LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

10/22/06 +_St. Paul’s, Lake James + re: Ordination Anniversary

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

How important special days are, and should be! This coming Saturday, the Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, will be the 45^th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, and since you and I are sharing in the life of this parish, I’d like to offer some thoughts about priesthood to you.

The founder of the diocesan seminary I attended was also the Bishop of a large New York diocese, the Diocese of Long Island, but nonetheless, every Saturday he took time out of his busy schedule to teach a course in what was called “Practical Theology.” The entire student body came to those classes, and it was there that we learned that attending to “practical matters” did not exclude time for a priest’s prayers, but rather, depended on their existence.

The bishop called his seminarians “My sons in the Faith” (that was long before women were permitted to be ordained), and, for our part, we had no doubt that he was, indeed, our “Father in God.” In retrospect, I have no doubt that it was his example which caused so many of us to fall in love with parish ministry, and that’s a good part of why, for me, it’s such a joy to serve in this parish with you.

Throughout his long episcopate, the bishop had been the picture of health, a tall, robust man with a magnificent bass singing voice. There was something about him when he was at the Altar celebrating the Mass. Without being either impersonal or remote, the way he presided at the liturgy communicated the awesomeness of what was happening. It was obvious that he loved his Lord and he loved the Eucharist!

Toward the end of my final year in seminary, the bishop’s health declined dramatically. He seemed to shrink in size, the great booming voice became soft – too soft – and his once purposeful stride was replaced by a hesitant shuffle. On the day my class was ordained, he had to be helped (almost carried) up the aisle of the cathedral by two strong men, one on each side supporting him as he tried to walk. We wondered if he could possibly last through what, in those days, was a 2 ½ hour liturgy, but somehow, he did, and we were ordained as priests.

An ancient custom, observed in that diocese, is for newly-ordained priests to give their first blessing to their bishop. In the Long Island cathedral, that was traditionally done in a chapel downstairs in the undercroft. As our procession left the sanctuary to go to that chapel, the bishop’s strength just gave out. Realizing that he couldn’t make it to the chapel with us, he stopped the procession and knelt right there in the center aisle. In a weak voice, he asked us for our blessings. Since the ordinations had been done in alphabetical order, I was at the tail end of the row of newly-ordained priests, and so it became my special privilege to be first to bless the bishop, the man who had been my mentor and friend, and who had guided and inspired me for so long. I still remember the tears running down my face as I made the Sign of the Cross over his bowed head, bestowing a priestly blessing and trying to cope with the awe of actually being a priest! Now, 45 years later, I’m not sure how much further along I am in that regard because being a priest is still a matter of wonder and awe for me – and I hope it always will be!

Bishop DeWolfe ended priestly ordinations by sitting on his throne – the cathedra – while the newly ordained priests lined up in a semi-circle in front of him as he read a Charge which clearly and beautifully stated just what he expected of them. I’d like to read parts of that Charge to you now.

“A CHARGE TO THOSE ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD: My dear Sons in the Faith, before you leave the place where, today, God has made you priests, we would charge you, as your Father in God and Bishop, concerning matters of grave importance in your practice of the priesthood. You will, from this day forward, be an office and a voice, and that not your own, but of Christ and The Church. You are to follow only the commandment of our Lord and the direction of Holy Church. Individualistic preaching and action by a priest does violence to the Church, to her direction and polity, bringing only discord, and attacks the unity of the Body of Christ. You belong to the Church as “The Church” and your priesthood belongs not to you but to Christ our Lord. You are duty-bound, therefore, to teach the revealed orthodox faith, and are to symbolize in your life and ministry the wholeness of the Church: the Apostolic Faith, the Apostolic Sacraments, and the Apostolic Ministry.

The conducting of your ministry, in relation to the souls whom Christ will put in your charge, will be in this order: Your first duty will be to perform your priestly functions. As far as your own priestly nature is concerned, you are to see that it is conditioned regularly and continuously by a daily living with God and the practice of your Vocation. Akin to this in importance is the leading of your people in worship, particularly in Eucharistic worship, in dispensing the Sacraments to your flock, and in conducting the services of the Church. Next in order is your pastoral work and ministry – feeding the flock that has been given to you by God, ministering to their souls by caring for the sick, the needy, and the penitent. Such time as you have left over, you will give to administration.

After many years of experience, we have found this sequence of these priestly activities to be wise and right in the practice of the priesthood. While you are in our jurisdiction, and while you are on duty, you will dress as a priest so that not only your flock, but all who look upon you will know you to be an officer of the Church and an ambassador of holy things.

Your daily life will be by Rule. As in all rules, first things come first. You will especially practice the chief function of the priesthood, which is to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. God expects you, when you were made a priest, to bring your people and their needs to Him. Your people cannot offer the Eucharist themselves in the way a priest does. God has called you to do that. Celebrating the Mass is the chief joy and privilege of the priesthood.

Your Rule will include the praying of the Divine Office, either in the Morning and Evening offices of the Book of Common Prayer or the Monastic Diurnal. It will include meditation, and, at the close of the day, an examination of conscience.

You will be a Cure of Souls, regularly taking God’s life and grace to your people, helping them to become more and more dependent on God. You will find that your people become entangled with the world, the flesh, and the Devil, so one of your chief activities as a pastor will be to become skilled in another great function of the priesthood, that of confessor. In mercy and love you will hear confessions, advising, counseling, and giving penances. Your duty will be to show by example and teaching how a sinner may get back to God.

As a Cure of souls, you will be watchful over the sick and use those means the Church has provided for centuries to bring healing grace to the soul. Go to the sick room not to visit (except on occasions during convalescence). Go to the sick room to minister! Never leave without laying your hand in blessing on the head of the sick. You will use the Holy Oils provided by the Church as channels of healing and grace.

Your relationship to your bishop, in whatever jurisdiction you may be, will be to support and hold up the hands of the Chief Pastor by leading your people into a happy loyalty to the Church beyond the boundaries of your parish and community. Today, you have been made priests in the Church of God by the laying on of hands by a bishop acting for our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Church. You were not made priests for a particular parish or diocese. You are commanded by our Lord to preach the Gospel to all, and to assist in spreading His Holy Church throughout the entire world. This Charge, my dear brothers and priests, is given to you by your Chief pastor and Shepherd under our hand and seal in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in the Diocese of Long Island on the day of your ordination, being the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, the 28^th day of October, 1961 and in the 20^th year of our consecration. (signed) James Pernette DeWolfe, Bishop of Long Island.

That was his understanding of what priesthood is and how it should be expressed in the context of parish ministry. It is also my understanding. It is what, with God’s help and yours, I have done and hope to continue to be and do here at St. Paul’s as long as I am privileged to be your Parish Priest.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Reverend Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr.

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