Living proof of His love

The month of June marks the half-way point in our calendar year and, I dare say, we should not soon forget what we have been experiencing in the first half of this year. However, with this month, we will be blessed in a singular way as we celebrate the ordinations to the sacred priesthood of the Rev. Mr. Mark Aune and the Rev. Mr. Christian Smith on Thursday, June 11—the Feast of Saint Barnabas, Apostle and Martyr.
 
Amid so many worries, uncertainties, sickness and death, these ordinations stand as that undimmed light of God’s great and bountiful mercy and goodness to us. He has heard and answered our prayers for more priests after the heart of Christ who will serve Him by serving each of you with zeal, devotion and fidelity. What a tremendous gift the Lord has given to us in His priesthood. Immediately following upon His institution of the Most Holy Eucharist, He instituted the sacrament through and by which He is present to us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
 
We began this month with the feast Our Holy Father Francis established to be celebrated the day after Pentecost, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Our ordinations are followed by the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the feasts of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the birth of St. John the Baptist, and the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. Every one of these liturgical celebrations draws our attention more keenly to the Person of Christ.
 
In a very personal, yet public way, the ordinations of our two priests make clear to all who care to see and listen that it is Christ Jesus Who is the center of Catholic Church life and, in fact, He is the center of all life. Every one of our priests is a living witness to what St. Barnabas laid down his life for, the love of Christ and the burning desire to share this love for Christ with the world. This is done not so much in the once-in-a-lifetime event, but every day in the offering of Mass for you, in visiting the sick, in anointing the dying, in witnessing marriages and in just being there when you need him.
 
I ask you to watch the ordinations of our next two priests and to find in their vocations your joy for our Church, your family and for yourself. Thank God, again, for His gift of the priesthood because we are assured by it to have the means He gives to us to save our souls and to help others save their souls.
 
I ask you to join me in praying daily for vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life for men and women. We know that God is never outdone in His generosity to those who love Him. Our two newest priests and all our priests are living proof of His love.