At 9:30am today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided at the celebration of Mass in the Vatican Basilica. During this liturgy, His Holiness conferred the Sacrament of Presbyteral Ordination on thirteen deacons, of which eleven completed their formation at the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, the Almo Collegio Copranica and the Diocesan Redemptoris Mater seminary. Another of the Ordinandi belongs to the Order of Augustinians Discalced, and the the thirteenth is fro mthe diocese of Vinh in Viêt Nam.
Concelebrating with the Holy Father were Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome; His Excellency, Filippo Iannone, Vice Regent, the Auxiliary Bishops of the Diocese of Rome; the Superiors of the seminaries where the Ordinandi were formed, and the Ordinandi's parish priests
For today's homily, the Pope read the words proposed in the Rite of Ordination for Priests, paying particular attention to some of the passages.
Dearest brothers, these sons an brothers of ours have been called to the order of the presbyterate. As you know, the Lord Jesus is the only high priest of the New Testament; but in him all the holy people of God are priestly people. Nonetheless, among all his disciples, the Lord Jesus wishes to chose some in particular, in order that they might publicly exercise in the Church, in his name, the office of priest for the sake of all men, thus continuing his personal mission of teacher, priest and shepherd.
After serious reflection, we are about to elevate to the order of presbyter, these our brothers, so that in service to Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd, they may work with him in the edification of the body of Christ which is the Church, the people of God and the holy temple of the Spirit.
They will in fact be configured to Christ, the high and eternal priest, consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, and to this end, they will be united as priests to their bishop, serving as preachers of the gospel and pastors of the people of God, presiding over the liturgical gatherings, especially in the celebration of the Lord's sacrifice.
You, beloved brothers and sons, who are about to be advanced to the order of the presbyterate, consider the fact that by exercising the ministry of sacred doctrine, you will share in the mission of Christ, the only teacher. Share with the people of God the Word which you yourselves have received with joy from your own mothers and from your catechists. Read and meditate carefully upon the word of God so that you may believe what you read, teach what you have learned in faith and live what you have taught. In this way, you will feed the people of God your doctrine, a truth that is not your own: you are not masters of your own doctrine! It is the Lord's doctrine, and you should be faithful to the Lord's teachings! Therefore feed the people of God with your doctrine, your joy and sustain Christ's faithful with the odour of your life, so that through word and example you may edify the house of God which is the Church.
Thus you will continue the sanctifying work of Christ. Through your ministry, the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, because it will be united to the sacrifice of Christ, which by your hands on behalf of the whole Church will be offered in an unbloody manner on the altar in the celebration of the holy mysteries.
Therefore be conscious of what you are doing, imitate what you celebrate by participating in the mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord, carry the death of Christ in your limbs and walk with Him in newness of life.
In Baptism, you will welcome new faithful into the people of God; with the sacrament of Penance, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church. Here I want to stop for a moment to ask you, for love of Jesus Christ: never tire of being merciful! Please! Always carry within you the capacity for forgiveness that was also possessed by the Lord, who did not come to condemn, but to forgive! Have within you the gift of mercy! And if you should ever become scrupulous about being too forgiving, think about the holy priests of whom I have spoken, who would always sit before the tabernacle and say: Lord, forgive me if I have forgiven too much, but it was you who gave me the bad example. And I say to you truly: I am so hurt when I find people who no longer go to confession because they have been punished or scolded. They felt that the doors of the church were being closed in their faces! Please, don't do this: be merciful, be merciful! The good shepherd enters by the gate and the gate of mercy is found in the wounds of the Lord: if you do not enter into your ministry through the wounds of Christ, you will never by good shepherds.
With Holy Oil, you will give relief to the sick: celebrating the sacred rites and raising prayers of praise and supplication at various times of the day, you will give voice to the people of God and to all humanity.
Always remember that you have been chosen from among men and appointed in order to attend to the things of God, to carry out in joy and sincere charity the priestly work of Christ, for no reason but to be pleasing to God, and not to yourself.
And remember what Saint Augustine said of shepherds who were trying to please themselves, who used the Lord's flock in order to feed and clothe themselves, to endorse the majesty of a ministry that they could not decipher as coming from God. Finally, participating in the mission of Christ, head and shepherd, in filial communion with your bishop, strive always to unite the faithful in one common family, leading them to God the Father through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. Keep always before you the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to seek out and save those who were lost.
Concelebrating with the Holy Father were Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome; His Excellency, Filippo Iannone, Vice Regent, the Auxiliary Bishops of the Diocese of Rome; the Superiors of the seminaries where the Ordinandi were formed, and the Ordinandi's parish priests
Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the Ordination of Priests
For today's homily, the Pope read the words proposed in the Rite of Ordination for Priests, paying particular attention to some of the passages.
Dearest brothers, these sons an brothers of ours have been called to the order of the presbyterate. As you know, the Lord Jesus is the only high priest of the New Testament; but in him all the holy people of God are priestly people. Nonetheless, among all his disciples, the Lord Jesus wishes to chose some in particular, in order that they might publicly exercise in the Church, in his name, the office of priest for the sake of all men, thus continuing his personal mission of teacher, priest and shepherd.
After serious reflection, we are about to elevate to the order of presbyter, these our brothers, so that in service to Christ the teacher, priest and shepherd, they may work with him in the edification of the body of Christ which is the Church, the people of God and the holy temple of the Spirit.
They will in fact be configured to Christ, the high and eternal priest, consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, and to this end, they will be united as priests to their bishop, serving as preachers of the gospel and pastors of the people of God, presiding over the liturgical gatherings, especially in the celebration of the Lord's sacrifice.
You, beloved brothers and sons, who are about to be advanced to the order of the presbyterate, consider the fact that by exercising the ministry of sacred doctrine, you will share in the mission of Christ, the only teacher. Share with the people of God the Word which you yourselves have received with joy from your own mothers and from your catechists. Read and meditate carefully upon the word of God so that you may believe what you read, teach what you have learned in faith and live what you have taught. In this way, you will feed the people of God your doctrine, a truth that is not your own: you are not masters of your own doctrine! It is the Lord's doctrine, and you should be faithful to the Lord's teachings! Therefore feed the people of God with your doctrine, your joy and sustain Christ's faithful with the odour of your life, so that through word and example you may edify the house of God which is the Church.
Thus you will continue the sanctifying work of Christ. Through your ministry, the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, because it will be united to the sacrifice of Christ, which by your hands on behalf of the whole Church will be offered in an unbloody manner on the altar in the celebration of the holy mysteries.
Therefore be conscious of what you are doing, imitate what you celebrate by participating in the mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord, carry the death of Christ in your limbs and walk with Him in newness of life.
In Baptism, you will welcome new faithful into the people of God; with the sacrament of Penance, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church. Here I want to stop for a moment to ask you, for love of Jesus Christ: never tire of being merciful! Please! Always carry within you the capacity for forgiveness that was also possessed by the Lord, who did not come to condemn, but to forgive! Have within you the gift of mercy! And if you should ever become scrupulous about being too forgiving, think about the holy priests of whom I have spoken, who would always sit before the tabernacle and say: Lord, forgive me if I have forgiven too much, but it was you who gave me the bad example. And I say to you truly: I am so hurt when I find people who no longer go to confession because they have been punished or scolded. They felt that the doors of the church were being closed in their faces! Please, don't do this: be merciful, be merciful! The good shepherd enters by the gate and the gate of mercy is found in the wounds of the Lord: if you do not enter into your ministry through the wounds of Christ, you will never by good shepherds.
With Holy Oil, you will give relief to the sick: celebrating the sacred rites and raising prayers of praise and supplication at various times of the day, you will give voice to the people of God and to all humanity.
Always remember that you have been chosen from among men and appointed in order to attend to the things of God, to carry out in joy and sincere charity the priestly work of Christ, for no reason but to be pleasing to God, and not to yourself.
And remember what Saint Augustine said of shepherds who were trying to please themselves, who used the Lord's flock in order to feed and clothe themselves, to endorse the majesty of a ministry that they could not decipher as coming from God. Finally, participating in the mission of Christ, head and shepherd, in filial communion with your bishop, strive always to unite the faithful in one common family, leading them to God the Father through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. Keep always before you the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to seek out and save those who were lost.
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