Last Friday in this space I wrote about the ordination of our two new priests and I told the story of Father Dayan Machado’s journey from communism to Catholicism and finally to priesthood last Saturday. I mentioned that his parents were admitted to full communion in 2002 at St. Joseph’s Church in West Tampa by Father Felix Sanchez. The parents wrote a letter to their son which appeared in the parish bulletin this Sunday in time for the first Mass. It is edifying, touching and telling and I strongly encourage you to read it by clicking on the language which best suits your needs (English or Spanish). It was written by them to Father Dayan in Spanish, of course, and translated into English by their pastor, Father Sanchez. Please read it.

You can read it in the linked PDF Document (English and Español)

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Esta homilía también está disponible en español en un documento PDF.

If someone were to ask me, [and up to now no one ever has,] what my all-time favorite play/movie is, my answer would be the agnostic Robert Bolt’s A Man for all Seasons which recounts the final months and days of the life of St. Thomas More. In one particular scene, King Henry VIII is losing all patience with his Lord Chancellor’s support for the Pope in Rome, and More’s very nervous wife, Alice, warns her husband that he is on a sure and certain path to at least prison and maybe even death. More turns to her, points to himself and says, “Alice, there is no stuff of martyrdom here.” In that simple and humble declaration, Thomas More indicates what the Italians say in, “que sera, sera” (“what will be will be”). He will follow his conscience not seeking to die for his faith but open to the possibility.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds me of that moment in the life of St. Thomas More. A new, renewed, reborn, courageous, committed, conscientious and fully conscious Peter recalls for his largely Jewish audience a summary of the life of Jesus. No longer concerned with “saving his own skin”, Peter aggressively pursues his own personal mission to preach the Gospel for the salvation of the world. Perhaps, like More,  Peter sensed the risk of his words and actions and did not seek or wish to be a martyr for the cause, but gave his life, finally, to our Lord in a martyr’s death.

Paul in Ephesians, the second reading, grasps the consequences of embracing the Gospel of Jesus and declares that he was a “prisoner for the Lord.” His bonds and bars, freely accepted, were the tasks of building up the body of Christ, unifying God’s people without discrimination between Jew or Greek, Gentile or Jew. His words to his audience are as true to this moment, 20 centuries later as they were when spoken;  we are to take upon ourselves humility and gentleness, patience and forbearance, and through a generous dose of love, to create a bond of peace among the believers. Beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and reviled in certain circles, Paul probably felt no “stuff of martyrdom” either, within himself even though like Peter and like More and like Christ Himself, he too would suffer a martyr’s death.

Peter, Paul, More, Dominic and Dayan, the five of you have at least one thing in common; they were chosen by God for the work of making Christ present and real in the Church and so are you. How did they and how are you two to make Christ present in the world: by loving one another. By loving those whom the Church will soon entrust to your care, regardless of nation of origin, language spoken, color of skin, gift of gender, holier-than-thou or the most despicable of sinners. They are precisely whom God has chosen for you to serve.

If I may one more time, [and come to think of it, who is to stop me?] return to my opening theme.  Like Peter, Paul and Sir Thomas More, risks in ministry must be taken. They are constitutive of who we are and what we do.  Preaching the Gospel in this moment of history, especially outside the relative safety of a Church, can be challenging. And while it will not likely lead to loss of life, a martyrdom of being ignored, mocked, reviled is quite possible. My dear brothers, I am confident that you enter this moment with the theological training you need but that is the safest part of the ministry you will be beginning. Theology did not get my three historical proto-types in trouble, shaking up the establishment of their time did. Preaching the value of every human life, in a womb of a pregnant mother or a cell at Raiford can get you in trouble. Challenging the establishment to care for the vulnerable elderly, the homeless, the illegal, through active engagement in the mission of social justice can at times make you feel like you are imprisoned by a society that just does not get it. You will make Christ present today not just by celebrating the sacraments, but by calmly, consistently and courageously proclaiming the Gospel with and for those who are most in need of it.

Dominic and Dayan, in a few moments you will answer a few final questions I will ask for the sake of the Church. As I look at you, I know More’s response to Alice would be yours to me: “there is no stuff of martyrdom here.” But in your “yes” you are assuring the Church that you are willing to be sent into ministry, chosen by Christ for this office, without fear or favor, to proclaim the good news in good times and bad. Hearing those affirmations, this Cathedral and this local Church will be filled with hope for you and for the future of the Church.  Wewill thereafter seek the help and protection of all the saints of God among whom will be Peter and Paul and Thomas More. Embrace the ministry, full of challenges but also full of joy. The rewards of a good priestly life, indeed a good life lived by anyone, are surely out of this world. But they begin with an acknowledgement that He has chosen for what only He knows but He assures you that you will have the grace you need. More than that, we cannot ask.

This homily is also available as a PDF Document.

As the year for priests draws to a close, we have the happy gift of two men to be ordained tomorrow (Saturday, May 15th) to the priesthood at St. Jude Cathedral. There is nothing that brings greater delight to a bishop’s heart and life than ordaining to the diaconate and priesthood. It is also a great day for the whole local Church. Deacons Dominic Corona and Dayan Machado have been in formation for many years preparing for their ordination and a life of service and ministry. Tomorrow their dreams will be fulfilled and their joy nearly complete (complete joy is a reality of the next life in heaven). People still love their priests. They may not love their bishops and leaders as much but my experience has been if they trust the men in front of them week after week, they grow to love them. The road to priesthood is a long one – nine years for both of these men. They are tested, tried, tested again and tried over and over. No one in the Church is more placed under the microscope as a candidate for priestly ordination in the Catholic Church. Most undergo two separate rounds of psychological examinations, are supervised and monitored closely by a formation faculty, and ultimately judged worthy of ordination. The ordination rite itself requires the Rector of the Seminary or the Vocation Director to confirm “that upon consultation with those in charge of their formation and with the people of God, they are found worthy.” Are they perfect? I doubt it but who of us really is perfect?

Deacon Dayan Machado is an interesting story. He was born and grew up in Cuba. Though baptized at birth, he was not raised a Catholic and in the Communist environment on the island, was discouraged from religion. One day, by total accident, he and his parents turned on the television and there was Pope John Paul II celebrating Mass in Havana. Dayan would tell you that he knew little about popes in general or John Paul II specifically. He listened to the Holy Father’s perfect Spanish, with his parents, and was taken by the message of the Pope. He became curious and after the Pope’s departure from Cuba, Deacon Dayan on Sunday would go stand outside of the small parish Church in his rural Cuban town, peer in the open windows and listen to the local pastor and watch the Mass. As time went by he felt attracted to Catholicism (a dangerous thing to do in Cuba), approached the priest and joined the Church. When he and his parents immigrated to Tampa, he finished high school, and then contacted Father Len Plazewski about the possibility of entering the seminary in first college. We were impressed with him when we interviewed him prior to admission. He was extremely bright, linguistically gifted, and quite committed to the Church. While in the College Seminary his parents were baptized and entered the Church through the guidance of Father Felix Sanchez, pastor of St. Joseph’s parish in West Tampa. Dayan graduated from the college seminary with highest academic honors and spent the next five years preparing for ordination at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. God planted this seed in this young man’s heart by the gift of a papal visit to Cuba and a television moment of pure serendipity. Father Machado will be assigned to the parish of St. Lawrence in Tampa under the guidance of his gentle pastor, Father Thomas Morgan.

Deacon Corona’s story is also clearly one of the Holy Spirit nudging Dominic toward the altar. Tomorrow will probably bring many tears to people who know how difficult it was in the early days of his seminary formation for Deacon Dominic to embrace the assurance that God was indeed calling him to priestly life. He will begin his priestly ministry at St. Raphael Church in St. Petersburg where Father Tim Sherwood will soon become pastor taking the place of the much loved Monsignor Bernard Caverly who is retiring.

So in the closing months of this year of priests, we priests of St. Petersburg welcome our two new members, thank God for their generous “yes” to God’s call, and assure them of our fraternal support and affection not just on their ordination day but throughout their priestly ministry. To add to my joy, we have a great number of seminarians studying for the priesthood from this diocese. I have been interviewing candidates for admission the last couple of weeks and it looks like we will increase number in the seminary slightly from last year’s wonderful thirty-two, a tribute not only to our priests but also to our Vocation Director, Father Leonard Plazewski. It takes courage in today’s environment to choose the seminary and we must pray for those who have chosen to follow the “call” – the ordained and the hopefully soon to be ordained. Queen of heaven rejoice, alleluia!

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I made my first trip outside of the diocese (actually the first night spent in something other than my bed at home or a hospital bed) since July 27th, 2009 on Tuesday. The occasion was two-fold, the twice yearly Board of Trustees meeting of our regional seminary, St. Vincent de Paul in Boynton Beach, which was also held during the once every ten years accreditation visitation by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (aka “SACS”) and the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the opportunity to visit our seminarians in theology (there are eight in the five year program and about twenty-two in the college and pre-theology program at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami).

All the bishops of the seven Florida dioceses are owners of the theology seminary and along with about twelve other lay people constitute the Board of Trustees. We meet every February and September and take our faith and fiduciary responsibility seriously. The seminary is an expensive proposition so finances often occupy a great part of our discussion but so do the spiritual, pastoral, academic and student life parts of the five year formation program. The future looks better for St. Vincent’s than the present as the large number of men in the college and pre-theology program suggests enrollment on the order of eighty rather than the present sixty-two.

The seminary passed the tests of the two accrediting associations and has been accredited for an additional ten years. These periodic visitations and evaluations are beneficial, helpful and necessary, but they place enormous pressure on the college and/or university. Several of the ten member visitation team spent time with the Board of Trustees asking us questions both about our engagement with the seminary and our financial commitment to St. Vincent’s. They all left this morning (Thursday) and so did I, but I was the only one on AMTRAK!

Finally, I visited individually with each of our theologians and also took them out to dinner. They are wonderful men and will serve their Lord and yourselves well. Deacons Dominic Corona and Dayan Machado shared their excitement about their impending ordination to the priesthood, reminding me of my own excitement more than thirty-two years ago. They are very happy with their seminary experience and committed to their vocations. Finally, I spent a little time with our Father Michael Muhr who serves as a spiritual director at St. Vincent’s and has for the last nine years. They deeply admire and appreciate his presence at the seminary, even though it is a great sacrifice for us as a local Church. Nonetheless, he is making a great contribution to the future of our Church. I came home happy to have spent this time and effort with our future priests in their formation house.

Finally, I ask all our readers prayers for Bishop John Ricard, the bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee who continues to recover from serious physical challenges and is now in rehab. We missed him at this meeting and I miss him terribly as a friend. Also, my last living uncle and my father’s youngest brother died this morning in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He was the first chief judge of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court System, visiting professor of trial practice for many years at Harvard Law School and a great uncle modeling integrity and justice. I am not yet approved for flying so I will not be able to attend his funeral on Saturday morning which grieves me deeply. May he rest in peace.

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From the Florida Catholic Conference meeting in Palm Beach hosted by Bishop Gerald Barbarito, I took the occasion today to spend an additional day and night with our seminarians studying at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach (thirty miles south). Sometime during the winter months, I will return and spend similar time with our seminarians at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. At the moment we have six seminarians at the theologate (the final five years), and seventeen in the college program.  Today was spent with those closest to ordination, those in the final years of their theology studies and formation.

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Desde la reunión de la Conferencia Católica de la Florida en Palm Beach la cual fue organizada por el Obispo Gerald Barbarito, aproveché para quedarme un día y una noche más con nuestros seminaristas en el seminario St. Vincent de Paul en Boynton Beach (este seminario se encuentra treinta millas hacia el sur de Palm Beach). Durante el invierno trataré de pasar el mismo tiempo con nuestros seminaristas estudiando en el seminario de St. John Vianney en Miami. En este momento tenemos seis seminaristas en el “Theologate” (los últimos cinco años), y diecisiete en el programa universitario. Hoy estuve con los que se encuentran más cerca de su ordenación y están ahora en los últimos años de sus estudios y formación en teología.

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