Bishop Joseph
C. Bambera
HOMILY
Priests’ Anniversary of Ordination Mass –
June 9, 2010
On June 19th, the
Church will bring to a close the Year for
Priests. During this year, we were invited
to reflect upon the life, ministry and
example of a poor farmer turned humble
pastor, who carried out his pastoral service
in a small town: St. John Vianney – the Cure
of Ars.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict
XVI, stated that the objective of this Year
for Priests “is to support that struggle of
every priest ‘toward spiritual perfection,
on which the effectiveness of his ministry
primarily depends.’ It is to help priests
first of all – and with them all of God’s
people – to rediscover and reinvigorate
their awareness of the extraordinary and
indispensable gift of grace that the
ordained ministry is for he who receives it,
for the whole Church, and for the world,
which would be lost without the real
presence of Christ.”
In these final days of the Year
for Priests, we have the privilege of
honoring 14 priests of the Diocese of
Scranton who have dedicated themselves to
priestly ministry for many years – 5 who
have served for 50 years and 9 who have
served for 25 years. We also honor a priest
now residing here who was ordained 60 years
ago.
Their presence here today reflects 535 years
of priestly service to the People of God –
535 years of commitment to the words of
Jesus reflected in the second reading today
from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians
when he took bread and wine, blessed and
shared it and said: “This is my body broken
for you; this is my blood poured forth for
you. Do this in memory of me.”
Their presence here today reflects 535 years
of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ
and baptizing the faithful in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
Their presence here today reflects 535 years
of prayer and devotion as each of them has
struggled to proclaim with the same depth of
sincerity and commitment that brought St.
Paul to say: “Yet I live, no longer I, but
Christ lives in me.”
Celebrating the Eucharist,
proclaiming the Gospel, administering the
Sacraments, walking with the People of God
entrusted to their care, spending time in
prayer with the Lord whom they serve – these
are the works to which every priest aspires;
the works that every priest longs to perform
– the works that have touched the lives of
the Faithful and that in turn have given
meaning and purpose to the priest.
Yet every priest – and our
jubilarians are no exception – every priest
has been challenged to different works –
works that hardly seem priestly yet works
that seem to go hand in hand with those so
closely marked with priestly character.
Every priest at one time or another has been
asked by some member of the Faithful to be
plumber, electrician, carpenter, musician,
mediator, grounds keeper, artist, mechanic,
cook, counselor, secretary, servant and
more!
And what’s so amazing is that with
little experience or expertise in many of
these areas, our priests assume such
responsibilities – and more importantly
dutifully embrace them in their efforts to
keep their parishes vibrant and ultimately
focused on the Mission of the Church.
A wise priest of the Diocese of
Scranton, Monsignor Gene Clark, who, prior
to his death years ago served as Rector of
our diocesan seminary, used to challenge
seminarians and newly ordained priests. They
would often bemoan all of the non-priestly
tasks that came unexpectedly into their
lives. Monsignor Clark would confront them
with these words: “Don’t complain about the
interruptions. God is IN the interruptions
of life.”
“God is in the midst of all of the mundane
and ordinary things that you do each day; in
the midst of the day to day experiences that
you have with your people; in the knock at
the door; in the people cooking in the
parish kitchen; in the person in need of a
listening ear. God is in the midst of the
interruptions of life.”
In today’s Gospel from St.
Matthew, on the heals of the great
commission given by Jesus to preach the
Gospel and to Baptize all nations, Jesus
reminds them – and us – that he “is with us
always” until the end of the age.
ALWAYS – in the Eucharist, in the Word
proclaimed, in the assembly of believers …
and in the interruptions of life.
Our priests teach us that so well
– through their fulfillment of the many and
varied expectations that we place upon them
and by the work that they do. Our priests
are the ones who interpret in all the events
of everyday life what the great theologian
Karl Rahner calls “the silent coming of
God.” They help us to see and hear God in
every event that unfolds – from the most
pious gesture to the most mundane
experience. What a blessing that is for all
of us who struggle to find God – his
presence and his peace.
On behalf of the people of this
wonderful Diocese of Scranton, I
congratulate our jubilarians and I thank
them – and all of our priests for their
service to the Church and to the Lord Jesus
who is its heart.
I thank them for their commitment in joyful
moments and in challenging times.
I thank them for leading us through change
and upheaval to harmony and peace.
I thank them for their willingness to teach
and nurture the Christian Faithful to take
their rightful place of service within the
Church.
And I thank them for ever and always
reminding us of the presence of God in
our lives – in the great gift of the
Eucharist, in the Word proclaimed, in
the Church, the People of God – and even
in the interruptions that weave their
way into our lives each day and every
day.
Bishop Bambera acknowledged each of the jubilarians:
60 years:
Father David G. Delzell (a retired priest of
the Diocese of Trenton now residing
here)
50 years:
Monsignor Francis J. Castellano
Monsignor Philip A. Gray
Father William R. Culnane
Father Vincent F. Langan
Father William J. McCawley
25 years:
Monsignor Michael J. Delaney
Monsignor Joseph G. Quinn
Monsignor David L. Tressler
Father Joseph G. Elston
Father Andrew Kurovsky
Father Pio Mandato, F.M.H.J.
Father Michael S. McCormick
Father James J. Paisley
Father John C. Ruth
