ROCKFORD—St. Rita Church was the setting for the annual Priest Jubilarians Mass on April 25 celebrated by Bishop David Malloy, himself a 40-year jubilarian this year.

 

The bishop spoke of priestly fraternity as something that goes deeper than many other ties.

 

"Brothers in Christ, this is one of those moments of joy, memory, recollection, thoughts, that are so good for us individually and so good for us in a moment of sharing the calling, the sacrifices, the joys, the sorrows that go into the priesthood, and every one of them is good, and every one of them is deep,” he said in his initial greeting.

 

In his homily, Bishop Malloy noted, “we’ve talked (in the past) about priestly fraternity. … We know it is a part of that unity that flows from sacred ordination … There is that spiritual, that priestly, that charitable joining among us. And it goes beyond just a superficial liking of one another … Our priestly fraternity is something that is deeper and more rooted than that …”

 

“Special thanks to those of you who are being honored here this morning,” he continued. “You are being prayed for, you’re being admired for your fidelity, for your obedience, for that humility we heard talked about in that first reading. That call to put ourselves aside for the love of the Church, for the love of others, for the love of our parishes, for the love of those whom we serve. That is all a part of what we are seeing in you as we celebrate these different years, the different mile markers that each of you has reached …

 

“Our jubilarians remind us also of a unity that goes back beyond any of the milestones that we’re celebrating here … we are reminded those are the priests that went before me. Those are the priests who gave their humanity and their whole life before this …

 

“Ours is a unity in the faith professed, in the sacraments that are administered, in the obedience we offer, in our union with Christ. … Particularly to you, the jubilarians, thank you. You have our admiration, you have our prayers. And the rest of us ask … that you continue to remember us and pray for us as well.”

 

The 2023 priest jubilarians are: