CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis led a prayer vigil and Holy Hour June 18 at St. Patrick Cathedral for two men – Juan Miguel Sanchez and Joseph Wasswa – as they prepare to offer their lives as priests to the People of God in western North Carolina.
Both ordinands attended the Holy Hour and were seated near the front of the cathedral, close to where their vestments were draped over the pews near the base of the steps of the sanctuary in anticipation of Bishop Jugis blessing them, along with the chalices that they will use at their first Mass.
Sanchez will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, June 20, at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. Father Alfonso Gamez will serve as homilist. The Mass will be in Spanish.
Wasswa will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 20, at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury. Father John Eckert will serve as homilist.
All are welcome to attend.
First Mass Vestments and Chalices
Father Juan Miguel Sanchez
Father Sanchez shares that his vestments are semi-gothic. “I like the semi-gothic style because it has the cross of Saint Andrew both front and back. I believe it is a good reminder of what we are called to do and represent as priests in carrying one’s cross and becoming an Alter Christus in particular at the time of the celebration Holy Eucharist.”
His chalice is from France. The base is floral and it has hand engraved designs depicting vines. It has three nodes on the stem and a simple cup and it is gold-plated.
Father Joseph Wasswa
Father Wasswa chose to a Roman vestment, with the design of the cross on it. He chose it because “the Cross of Christ has been very much at the center of my preparation for priestly ministry. A big part of my preparation has been meditation on the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, ‘We proclaim Christ Crucified…Christ the power and the Wisdom of God’” (1Cor. 1:23-25).
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Related story: Sanchez and Wasswa ordained to the priesthood June 19
The ordination rite explained
Editor’s note: Never attended an ordination before? Here is a helpful guide to the ordination Mass, which will be celebrated starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 19, at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. Highlights of the Mass will be packaged online afterwards at www.catholicnewsherald.com.
What is the sacrament of holy orders?
Holy orders is the sacrament of “apostolic ministry” – that is, how “the mission entrusted by Christ to His Apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. …” (CCC 1536)
The word “ordination” derives from the word “order,” which is the “appropriate disposition of things equal and unequal, by giving each its proper place” (St. Augustine, “City of God,” XIX.13). Order is used to signify not only the particular rank or general status of the clergy, but also the sacramental act by which they are raised to that status: ordination.
Ordination to the priesthood takes place within the context of the Mass. The rite, most of which dates back many centuries, has several distinct parts, but the essential element is the laying on of hands on the head of the ordinand and the bishop’s consecratory prayer.
The rite of ordination
- Calling of the Candidates: In the ordination rite, after the opening prayers of the Mass and the scripture readings, the presentation of the candidate takes place. The candidate responds, “Present,” (in Latin, “Adsum”) steps forward and makes a sign of reverence.
- Presentation, Inquiry and Acceptance: Bishop Jugis then asks for testimony that the candidate has received proper training and is worthy of ordination. Father Christopher Gober, diocesan vocation director, attests that the candidate is prepared. The bishop then says: “Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose this man, our brother, for the Order of the Priesthood.” The people respond “Thanks be to God,” and also give their approval by a hearty round of applause.
- Examination of the Candidate: After the homily, the candidate approaches Bishop Jugis, who asks him if he is willing to serve Christ and His Church as a faithful priest. The examination concludes with this exchange: Bishop Jugis, “Do you resolve to be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered Himself for us to the Father as a perfect sacrifice, and with Him to consecrate yourself to God for the salvation of all?” Candidate, “I do, with the help of God.”
- Promise of Obedience: The candidate then promises obedience to the authority of the Church and to his own religious superiors, as he kneels before Bishop Jugis. Why? The bishop is the head of the local Church. St. Ignatius of Antioch said the bishop is “typos tou Patros” – he is like the living image of God the Father. (CCC 1549) “The promise of obedience they make to the bishop at the moment of ordination and the kiss of peace from him at the end of the ordination liturgy mean that the bishop considers them his co-workers, his sons, his brothers and his friends, and that they in return owe him love and obedience.” (CCC 1567)
- Prayer for the Candidates: Bishop Jugis kneels and invites all of those present to join in prayer for the candidate. This period of prayer includes the Litany of the Saints. The chanting of the Litany of the Saints is an especially moving and memorable moment in the ordination ritual. The candidate prostrates himself before the altar as the prayers of the Litany invoke God’s saving mercy and the intercession of all the saints to send down the Holy Spirit upon this man, soon to be a priest.
The Litany of the Saints is an ancient prayer. The Catholic Encyclopedia says, “It was used in the ‘Litania Septiformis’ of St. Gregory the Great, and in the procession of St. Mamertus. In the Eastern Church, litanies with the invocation of saints were employed in the days of St. Basil (d. 379) and of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (d. about 270). It is not known when or by whom the litany was composed, but the order in which the Apostles are given, corresponding with that of the Canon of the Mass, proves its antiquity.” - Imposition of hands: This is an outward sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus conferred His priesthood on His Apostles, so too does the bishop and other priests lay hands upon the ordinand. It is the most ancient and universal outward ritual of the Church. “The laying on of hands by the bishop, with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign” of ordination. (CCC 1538) In this moment, as Bishop Jugis lays his hands upon the head of the kneeling ordinand, he prays silently for the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
All the other priests who are present also join in the ordination ceremony. Each one in turn lays his hands silently upon the head of the candidate. This signifies that they all belong to, and participate in, the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. It is also a sign welcoming the newly ordained into the common brotherhood as priest - Prayer of Consecration: Bishop Jugis prays: “Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to this, your servant, the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within him the Spirit of holiness; may he henceforth possess this office which comes from You, O God, and is next in rank to the office of Bishop; and by the example of his manner of life, may he instill right conduct. May he be a worthy coworker with our Order, so that by his preaching and through the grace of the Holy Spirit the words of the Gospel may bear fruit in human hearts and reach even to the ends of the earth.”
- Vesting the New Priest: The newly-ordained priest now removes his deacon’s stole and is presented with the symbols of his new office in the Church: a priestly stole and chasuble. This is called the investiture.
- Anointing of the Hands: Bishop Jugis anoints the palms of the new priest with sacred chrism, praying, “The Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, guard and preserve you that you may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God.” After the anointing with the oil, the priest’s hands are wrapped with a linen cloth. Anointing with sacred oil, or chrism, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. It is another ancient ritual that has Old Testament roots.
- Presentation of the Gifts: After the gifts of bread and wine are brought to the altar, Bishop Jugis gives to the new priest a chalice containing the wine, mixed with water, and the paten holding the bread. These are the sacred vessels used at each Mass to hold the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. As the priest receives the chalice and the paten, Bishop Jugis says: “Receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”
- Kiss of Peace: Lastly, Bishop Jugis gives the kiss of peace to the new priest, saying: “Peace be with you.”
The Mass continues as usual, with the new priest concelebrating fully in his first Eucharistic sacrifice, standing closest to Bishop Jugis in a place of honor before the altar. The new priest also helps distribute Holy Communion.
Why does the Church ordain priests?
The rite of ordination is more than an “election” or “delegation” of someone as a priest. The sacrament “confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a ‘sacred power’ which can come only from Christ Himself through His Church.” (CCC 1538) The divine grace received through this rite sets these men apart – consecrates them, invests them – within the Church and gives them a unique mission among the People of God.
Why are only men ordained priests?
Jesus chose 12 men as His Apostles, conferring upon them the mission to serve in His place on earth, and the Apostles did the same when they chose others to join and to succeed them. The Church is bound by the choice that Jesus Himself made, so it’s not possible for women to be ordained. Though in earlier times there were several semi-clerical ranks of women in the Church (called deaconesses), they were not admitted to orders properly so called and had no spiritual authority. They ministered to women in particular, in instances where customs called for men and women to remain separate.
An indelible mark
Holy orders is one of three sacraments that have an indelible spiritual character – that is, they cannot be repeated or rescinded. The others are baptism and confirmation. From the moment of his ordination, a priest’s vocation and mission mark him permanently. (CCC 1583)
Like the sacrament of marriage, in which men and women give themselves totally to each other and grow in holiness together, holy orders is directed toward the salvation of others through the gift of oneself. “They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God. … Those who receive the sacrament of holy orders are consecrated in Christ’s name ‘to feed the Church by the word and grace of God.’” (CCC 1534-1535)
A priest acts “in persona Christi” – that is, he acts with the authority of Christ, representing the person of Christ in administering the sacraments and shepherding the faithful – and “in nomine ecclesiae,” in the name of the Church. That doesn’t mean a priest is perfect! That just means that in administering the sacraments, the power of the Holy Spirit is assured.
‘The voice and hands of Christ’
In his 1990 address “On the Nature of the Priesthood,” then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) said: “Jesus gave His power to the Apostles in such a way that He made their ministry, as it were, a continuation of His own mission. ‘He who receives you receives me,’ He Himself says to the Twelve (Mt 10:40; cf. Lk 10:16; Jn 13:10).”
He added, “If Church usage calls ordination to the ministry of priesthood a ‘sacrament,’ the following is meant: This man is in no way performing functions for which he is highly qualified by his own natural ability nor is he doing the things that please him most and that are most profitable. On the contrary, the one who receives the sacrament is sent to give what he cannot give of his own strength; he is sent to act in the person of another, to be his living instrument. For this reason no human being can declare himself a priest; for this reason, too, no community can promote a person to this ministry by its own decree. Only from the sacrament, which belongs to God, can priesthood be received. Mission can only be received from the One who sends, from Christ in His sacrament, through which a person becomes the voice and the hands of Christ in the world.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor