THE CALL TO SERVE

Bishop Mark’s full homily for the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood and Diaconate

Bishop Mark O’Connell reads the Prayer of Ordination to candidates for deacon during the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood and Diaconate on May 16 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. (Cindy Schultz photo for The Evangelist) (Courtesy photo of CINDY SCHULTZ)

Bishop Mark O’Connell delivered this homily on May 16 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception during the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood and Diaconate of Alex Turpin, Alessio ­Fasullo, Gilbert Kimaro and Timothy Kilpeck. 

It is good to be with you on this glorious day. I am privileged to ordain Timothy Kilpeck, Alessio Fasullo and Gilbert Kimaro to the Order of Deacon and to ordain Alex Turpin to the Priesthood — the first priest I have had the joy of ordaining.

What all five of us share is the Order of Deacon. As a bishop, I remain a priest and a deacon. In fact, I am wearing a dalmatic under my chasuble right now — the very vestment with sleeves that Timothy, Alessio and Gilbert will soon receive. It is a visible sign that I am a deacon. This past Holy Thursday, I followed the example of Pope Leo and wore the dalmatic as I washed the feet of 12 people. This reminds us of the diaconal call to service. Alex does not lose his diaconate today; rather, diaconal service remains foundational to his priesthood.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the early Church chose deacons to serve at table and care for widows. Yet God had mightier, eternal plans. They quickly became evangelists. Saint Stephen became the Church’s first martyr, and Deacon Philip brought the Gospel to Samaria and to the Ethiopian eunuch. Evangelization begins with the commitment to humble service.

Deacon Alex had no idea where his diaconate would lead him. He served in a hospital, and the formation he received there may have prepared him for priesthood more deeply than a more predictable path would have. I was pleased by how well he adapted and by the wonderful feedback he received from those he served.

Deacon Alex, Timothy, Alessio and Gilbert: you have no idea where God will lead you when you leave this altar today. Nor will your paths resemble one another. I was ordained a priest in June of 1990 alongside 10 other men. None of us could have predicted what lay ahead — least of all me — and no two journeys were alike. What mattered then, and what matters now, is that we discerned as best we could where God was calling us and trusted those entrusted with our formation. With that freedom — knowing God is in the lead — we followed Jesus, just as the apostles did on the road to Jerusalem.

Despite the unpredictable future, God gives you the same sure foundation: service, prayer, obedience, celibacy and preaching.

Service we have already spoken about. Let it be the goal of every day. You do not serve in order to earn a day off; you take a day off so you can serve more effectively. Through service we grow closer to Christ, and through service we most effectively evangelize. Pope Leo reminds us daily of our roots in social justice. Our Diocese and our world need us to work for others. I bless you and I thank you for your commitment to serve.

Prayer is essential for constant discernment of God’s will. Today you promise fidelity to the Liturgy of the Hours. It will be your companion, your words when you have none, and sometimes your burden. I will not pretend it is always easy. I myself find it challenging when the words do not match my heart or the schedule conflicts with my busyness. Yet there is great grace in the simple practice of prayer. Distractions will come in abundance; resisting them and remaining faithful to the routine is itself fruitful. Often it is more pleasing to God — and more beneficial to us — when we persevere in the dry times than when prayer feels consoling. Make this promise today, and renew it every year at the Chrism Mass. Should you fall short, each year offers a fresh opportunity to begin again. I bless you and thank you for this promise.

Obedience is to me and my successors. It does not depend on whether you like me or like them. Do your best to respond generously to the assignments you are given. It is appropriate to share with the bishop why a move might be difficult for the parish or for your own well-being, but you are not ordained to live comfortably and therefore, “I am comfortable here” is never an acceptable reason to say “no.” Except for Timothy as a permanent deacon, your priesthood comes first; cherished family commitments, while important, come second. You are handing your life over to a full commitment to serve God with all your mind, heart and strength.

A breach of obedience is not always a loud “no.” It often begins with small corners cut and with failing to be fully present to the parish family you are assigned to serve. I guarantee there will come a time when I or one of my successors asks you to do something you disagree with — perhaps strongly. I will listen to your concerns, as I trust my successors will. Yet your promise of obedience today is a lifetime commitment that will challenge you. I bless you and thank you for making it.

Celibacy greatly facilitates your ability to serve. Living chastely and celibately frees you to hear God’s call and to respond promptly. A mentor once told me simply, “As a parish priest, your distractions are your ministry.” As priests and deacons, God rarely respects our careful schedules. He calls us on our busiest days and in the middle of the night. Celibacy makes us available.

Soon-to-be Deacon Timothy’s family will make many adjustments to support his ministry, and he must always attend to them as his primary vocation. For you, Alex, Alessio and Gilbert, this ministry is your primary vocation, and celibacy enables you to live it fully. Timothy promises today that, should his spouse precede him in death, he will live celibately as a deacon.

In your ministry you will likely form ecumenical friendships. Other ministers may say to you what they have said to me: “I love my family and would never change that, but when it comes to ministry, I envy your celibacy.” Remember that celibacy includes chastity: you forego marriage and family not only to serve more freely, but to offer a deeper sacrifice to God. I bless you and thank you for this promise.

Preaching is a powerful means of evangelization. Early in my priesthood I learned that it is not what I say that matters most, but what the people hear. Your task is to sow good seed — seed born of study, prayer and reflection. How that seed is received and what God does with it is entirely in His hands.

It is an enormous privilege we should never take for granted. Often, in the very process of preparing your homily, God will plant the foundation of you saying something that you never intended but is meant for one to whom you are preaching. Once I completely lost my train of thought while preaching. Looking toward the altar, I saw flowers left from a funeral or wedding and simply said, “Aren’t those beautiful flowers?” I recovered and finished what I thought was a mediocre homily. Two weeks later a parishioner told me how deeply moved she had been by “the homily about the flowers.”

Do your absolute best to shape solid human words into a message of faith relevant to the people before you. Although we ourselves may most need to hear the message we preach, never preach only to your own level. Preach to those actually present, and watch how God uses even our puny words to accomplish His almighty will. I bless you and thank you for your commitment to preaching.

We are all deacons — including me — but today Alex Turpin becomes a priest of Jesus Christ. Today he begins a beautiful life of celebrating the sacraments. There is no greater privilege than standing at the altar, no greater humility than hearing a sincere confession, no greater poignancy than anointing and giving Viaticum to a faithful soul nearing death, no greater joy than baptizing the child of a faith-filled couple, and no greater power than humbly proclaiming the Word of God.

Alex, today your hands will be anointed. Those hands will be privileged to raise the Eucharist. You have been called to the priesthood, and you will be a fine priest. Go forth confident that you have all the formation and grace you need to labor in God’s vineyard.

Finally, although today marks the end of formal studies for Timothy and Alex, it does not end your lifelong pursuit of understanding God’s teachings. I always keep three books going at once: spiritual reading, theological or Church history reading, and usually a novel. Each nourishes me in a different way. Immerse yourselves in God’s Word and in God’s service. To all of us here gathered today and to those you will soon serve, you are signs of hope in a confusing world. What begins today will bear beautiful fruit beyond anything we can now imagine.