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Most Rev. Robert J. CarlsonOrdination of Aloysius J. Oliver - Aug. 20, 2006"Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." In a few minutes, during the Ordination Rite, Al Oliver will be presented with a book of the Gospels and will be invited in the words of today’s first reading to "advance the way of understanding." (Proverbs 9:6) Although the call to faithful discipleship extends to all Christians, it comes with special urgency to those who enter Holy Orders. For any authentic vocation a real personal union with Christ is necessary. We must abide in Christ if we are to bear fruit. This means that we must be holy. Without personal holiness it will be possible to hold the office, but the fruitfulness of the ministry will be compromised. God desires an intimate relationship with us. Jesus tells us that by eating his flesh and blood we might remain in him and that goes beyond this life to eternal life. "I am the living bread that comes down from heaven." (John 6:51) St. Cyril of Jerusalem put it this way: "If melted wax is poured into other melted wax, it naturally follows that they will be completely mixed with each other; similarly, he who receives the Lord's flesh and blood is so united with him that Christ dwells in him and him in Christ." After years of faithful service at St. Patrick's Parish in Ryan where Deacon-elect Al served as music and liturgy director, and after 16 years of service here at St. Brigid of Kildare during which time he also competed the lay ministry and preaching program today the Church calls Al to the service of the Word and the service of the Altar and the service of Charity as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. The service of the word includes the proclaiming of the Gospel, articulating the needs of the Church in the general instruction at the liturgy, offering catechetical instruction, instructing catechumens, and reaching out to alienated Catholics. The service of the altar centers, above all on the Eucharist, but includes other sacraments a well. The deacon may baptize children or adults, witness marriages in the name of the Church, bring viaticum to the dying and preside over wakes and funerals and burial services. He may also preside over liturgies of the Word and Liturgy of the Hours. The service of charity is as extensive as are human needs including prison ministry, visiting the sick and homebound, hospital chaplaincy, and nursing home visits to name a few. When the late John Paul II addressed deacons in Detroit in 1987 he said, "Deacons like other disciples are to be a 'leaven' in the world. The Second Vatican Council reminds us that the ministry of charity … also obliges us to be a positive influence for change in the world in which we live … so that society may be renewed by Christ and transformed into the family of God." Deacon Al Oliver will be asked today to make a public celibate commitment as a Permanent Deacon. In our sex-drenched culture, celibacy is a deeply alien notion. Any yet celibacy make total self-giving possible, as individuals over the centuries like St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa so powerfully demonstrate. The essence of celibacy "is a spousal love for the Lord" and so today we pray that Al Oliver "may excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern for the sick and the poor, in unassuming authority, in self discipline and in holiness of life." May he imitate Jesus who came not to be served, but to serve. - Given at St. Brigid of Kildare Parish in Midland. | ||||||