Homily for the Week of May 17, 2009

50th ANNIVERSARY MASS, 5/16/2009

Today I observe with each of you my 50th anniversary of the day when Bishop James Navagh, invited me to be a priest, and I accepted. It was May 16, 1959 at 10 am in St. Mary's Cathedral. I had just arrived the day before from Mount Saint Mary's Seminary and University in Maryland where I had been preparing for 4 years for this day. I was one of 7 who were to became Catholic priests for this diocese. I knelt in front of Bishop Navagh and he asked me: Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of his people? He then took my hands in his and asked me: Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors? I do. And then he placed his hands on my head and spoke nothing. I then became a Catholic priest.
Most of my life as a priest has been connected with teaching and education. After completing my doctoral studies at Notre Dame in 1970, I was assigned as Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Ogdensburg and as a professor at Wadhams Hall. It was then that I started to live at the seminary and be professor and Spiritual Director. At that time there were 150 young men who thought they would be Catholic priests. When the seminary closed in May 2000 I became your Pastor.

An anniversary necessarily reminds us of the years and days of the past: the people, the places, the situations which have influenced us the most. For most of you anniversaries are like reading a history book. But for those of you who are 60 or older may remember some of the events of 1959. Father Lyddy was Pastor of St. James. John XXIII was Pope. Dwight Eisenhower was President of the United States, Nelson Rockefeller was governor of New York State. A gallon of gasoline cost 25 cents, postage stamps were 4 cents, a loaf bread cost 20 cents, the minimum wage was $1 an hour and the average annual salary was $5000. You could buy a Ford or Chevrolet for $2000.

The Catholic Church of 50 years ago was also very, very different. For many of you that is a church of history -- a church history that goes back to the middle ages. When I became a priest Latin was the language of the Mass. Catholics received Holy Communion kneeling at an Altar Rail and never in the hand. There were no afternoon Masses. There were no Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. Most hymns were in Latin. About the only visible remnant today from the days is the passing around of the collection basket.

St. James Church had 2 side altars in addition to the main altar and on All Souls Day, November 2nd, three priest would celebrate Mass at the same time. There was no sound system. The Church bell was rung before Mass by a bell ringer who pulled on a rope tied to the bell in the steeple.

Changes in worshipping and the Mass began about 1970. There were many of them for both the priest and you people. I spent much time learning a whole new way of presiding at Mass as well as for Baptisms, weddings and funerals. And Catholics in the pews had to do the same. Mass was now in English. You were invited to participate in the Mass as you do today.

The special work of a priest, however, has remained much the same. At ordination, the Bishop placed these vestments on me and he presented me the chalice and the hosts and wine and said: Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered to him. Know what you are doing, imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross. As Mother Teresa would often say, a priest, like all of you, are like pencils in the hands of God.

The priest is called to proclaim Gods' word to all, and especially to interpret Jesus for all persons. None of this can be done alone. A priest can preach and serve to the extent that he can become one with the experiences of all those whom he is called to serve.
The most significant development in these past 50 years, I believe, has been the explosion of lay ministries, wherein lay men and women have been able to claim their baptismal call to holiness and ministry, and to assume and exercise a wide variety of roles and responsibilities.

In today’s Bible reading Jesus uses the word ''love'' no fewer than nine times. Love became the central command of our Christian faith. My own living as a priest has opened up fantastic ways of living the commandment Love one another as I love you. You are my friends. While I have been able to share this love, I have received much more than I have given.

The priest, most of all, comes forth from a family; his own family, and the family of parishioners. For the past 9 years you the people of St. James Parish have been my family, my friends, my signs of faith and love. You have given me the privilege of praying with you, of listening, of preaching, of seeing you grow from children to married men and women; of knowing of your sorrows in sickness and death, and of knowing the strong faith that brings you together to pray and worship. I thank you for your love; for your encouragement, and for your faith. On my part I pray that you know and feel God's love for you, and that God is always ready to hold your drooping hands, or strengthen your bending knees. God always carries you in the palm of his hand.