) This shepherd is no hireling because he knows the sheep and they know and trust Him, in the very same way that Jesus and the Father know and are known to one another. In that intimate knowledge, willing to sacrifice all else for the sake of the relationship it permits, we find the source and motivation for the unity of the flock.

The late, beloved Pope John Paul II used the beautiful expression “pastoral charity” to describe the source of the priest’s energy, his identity as well as his spiritual motivation. Pastoral charity is that same self-giving love by which the priest loves the Church even as Christ loved her, spending all of his talent, all of his energy, all of his life on her behalf.

Here, too, you along with the people you serve will find the meaning of your priestly celibacy. For in your willingness to sacrifice the natural goods of wife and family, you are making yourself more disposed in mind and heart as well as in time and energy for a life of self-giving service for the People of God, which is to say, in laying down your life for the flock. Your call to holiness, therefore, is to be henceforth found precisely in your priestly service and not apart from it. Your daily prayers will empower that service. And your service well lived, will take you back to that prayer. The priest must be aware that he leads the people through Christ and in the Spirit to God the Father and not to himself. Like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the priest is called to serve, not to be served and to give his life in ransom for the many.

But a corresponding truth lies at the core of today’s second reading to the Corinthians which should also remind us of the heroic witness of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, whose feast we celebrate today. Here St. Paul finds himself in a kind of “battle fatigue” from having “fought the good fight” and been beaten up in the process. Yet despite the opposition he has encountered, or more precisely because of it, Paul describes his priesthood as holding the great treasure of God’s glory shining on the face of Christ as though it were contained in an earthen vessel. In other words, the quality of the medium is so inferior to that of the message that comparisons cannot do it justice. And yet, there is a purpose even in this lopsidedness for it ultimately demonstrates that the surpassing power of priesthood comes from God and not from us.

The great mystery of the Incarnation reminds us that God has opted to make himself present in the midst of the ordinary. Thus, he uses ordinary articles like water and oil, bread and wine, words and gestures to be elevated in sacramental transformation. Just so, does he use the all-too-human life and action of the priest to accomplish His saving mission. The nobility of the priestly calling, then, is lived out most authentically in humble service.

Deacon Keith, you have had a number of years to ponder these religious themes and I presume I am not telling you anything new at this 11th hour. Yet, the Word of God is ever new and it can penetrate our minds and hearts with new insight at every hearing. Return to this moment of ordination over and over again as you live out your priestly calling. In just that way, the grace of this moment will remain fresh, vital and energizing. And never forget the family and friends who have gathered here today to offer you the support of their presence and their prayer. These will be the people you can lean on in the years ahead when the going gets tough and the luster of the ordination photos begin to fade. In particular, stay close to your family members who will always be there for you whenever you need them.

Mi hermano, estas a unos momentos de ser ordenado sacerdote para servir a Jesucristo, el maestro, Sacerdote y Pastor, que por su ministerio la Iglesia se edifica y crece con el pueblo de Dios, un templo Santo.

Configurado a Cristo, el sumo Sacerdote y unirse al sacerdocio de tu Obispo, predicaras el Evangelio, cuidaras del pueblo de Dios y celebraras la Liturgia, especialmente la Santa Eucaristía. Al ejercer estos ministerios Santos crece en Santidad por medio de tu oración y reflexión diaria. Se siempre una fuente de compañerismo en la Iglesia local, imitando los mismos ministerios que celebras.

Deacon Keith, this day was chosen for your ordination so that you would have the wonderful privilege of celebrating your first Mass on the great feast of Pentecost. Let this feast remind you that the origin and constant source of the Church’s attractiveness and effectiveness is the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is that Spirit who ordains you a priest of the New Covenant and it is that Spirit who will sustain and strengthen you for priestly service. Pray to Him, depend on Him and allow Him to guide you every day of your priestly life.

And, last but certainly not least, may Mary, Queen of Apostles and Mother of all Priests, be for you a source of consolation and assistance as you seek to love your parishioners in harmony with the love of her Son, whose very heartbeat she shared and whom she continues to serve so well.

As we worship, grant us vision,

Till your love’s revealing light,

Till the height and depth and greatness

Dawns upon our human sight:

Making known the needs and burdens

Your compassion bids us bear,

Stirring us to timeless striving,

May your mercy know and live.

wmu