Bishop Elias Lorenzo and Fr. Benedict Maria at ordination

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord:

Since this man, our son and your confrere, relative and friend, is soon to be advanced to the Order of the Priests, let us consider carefully the nature of the ministry in the Church to which he shall be admitted. To begin, Cardinal Suhard, the archbishop of Paris during World War II, in his book, Priests Among Men, wrote: “The priesthood is not something, it is some one, Christ.” And you, Brother Benedict, are included in this act of Incarnation, because “The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, because the Lord has anointed you.” But it is not your doing. “It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you.“ So you are called and chosen to be an Alter Christus, “another Christ.” To do what? What’s the purpose? “To bring good news to the afflicted, to heal the broken-hearted, to announce a year of favor from the Lord!”

You do this by making Christ present, first in this monastery and school, but also for the local Church in this diocese. Christ is present in you, as a priest. You have the “Ministry of Presence.“ Ninety percent of successful ministry in the Catholic Church is simply “showing up.” Being there. Not just in church, but at various meetings of adults and youth, council and chapter meetings in the monastery, Knights of Columbus pancake breakfasts, social service projects with the students, barbecues, and yes, even Bingo. Wherever the people are, you need to be among them: to accompany others, first and foremost your own brothers here in the monastery and the students in the school, but all the Christian faithful, to encourage them, to listen to their problems, to give advice, and above all, to pray for them. All this takes a lot of time. But this is what we priests have signed up for: to lay down our lives for our people. As we heard in this morning’s gospel: “The greatest among you is the one who serves” …in imitation of Jesus himself. Or as St. Benedict teaches in his Holy Rule: “Be the first in showing respect to others… not pursuing what we think is best for ourselves, but looking for what is best for others” (RB 72:4, 7). So you are called and chosen. The question remains: To do what? To what purpose?

Let me share one personal experience. The parish where I now live received a call to administer the Last Rites. It was the pastor’s day off, and it’s a one-man parish, so the receptionist came to my office and sheepishly asked me asked if I were available. Of course. I called up the family and said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” So I go into the room with people I’ve really never met before and I walk in and I hear this, “Thank God the priest is here.” Not Mike, not Billy, not Chuck. “The priest is here.” I learned the elderly man who was at death’s door was unbaptized. So, with his consent, I baptized him. I anointed him. I gave him Holy Communion. The tears rolled down his eyes in gratitude for that moment of God’s amazing grace. Later that evening, at dinner with some priests in the vicariate, we were going around the table, how was your day. “I processed five annulments,” said one priest who works in our tribunal. “I got the budget ready for the CFO,” said another priest.“ I spent the entire day in catechetical sessions with the youth of our parish, and boy am I exhausted,“ said another priest. “What did you do today, Bishop?” asked one inquisitive priest, thinking I was sitting in an office pushing papers. I replied: “Today I opened the gates of heaven to a man. And I’m going to sleep so well tonight, knowing that I could do that.”

That’s what you, Brother Benedict, will be able to do as a priest. That’s what Jesus means in today’s gospel: “The greatest among you is the one who serves the rest;” or what the prophet Isaiah says in our first reading: “To bring Good News to the Afflicted!” Or as St. Benedict teaches: “Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before else.” (RB 4:20-21). Do this as a priest, and you will win many souls for Christ! In addition to your presence to others, most importantly, you also make Christ present in a most perfect way: in the Holy Eucharist. “Do this in memory of me.“ This is a command of the Lord, which you will fulfill in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by nourishing the faithful with the bread of eternal life and the chalice of salvation. The best thing you can do as a priest is to bring people to Christ, and bring Christ to people. That is accomplished most uniquely in the Eucharist. Any day that you do not celebrate or concelebrate Mass is a day you’re really not a priest at all.

My dear brothers and sisters, the church teaches that the entire People of God is a royal priesthood in Christ. Nevertheless, our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, chose certain of his disciples to exercise in his name, on behalf of the human race, a public priestly office in the Church. For Christ, who was sent from the Father, himself in turn sent the Apostles into the world, that through them and their successors, the Bishops, he might exercise without ceasing his own office of Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd. In addition, Priests are established as co-workers of the Order of Bishops with whom they are joined in the priestly office and with whom they are called to the service of the People of God. Now that mature deliberation has taken place, this Brother is to be ordained to the Order of the Presbyterate, that he may serve Christ, the Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd. By his priestly ministry, the Body of Christ, that is the Church, is built up and grows into a holy temple, living stones, the People of God. To be configured to Christ, the eternal High Priest and joined to the Priesthood of the Bishops, your brother Benedict Maria will be consecrated with sacred chrism as a true Priest of the New Covenant, in order to preach the Gospel, shepherd God’s people, and celebrate divine worship, especially in the Lord’s Sacrifice.

Now, beloved son, you are to be raised to the Order of the Priesthood, and for your part, you will exercise the sacred office of teaching. Impart to everyone the Word of God that you yourself have received with joy and which by daily lectio divina in the monastic tradition you have incarnated in your life. Meditating on the law of the Lord, see that you believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach. Let your teaching be nourishment for the People of God, and let the holiness of your life be a pleasing fragrance for Christ’s faithful, so that you may build up by your word and your example that house which is the Church of God. You will also exercise with Christ, the office of sanctifying; for by your ministry the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect in the celebration of the sacred mysteries, because it is united to the Sacrifice of Christ, which is offered, through your hands and in union with the people, on the altar. Understand, therefore, what you do, and imitate what you celebrate; as a celebrant of the mystery of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection, may you strive to put to death whatever is sinful within you and to always walk in the newness of life.

Remember, when you gather men and women into the People of God through Baptism and, in the name of Christ and the Church, forgive sins in the Sacrament of Penance, when you comfort the sick with holy oil and celebrate the sacred rites, when you offer praise and thanksgiving through the hours of the day and pray not only for the People of God but for the whole world; always remember that you have been taken from among the people and appointed on their behalf, in those things that pertain to God. Fulfill, therefore, the ministry of Christ, the Priest with abiding joy and genuine love. Seek not your own concerns but those of Jesus Christ. Brother Benedict, hear Jesus say to you today, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” Return this love Jesus shows to you today, by ordaining you as His priest; return His love by loving His friends, His people, His church!

Finally, dear son, in communion with your local Bishop and subject to your Abbot, fulfill the office of Christ, True and Eternal Priest to the best of your ability. Strive to gather the faithful together into one family, so that you may lead them to God the Father, through Christ, in the communion of the Holy Spirit. Keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served but to serve and who came to seek and to save what was lost.

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