My Friend’s Ordination
I don’t know what you’re like at weddings… I for one don’t always manage to come away without shedding a tear or two. I know, I know… but still: two people wanting to give themselves completely to one another really moves me. Especially when the wedding is between two people who really believe and who understand what a Catholic marriage really means – that’s incredible. There’s such a deep mystery at work there, that makes me so very grateful that God has given these two people to one another and to us, the community.
Well, if weddings are beautiful (and I know all of you can relate to that), then I hope you understand how beautiful ordinations are. An ordination is kind of like a marriage, and only in rare circumstances can one receive both the sacrament of marriage as well as ordination (it’s more common in the Eastern Churches). The candidate for priesthood will never marry a woman, but will marry, if you will, the Church itself. The Church (commonly referred to as a ‘she’) is, in this view, the bride of the priest. Through their mutual love and with God’s grace, they also conceive children (this is H. Baptism) and they take care of their family together: they’re complementary. A Church without priests is non-existant, and priests without the Church are pointless!
Two weeks ago, my good friend Stefan received his first ordination. I say ‘first’, because there are three types of ordinations in the church: deacon, priest and bishop. Now before one can become a priest, one has to serve as deacon for at least (approximately) one year. Already in the Old Testament, God gave the sons of Levi to the priests as assistants, and when in the New Testament the Apostles became too occupied with their spiritual duties for the increasing number of Christians, they appointed deacons to assist them in taking care of the elderly, the widows and orphans. Being a deacon, therefore, means being a servant to God’s Church in a very real way, as well as an assistant to the bishop (and priests).
I’ve known Stefan for at least three years, if not more. We met at Fr. Ad’s vocation’s group. Fr. Ad is the priest that has helped me in discerning my vocation, he’s a truly remarkable priest with a lot of love for life and who seems to take a lot of pleasure in everything he does. In those days Stefan was also trying to discern his vocation. He has studied Theology at a regular university, which is a rather different route than the one we are taking. Some seminaries are linked to universities, but ours is an episcopal seminary: it doesn’t give out degrees as such (although for promotion purposes, we are apparently able to receive some sort of degree through a Roman university… but anyway!) but trains young men for the priesthood here in the diocese all the same.
The disadvantage I think Stefan has had, is that he studied at a regular university without the aid of a community that prays the Breviary (the five prayer times) every day. I consider myself fortunate to be in a community where prayer is part of the rhythm of every day, as well as having six full years to really prepare yourself for the priesthood. Stefan only came to live with us last year, and -sadly- he’s already left us now to start his work in a parish.
Let me round off here, this post is getting way too long as it is (!) by saying that I couldn’t keep my eyes dry this time either! Seeing someone giving his life away in service to others is truly a beautiful thing. I cannot understand how he was able to say those vows: it takes a lot of humility – to take vows that no human being could fulfill on their own, but only with the grace of God. I cannot imagine ever managing to become so small that one day I might say the same vows. I am grateful a few years are still left to me to prepare, and I hope you will all pray for me that I, like Stefan, will be able to say “Here I am, Lord!”
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