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| Fr. Gregory Ihm |
When a man stands as his name is called during an ordination and responds “present”; it isn’t the first time he has presented himself to the Church for ordination.
The commitment to the priesthood comes in stages.
First stage: interior journey
The first stage is the interior journey that happens before applying to the seminary. It is probably the most important/pivotal, because it makes real many aspects of the priesthood that are usually off limits in most men’s minds.
Once they wrestle with the many doubts and fears that surround it and give themselves permission to pursue a call to the priesthood there can be freedom.Freedom comes from making a choice/resolution because it closes the door to many other options that await a man discerning his vocation.
It also opens up more deeply rooted questions. “I don’t see myself as a priest and how do I become like one?” “Will I have a meaningful life without a wife and children, etc.?”
It often is a journey from being the independent planner of one’s own life to submitting one’s life to the providence and plans of God.
This interior journey is solidified when it is manifested, such as when a man first speaks to someone about the call to the priesthood and especially as he applies to become a seminarian for the diocese.
Second stage: making choices
Each year, every seminarian has an end-of-the-year evaluation where the man’s strengths and areas for continued growth are pointed out along with a recommendation to either continue or discontinue.
The second stage is at the ‘yearly evaluation’ because it is a time for the seminarian to willfully choose to return to formation and continue to exercise his gifts and integrate the areas of growth into his life.
This is a process of handing over each aspect of one’s life to the True High Priest, Jesus Christ, and being conformed more to the image of the priesthood that is seen in Him.
Third stage: candidacy
The third stage is called, “candidacy”. It is the stage when a man petitions the bishop to be received as a candidate for the priesthood.
The rite of admission to candidacy for ordination as deacons and priests is celebrated when there is clear evidence that the aspirant’s properly formed intention has sufficiently matured.
In the ceremony, he publicly tells the Church represented by the bishop and other ministers and faithful present that he intends to be ordained a priest of the Church.
This stage comes before or at the beginning of theology.
Men take this step very seriously, and it validates the small ways that they have said yes to the Lord’s invitation up to this point.
Fourth stage: lector
The fourth stage is when a seminarian is installed as a “lector”.
In this stage, he is conforming his life more fully to the Word of God of which he is asked to know and love and thus proclaim in the liturgical assembly.
The men are told: “As readers and bearers of God’s word, you will assist in this mission (preaching the Gospel), and so take on a special office within the Christian community; you will be given a responsibility in the service of the faith, which is rooted in the word of God.
“You will proclaim that word in the liturgical assembly, instruct children and adults in the faith, and prepare them to receive the sacraments worthily. You will bring the message of salvation to those who have not yet received it.”
The men typically are received as lectors in their second year of theology.
Fifth stage: acolyte
The fifth stage is the installation as an “acolyte”.
These men are instructed in this way: “It is your responsibility to assist priests and deacons in carrying out their ministry, and as special ministers to give holy communion to the faithful at the liturgy and to the sick.
“Because you are specially called to this ministry, you should strive to live more fully by the Lord’s sacrifice and to be molded more perfectly in its likeness.
“You should seek to understand the deep spiritual meaning of what you do, so that you may offer yourselves daily to God as spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Jesus Christ.”
The men typically are received as acolytes in their third year of theology.
The last three stages are required by the Code of Canon Law and are given a particular liturgical ritual by which to celebrate these significant stages in a man’s commitment in his journey toward the diaconate and priesthood.
It is an interior journey that is asked to be manifested publicly by both a handwritten petition by the aspirant, and it is marked in the life of the Church during a liturgical celebration celebrated by the Bishop or his delegate.
The latter shows that the man is invited into a deeper participation of the priesthood as a gift rather than pursuing the priesthood as one pursues a job promotion or career advancement.
On the day of a man’s ordination, his name is called and he stands and says, “present” with joy and conviction because he ratifies the many commitments in a complete assent of his will to be ordained to the order of the diaconate and priesthood.
This gift of himself is received in thanksgiving by the bride of Christ, the Church, as she responds, “Thanks be to God.”
Fr. Gregory Ihm is the director of vocations for the Diocese of Madison.