Posts tagged with 'Links'

Fr. Mark Barr’s reflections on ordination

July 12th, 2008

As he did last week, Cardinal Sean has allowed one of the newly ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Boston to blog about his experience.  This week, it’s Fr. Mark Barr, who serves at St. John the Baptist Parish in Quincy:

When first I began to seriously consider the priesthood, it seemed a nebulous and distant reality. I thought God was calling me to a priestly vocation and I wanted to pursue it, but I really had no idea who the priest is or what he does. I attended Mass regularly and Mass I understood. I could even see myself acting as a sacramental minister but I could not grasp what it would mean, for me, to actually be a priest the other twenty-three and a half hours of the day.

Fr. Barr comments on the difference that attitude can make in a priest, reinforcing the need to support priests in their chosen vocations:

…a joyful priest is a better encourager of vocations than one who is very experienced, very skilled and able but angry or dour. It is not how good we are at our “job” that makes the priest a better priest, but how much we love. How much he loves, loves the people of God with Christ’s own pierced and Sacred Heart, the heart he receives in ordination, this is the measure of a priest. And this is not a distant or nebulous thing, but a real and good life, a life that ought to be pursued by all who are called, something that is concrete and doable.

The full essay is available on Cardinal Sean’s blog entry: ‘Quis Alter Christus Es’ (scroll about 1/5 down the page).

Thanks to Fr. Barr for sharing his experience and insight into the priesthood, and to Cardinal Sean for sharing his blog with the new ordinandi.

Posted in Links, Testimony

Fr. Joe Mazzone’s reflections on ordination

July 5th, 2008

Cardinal Sean allowed Fr. Joe Mazzone, a newly ordained priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, to blog about his experience during his recent ordination:

…The grace of God flowed freely and abundantly on everyone there, not just those becoming priests. I could see it so clearly on their faces. Looking at all the people I thought to myself “This is your ordination, too. It’s the prayers and support of good people like you that helped me to walk up these steps to be ordained and it’s for all of you that I’m walking down.” I couldn’t have been more grateful to them, to you, and especially to Almighty God. I could not have done it alone.

I think one of the most moving parts of the ceremony was the Laying on of Hands. This is really the most solemn moment of the Rite of Ordination. The bishop ordains each man by placing his hands on their head and invoking the Holy Spirit on the new priest.

I can’t imagine a more profound, exhilarating and humbling experience than this, that moment when Cardinal Sean placed his hands on my head. I’ve never known such joy, truly.

More at Cardinal Sean’s blog: Reflections of a newly ordained priest

Thanks to Fr. Mazzone for sharing his personal experiences with the Internet.

Posted in Links, Testimony

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