I don’t know about you, but I really looked forward to May 19, 2018. You see, something huge and amazing was scheduled to happen this day. Like, many souls watched in eager anticipation, and the entirety of Heaven looked on with trumpet blasts at the ready. I mean, this was even live streamed. All this regal fanfare and excitement was meant for one thing: the supernatural union of man to His bride.
I went to an ordination Mass
Ordination can kind of be thought of as a marriage since it images the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church.
On May 19, 2018, while the rest of the world was enthralled by some other major wedding going on between two people they likely don’t have personal connections with, I was at the priest ordination of one of my good friends, Jonathan. This was the first ordination I’ve ever attended, and how fitting it is that my first ordination to experience was that of a good friend and also of the first priest to be ordained from my parish. This. Is. A. Big. Deal!
We actually had two priest ordinations, Jonathan and another young man, so the Mass was doubly exciting!
I arrived at the cathedral (same one I visited on my St. Patrick’s Day pilgrimage) about 30 minutes before the Mass started. Not surprisingly, the cathedral was a packed house, and therefore I had to stand in the back of the cathedral the entire time. That’s okay, because thankfully college prepared me with the many standing-only football games I attended. I did find out that the dress shoes I wore aren’t designed for standing for long periods of time. Ouch.
The Mass ended up being about two hours or so. Practically every priest from my diocese was present, and during the parts of the liturgy of ordination that involved all of them, it took a while. But honestly, the Mass felt fast, despite my fatigue from uncomfortable shoes, because I’ve never been to an ordination before, and what I experienced was fascinating.
I could probably spend a lot of time typing and describing each little part, but meh. Let me just share with you the highlights and what I thought of them.
Ordination things that stood out
The laying on of hands is the ancient tradition of the Church to pass down priestly authority and ministry. Prior to this ordination Mass, I thought that it was just the bishop who laid his hands on the new priest to confer the sacrament. But part of the liturgy of ordination also involves having every priest present to lay their hands on the new priest. Pretty cool to see many, many priests lay on their hands for Jonathan and the other newly ordained.
A really cool thing I saw too was the “Kiss of Peace” portion. It’s where the fresh priests are welcomed to the Order of Presbyters by the bishop and all the priests that are present. I mostly saw hugs. But I saw some priests kissing the hands of the newly ordained. This makes sense because whenever a man is ordained as a priest, his hands get anointed with oil as a sign of his priestly ministry because it is the priest’s hands that celebrate the Mass, that heals, and that is associated with the other sacraments.
One of the consolations of standing in the back and center of the cathedral was practically having a front row seat for the procession and recession for the ordination Mass. With that said, I witnessed right in front of me my bishop receiving the first blessings of the men he just ordained.
That was really cool and must be humbling for both bishop and his new priests. I don’t think most of the other people present in the pews saw that happen.
Later in the day, Fr. Jonathan celebrated his first Mass at my parish! I was in attendance as well because I was helping out with a high school retreat reunion, and we intentionally planned the reunion to kick off with Fr. Jonathan’s first Mass. A plenary indulgence is given when the faithful attend the first Mass of newly ordained priest (assuming the other conditions are met: going to Confession within a week, receiving the Eucharist, and praying for the Pope’s intentions). But!!! What really stood out to me and made me shed a few tears because of how beautiful the moment was…. was Fr. Jonathan presenting to his mother the cloth that absorbed the oil when his hands were anointed by the bishop. This cloth will be buried with her at her funeral as a token for her sacrifices and gifts that allowed Fr. Jonathan to be ordained. Likewise, he presented a purple stole to his father, which represent his father’s justice and mercy that allowed him to be priest. It’s tradition for a newly ordained priest to give such gifts to his parents. Because I know Fr. Jonathan and his parents, it truly was a beautiful moment.
AS IF IT WEREN’T ENOUGH–his parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the day before. Then Fr. Jonathan gets ordained. And then he becomes the priest that gives a blessing for his parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. WHAT. That’s crazy (because the timing couldn’t have been more perfect). Well played, Holy Spirit. Well played.
I just wanted to share this because it was truly a joyous day to experience an ordination for the first time. I used this opportunity to treat this day a little bit differently in praying for Fr. Jonathan. I offered a Rosary while driving down to the cathedral instead of playing music in my car, and I tried to keep a prayerful disposition when appropriate. And joyful attitude when appropriate. Because there was cake at both receptions so obviously one had to be joyful.
Here are a few other resources that I think are useful for your further enrichment:
After giving it some thought, ordination Masses make great excuses for you to go on a pilgrimage. For less. I only spent gas money and a few hours of my time. Not too shabby.
Have you ever been to an ordination before? What did you think? Share about it in the comments!
JR is a full-time engineer working in the aerospace industry. Apart from having such a fly job, he flies unto the arms of Our Lady and the Church pursuing his faith and a relationship with Christ. Over the past several years, faith and flying via pilgrimages became a thing. When he’s not being fly, JR hangs out with family, friends, his chihuahua, and with thoughts of the next trip.