By Amanda Hudson, News Editor
ROCKFORD—Five men were ordained for the Diocese of Rockford at the Cathedral of St. Peter on June 7: two to the priesthood and three to the transitional diaconate.
Bishop David Malloy welcomed all who filled the cathedral for the joyous occasion, giving special welcome to the visiting clergy who came from the Diocese of Joliet (including Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Spies), St. Paul, Minn., as well as Mundelein Seminary and Abbot Joel Rippinger from Marmion Abbey.
The two new priests are Father Ryan Nooraee and Father Ian Ordoñez; the three new transitional deacons are Patrick Glanville, Bailey Peterson, and Michael Wojnarowski.
The five men made their promises before the bishop, and the rite of ordination included the Litany of Supplication, laying on of hands and prayers of ordination for deacons and priests. The deacons received the Book of the Gospels as part of the rite, while the two priests’ hands were anointed and they accepted a paten and chalice with the bread and wine to be consecrated at the Mass following the rite.
Additionally, the new priests and deacons as part of the rite received the sign of peace from attending priests and deacons.
In his homily, Bishop Malloy spoke to all and at times directly to the men before him.
“Today represents for you, as candidates for the priesthood and the diaconate, not just a goal, but most importantly a concrete and earthly moment that you and the Church have discerned as part of the calling, the vocation from Jesus Christ that was a part of your very creation,” the bishop said.
“Because it comes from Jesus in the mystery of the Church, what happens today is part of God’s eternal plan. Not just the configuration of your own souls to the Master, but your intense union with His presence in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and penance and baptism. Christ has looked upon you for all eternity with this in mind. But it is all gift, not your merits.”
He recalled the “rich young man” whom Jesus called to sacrifice and follow Him. That young man could not make the sacrifice. “Blessed with the same look of Christ, the same call to give yourself to Christ, you are here to follow Him,” Bishop Malloy said, adding, “As young men, you are called to let go. Let go of your own will in the promise of obedience, of the great goodness of family and marriage by freely embracing celibacy, of the earthly gain your talents might otherwise have earned, of the right to dress yourself go where you wish as Christ said to Peter.
“You are called to detach out of love for Him, to empty yourself and to follow the Master.”
The bishop spoke also of how the identity of the priest “depends on union with Christ.”
“With every Mass, every anointing, every private hour of prayer for the world and for your parish at the end of an exhausting day, you will be joined to Jesus Christ and increasingly conformed to Him.”
To the deacons, he drew from the first reading about the men chosen to serve the community as deacons, saying, “They were called … to prayer and configuration to Jesus.”
“Brothers all, the grace of ordination that we already share, and which many of us have already lived for years, is not simply an idea, an abstraction,” Bishop Malloy said. “Our fidelity to the Catholic faith is meant to move our hearts and the hearts of those we serve to use body, mind and will to seek God’s Kingdom. That must be a lived reality, … which are transparent … like Jesus we must not have any hidden corners or unseen shadows in our souls, in our witness before the world …
“That is the freedom and the joy that we seek in Holy Orders … That is how we shall be fulfilled and enabled to carry out our calling.”
Bishop Malloy ended by asking all gathered to pray for the new deacons and priests, and “make them to be a special intention of prayer each day going forward.”
The luncheon that followed the Mass provided an opportunity for the faithful to greet and congratulate the new deacons and the priests and receive their blessings.
