DSA & Priests' Retirement Fund Ask

“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”

Our second reading today is near and dear to my heart. It’s customary for a newly ordained priest to have prayer cards to hand out at ordination and at his first Mass. And these prayer cards are personal, usually with a custom image on the front, and on the back a Scripture verse or a quote from a saint, along with the reminder to pray for that new priest. And this second reading is dear to me because this whole section, Heb 5:1-6, is the Scripture verse on the back of my ordination card. Little did I know when I chose it that I’d get the opportunity to preach on it so soon.

I chose this passage because it’s got everything. Probably the most popular verse for an ordination card is that line from Ps 110, “You are a priest forever.” Check, got that. It talks about what a priest is, that is, “a representative of man before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” What kinds of virtues should a priest have? “He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, since he himself is also beset by weakness.” And since he’s beset by weakness, he needs to remember that he isn’t just praying for the people, but even for himself. He must also remember that it is in the priesthood of Christ that he shares, since it was to Christ that the Father said, “You are my Son,” and, “You are a priest forever.” And of course, where does a priest come from? “He is taken from among men,” not to take this honor for himself, “but only when called by God.” So, in summary, it has everything: The priest’s permanent identity, the qualities of a priest, what a priest does, the mission of a priest, and the origins of the priest.

And it’s this origin of the priest I’d like to reflect on today. It’s vital to a priest’s identity, and most especially a diocesan priest, to remember where he came from. Where a priest comes from is where the seeds of his vocation were sown; it’s where he was initially formed to be a good Catholic man. In his Decree on Priestly Training, Pope St. Paul VI said this about fostering vocations:

The duty of fostering vocations pertains to the whole Christian community…The principal contributors to [fostering vocations] are the families which…become a kind of initial seminary, and the parishes in whose rich life the young people take part.

In other words, a priest comes from a particular community: First, his family, then his home parish, then the Christian community at large. My last name reminds me of all those communities: I come from the Tran family. Which Tran family? The one from St. John Neumann. Which St. John Neumann? The one in Charlotte, NC. I come from this community, in order to serve this community.

Indeed, I was ordained to serve all of the communities I’ve been part of over the years. That includes campus ministry, first at Wake Forest, then at UNCC, where there were real opportunities to treat the university as a kind of initial seminary. We had regular opportunities for small group Bible studies, semesterly retreats with other universities in the diocese, and, most importantly, at UNCC, we were the only Christian group on campus who would feed our students a homecooked meal every single week, even after their first visit. (I’m not sure how true that is now, but it was when I was there.)

And the growth in my human, spiritual, and intellectual formation didn’t end there. You all know I’ve been in seminary for the last 6 years. I can tell you that the saying in seminary is, “Formation works.” I really changed and grew a lot in those 6 years. And these changes are pretty much immediate. I’m sure many of you know Matthew Hennessy and have noticed how much he’s grown these last 4 years. And of course, there’s also our newest seminarian from St. Gabe’s, Micah Burgess; you can meet him during Christmas break and see how much he’s changed in just a semester. The freedom to study, pray, and grow as a Catholic man are all possible because of the DSA and your generosity to it. The DSA is an opportunity to build and shape the future of our diocese by starting with all those initial seminaries.

But the DSA also supports the present. I was just in Swannanoa earlier this week to assist our mission there. I laid some flooring down in some devastated trailers. And I also met their new parochial administrator, Fr. Peter, who’s being dropped not only into a brand new diocese, but a community going through a lot of hurt. There are obvious signs of destruction; whole buildings are gone, and downed power lines and debris are scattered all over the place. But amidst all that, there are obvious signs of communities there coming together and making rebuilding a group effort. And that light of hope is worth keeping alive, which the diocese continues to do through Catholic Charities.

The really good news for our parish is that we’ve met 3/4 of our assessment, just with 15% participation. Thank you so much to that 15% for getting us that far! If the other 85% of our parish gave about $50 per each household, we’d easily knock that assessment out. That’s basically taking a seminarian out for dinner. That’s not even one electric screwdriver to help with reconstruction. One of the first things I did when I got here was set up all of my donation accounts, from the parish offertory to my DSA pledges. Imparting that sense of monetary giving was something really important to my formators in seminary, precisely because “every high priest is taken from among men…to offer gifts and sacrifices.”

And you know, that’s still true of our retired priests. That’s true of Fr. Frank O’Rourke. That’s true of Fr. Ed Sheridan. That’s true of Msgr. McSweeney from St. Matthew’s. The reality is the same for me coming into ministry as it is for them retired from ministry: They all came from a community that they might serve that community. And even in their retirement from active ministry, they still serve.

I was just assisting Fr. Frank with a funeral earlier this week. When I told him I was making this ask this week, he wanted me to let you all know that he can only live where he lives and get the care he needs because of your generosity to the Priests’ Retirement Fund. But the truth is that he’s not just living in a nice place, quietly living out the rest of his life. He’s still serving as a priest in that community: hearing the residents’ confessions, celebrating Mass, and still being a father to them.

That’s the thing: we priests were ordained for that very service. Just as a young man gets down on one knee to give his life to a young woman, so too all of us priests laid down prostrate on the ground at our ordinations to give our lives for you. And sure, the thought of “initial seminary” might be far and away from Fr. Frank’s mind, but even after all these years, I can tell he’s still joyful.

If that joy means something to you, please consider contributing to the Priests’ Retirement Fund. We still have a ways to go with that one; we’re just over halfway to our assessment. Again, one of the first things I did when I got here was set up my online giving account to make sure not only this initial seminary that is our home parish is provided for, but also to make sure my older brothers in the priesthood are provided for.

That joy meant something to one of our kindergarteners here at the school. After the 5:00 Mass last night, she came up to me with a very serious look on her face. And she gave me this quarter because she wanted to contribute to the hurricane relief and priests’ retirement. I told Fr. Richard this morning that this is probably the most valuable donation the diocese will receive this year. She really wanted to participate in the support.

The word “seminary” means “seedbed,” like a garden or freshly-tilled farmland. The one thing to take away this week is that Pope Paul VI called the home parish an initial seminary, a seedbed. The home parish is a seedbed. Everything we participate in here, contribute to here, pray for here, these are all seeds that we hope will bear much fruit. This is how we can till the Garden of God together; it all begins here at the home parish. In just a little bit, I/Father will pray the Prayer over the Offerings: “that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory.” Truly, may your generosity in service to God’s Church here in Charlotte be directed to His greater glory.