“The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times.”
G.K. Chesterton, from The Ball and the Cross
The above picture was taken at the end of the ordination Mass of nine priests (with Cardinal Dolan in the center of the group) of the Dominican Order, Province of St. Joseph (details), on May 19, 2018 at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Their formation was long, and you can see the happiness on their faces after making this final step, after receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The ordination rite requires them to make promises, one being to conform themselves to the Cross (!); and they do not take such promises lightly, or without realizing the cost of this step. It was beautiful. The entire Mass was quite beautiful. A Catholic lay person witnessing such an event feels hopeful: that the heart of the Church is beating, that it is young, that there is new life, that there are new branches breaking out on the Tree of Life, and that God loves us, because He has given us these nine Men-alive!*
The boat which is the Church might be rocking, always floating, as it seems to do, on stormy seas, but Christ is the head of this ship, and we simply must stay on board, and remain faithful, even when it storms, as these new priests have pledged to do.
May God bless our new priests.
•SCF
