Two Ordained as Priests
Bishop David Malloy poses with the diocese’s newest priests, Father Jared Twenty (left) and Father Andrew Deitz (right).
Father Andrew Deitz (left) and Father Jared Twenty distribute Communion at their ordination Mass.
Father Andrew Deitz (left) and Father Jared Twenty smile at well-wishers as they make their way out of the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. Peter.
Bishop David Malloy blesses Father Jared Twenty’s hands with holy oil. Oil for ordination is blessed every year at the Chrism Mass during the Easter Triduum.
Father David Beauvais (left) lays hands on Father Andrew Deitz as Father William Etheredge does the same with Father Jared Twenty.
By Amanda Hudson, News editor
July 4, 2014

ROCKFORD—Father Andrew Deitz and Father Jared Twenty were out of nearly everyone’s sight when they gave each other their first big hug as new priests and also wiped away a couple of tears.

That spontaneous expression of joy came right after they had washed the oil of holy chrism from their hands anointed moments before by Bishop David Malloy. The men quickly returned to the sanctuary to receive the paten and chalice holding bread and wine to be used at the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which followed the steps of the Sacred Rite of Ordination of Priests.

The men, their families and friends, and their brother priests all came to the celebration from “so many different angles, so many different perspectives,” Bishop Malloy said in his opening remarks. Ordination of these two men was something that had been “longed for, studied for, worked for,” he said, noting that all are called to holiness, and that this is a “particular call” to follow Christ as his priests.

In his homily, the bishop said that the call to priesthood “is mysterious ... (it is) something here of all eternity that is before you ...”

He encouraged the men to draw on the saints, shrines and feast days throughout their future as priests, including that day’s feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“I hope (your) feast day ... will bring you great joy,” he said, adding “I hope you (will) form a special bond with Mary,” and find that same closeness to Jesus that she had.

The bishop spoke also of the “sacredness of sexuality and its voluntary renunciation” in the gift of celibacy, so that “your priestly heart (may) stay open and directed toward God ... .”

He encouraged them to “live a life of holiness at every moment ... before anything else (living) a life of prayer,” fed with daily Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, private prayer and confession.

He spoke of their “brief but astonishing” promise of respect and obedience to their bishop and his successors, calling it a moment when priests “give away even your will in order to serve Christ ... (that promise) reminds us of the beauty and cost of discipleship.”

Bishop Malloy spoke of his appreciation for the Deitz and Twenty families and the formation in the faith, initial and ongoing, they have given to their sons.

“Brothers, keep the joy of this day always in your hearts,” he told the men, adding that “loving the faithful is at the heart of our priestly calling ... praying for them (and) praying with them.”

Looking at the three feasts surrounding their ordination day — the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul — the bishop told them to “have no fears or doubts going forward,” because they have the prayers of Mary, the Apostles, the saints and the people with them.

Joy, many more hugs, prayers of blessing and a tear here and there continued to flow throughout the Mass and the reception that followed.

Father Andrew Deitz begins his priestly service as parochial vicar at St. Patrick Parish in St. Charles.  Father Jared Twenty will serve as parochial vicar at Holy Cross Parish in Batavia before returning to Rome for additional studies.