“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.” (Heb 5:1-4)
Recently, Rev. Philip Johnson who was ordained on January 7, 2017, for the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., preached a parish mission at Immaculate Conception Parish in Cranston which I attended. Father Johnson’s personal story of conversion (and as he says, ‘reversion to the Catholic faith,’ in which he had been baptized but was not practicing), hearing God’s call to the priesthood, his priestly formation and ordination is an extraordinary witness to God’s grace at work in our world and our lives. It was during his time at the U.S. Naval Academy that Midshipman Johnson had his conversion experience which led him return to the Faith and ultimately to begin discerning a call to the priesthood.
It was while on a deployment in the Middle East in 2008, after his graduation from the Academy, that Johnson suffered a seizure and was diagnosed with an inoperable, fast-growing brain tumor and told he had 18-24 months to live. It was with this diagnosis in hand that he approached his bishop and asked to begin formation for the priesthood.
By 2011, the tumor was advancing and the prognosis was bleak. The Bishop of Raleigh asked all the people of the Diocese to pray a novena to Our Lady for this seminarian with brain cancer. Through Our Lady’s intercession and the fervent prayers of the people of the diocese, the Lord granted a remission of the cancer and Father Johnson has not received any cancer treatments since. He was able to complete his formation for the priesthood and be ordained at the beginning of this year.
Father Johnson’s inspiring story and the miraculous remission of his cancer are a sign to us of the grace of God at work in calling forth men to the priesthood. Father Johnson’s tenuous health has taught him to appreciate every moment that he is given to serve God’s people. He, like every man ordained to the priesthood, is a priest forever, but we are each given a limited amount of time to serve on this earth before our souls are called to return to the Lord bearing the indelible mark of ordination. Father Johnson’s witness is a reminder to me to appreciate every moment that God gives me to serve in the priesthood.
The priesthood is a precious gift from God and those of us to whom He has bestowed this gift remain in awe that He has chosen us. Those whom God is calling often have to overcome the stumbling block of feeling unworthy of the astounding gift of the priesthood to which He is calling them before they are able respond. No man is worthy of the call and the gift of the priesthood and yet God still has the audacity to call…and men still courageously respond.
The road to the ordination is not always easy and there will be challenges after ordination to be sure, just as there are challenges and crosses to be carried in every vocation be it marriage, single, consecrated religious life, or priesthood. However, for the priest who has spent years being formed in the heart of Christ this means being formed with a heart to embrace and accept the cross with the grace of God.
There may be fewer seminarians in the United States (and in our diocese) today than at the peak that was reached decades ago, but that does not detract from the men who have heard and generously responded to God’s call nor does it detract from the good work of formation that is taking place within those same seminaries so that those ordained to the priesthood may joyfully carry out the responsibilities of the priesthood: to preach, to sanctify and to shepherd/govern in service to the Lord and His people.
In his book Why Priests Are Happy, Msgr. Stephen Rosetti noted that more than 92 percent of priests surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they are happy as priests. The joy of the priesthood comes first and foremost from a personal relationship with Jesus which brings inner peace. The promises that a man makes at ordination of prayer, celibacy and obedience when lived faithfully contribute to this joy. The promises are freeing rather than constricting. Fidelity to living out the promise to pray with and for the all people of God, to the personal call to chaste celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom and to obedience to the bishop which aids in surrendering our will to God lead to an integrated and happy priesthood.
The demands of ministry along with the increasing workloads of parish administration within an ever more secular society are real. Yet the deep inner joy of the priesthood is just as real even if we sometimes grumble about budget or boilers. I pray that you have the experience of joyful priests who are doing the best they can to address the tasks of administration while ministering to the people whom God has entrusted to their care. While I am grateful to Father Johnson for sharing his witness and reminding me of the great gift of the priesthood, I am equally grateful to my brother priests in the Diocese of Providence who witness their joy through their fidelity to their call and generosity in giving of themselves on a daily basis in service to our Lord and His people.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminded us that “God makes use of us poor men in order to be, through us, present to all men and women, and to act on their behalf. This audacity of God who entrusts himself to human beings — who, conscious of our weaknesses, nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in his stead — this audacity of God is the true grandeur concealed in the word ‘priesthood.’” (Homily at the Conclusion of the Year for Priests, June 11, 2010)
The audacity of God is at work in every man whom He calls to be His priest. In our audacity, let us pray that God will raise up more joy-filled men to serve at His altar. In this Year with Mary our Mother being celebrated in the Diocese of Providence, may we have the audacity to pray a novena to Our Lady that she will intercede with Her Son for priestly vocations in the Diocese of Providence with confidence that those prayers will bear fruit.
Your priests “hold this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us,” (2 Cor 4:7) and your prayers encourage and support us in times of trial or discouragement. So please pray for your bishops and priests and for priestly vocations. We rely on God’s grace and surpassing power daily. Your prayers are appreciated more than you know and we will keep you in our prayers as well.
Rev. Carl Fisette serves as the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Providence.
