The Church always needs good priests—and a community to support them

I think it proves God’s sense of humor, or at least his sense of timing, that whenever the world most bitterly criticizes the Church, good men step forward to renew her witness. 

Here in Denver we’re blessed with two excellent and growing seminaries—St. John Vianney Theological Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary—filled with good men and taught by a remarkable faculty. 

And this coming Saturday, May 21, I’ll have the privilege of ordaining eight more outstanding men to the priesthood: Michael Bodzioch, Dennis Garrou, Gerónimo González, Brian Larkin, John Nepil, Gregg Pedersen, Brady Wagner and Grzegorz Wójcik

These men deserve our gratitude for their courage, joy and unselfishness.  They also need our support and prayers for the work that lies ahead.  So it’s a good moment to take stock of our identity as a community of faith.

The Church is not just a collection of individuals gathered around a sacred text. She’s a community—a community rooted both in God’s Word and in sacrament.

No matter how many other things bear good fruit for the Gospel in our day, there is no ongoing presence of Jesus Christ in the world without the Church; there is no Church without the Eucharist; and there is no Eucharist without the priest.

As a result, in every generation, we always need good priests: well-formed men of hope and courage; men who love Jesus Christ, love the Church and are eager to serve God’s people. And—equally important—we need a community of believers that will encourage these men, and support them as a family in their sacrifices.

The patron saint of parish priests is the great French “Cure of Ars,” John Vianney, who had a tremendous esteem for the priesthood.  Whenever others offered him compliments or praised his holiness, he always deflected the praise away from his own person and toward the office of the priest.

He once said that “If we really understood the priest on earth, we would die not of fright but of love. … The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.”

As with married life, priesthood is a serious choice in response to God’s call. It has life-changing consequences. But—again like married life—it’s not merely life-changing, but life-giving. When genuinely given over to Christ, priesthood is a life of joy, courage, freedom and fraternity; a life of fruitfulness and meaning.

And these things far outweigh its challenges.

In the year ahead, I ask the priests of northern Colorado—who already serve the Lord and his Church so well—to encourage the young men of their parishes to consider a priestly vocation, and to communicate the happiness they have experienced in their own priestly ministry.

I also ask the Catholic people of northern Colorado to pray daily for vocations to the priesthood.  God most easily answers our prayers when we actively seek to cooperate with his will. So I also urge parents to cultivate a love for the Church and her sacraments in their children.

I especially urge them to model their own love for the priesthood by supporting our priests in daily parish life, and by creating an environment in their homes where vocations to the priesthood are encouraged, discussed, and received by children as a great and holy personal choice.

Every Christian life is lived in communion and on mission.  The Church is an ecology of love. She is most fruitful when her members love well. 

As eight men begin the adventure of service and love that lies at the heart of the priesthood this weekend, let’s all of us remember to keep them in our daily prayers—and to sustain them by the witness of our own Christian discipleship.

To learn more about the Archbishop's annual Catholic Appeal, which supports, in part, Denver's two seminaries, visit www.archden.org/archbishopscatholicappeal.

Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap. is the archbishop of Denver. To read more from Archbishop Chaput, click here.