Today, providentially also the memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, I join my classmates (pictured about: Father Jerry Burns, Father Bryon Dickey, Father Patrick O'Hogan (RIP, August 29, 2011), and Father Todd Strange) in celebrating seventeen (17!) years of priesthood. That number doesn't seem real to me, but - barring wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff or just the weirdest conspiracy/gaslighting effort ever - it is undeniably true! 

My dad tells a story about my ordination day that I only vaguely remember but 100% rings true. See, when we were growing up, there were three rules for us kids while attending Mass. (1) No talking, (2) hands folded, and (3) eyes forward. If we were misbehaving, we got a single warning: Mom or Dad would lean towards us and simply whisper "three rules". Any follow-up misbehavior meant we were taken outside to be scolded (if we were lucky!) or spanked. Not only that, but we also wouldn't get to go to the coffee hour after Mass (or, as was sometimes the case, the local coffee shop - which happened to also have comic books we could read while enjoying a donut & hot chocolate!). Whether the incentive was the carrot or the stick, we were motivated to not have those two words directed at us!

Fast forward to June 13, 2009. I'm twenty-six years old, have completed nine years of seminary, and this is it: I am going to be ordained a priest in the next hour. My classmates and I were the first to process in, followed by the 150+ priests of the archdiocese, three bishops, and other ministers. At some point at pair after pair of priests walk by, my mom leaned over and whispered, "are you nervous?". I don't remember how I responded, but as she and I went back & forth, my dad turned to us both and whispered in his most serious voice "three rules". Muscle memory took over as I quickly closed my mouth and faced forward....before thinking 'wait a ding-dong minute!'. When I looked back at him, he had the most mischievous grin on his face!

That was not his only trick, by the way. He apparently spent some time researching the exact moment in the rite when a man is ordained a priest. When I stood up after the bishop prayed the words of ordination, he turned to my mom and presented her a necklace with a medallion of two hands holding a host over a chalice, with the words 'Mother of a priest' beneath, announcing to her "now it's official".

She treasures that moment & memory..... but I must confess that I am sorry my mom missed making the perfect response: "three rules"! Ah well.

While there certainly have been peaks and valleys along the way, being a priest of Jesus Christ in service to His Church is a joy second only to being a beloved son of God. It is a privilege to celebrate the mysteries of our faith - most especially confession (go!) and Mass (come!) - and to be invited into the lives of so many in our archdiocese. Thank you to all who have supported, prayed for, and wished me well today and all these years. As I promised on this day seventeen years ago, with God's help I hope to continue on with you all "to be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a pure sacrifice, and with him to consecrate [myself] to God for the salvation of all"!