God calls certain Men to be Priests!
Homily preached February 6, 2022
by Monsignor Michael Deering

When does Mass begin?

Ceremonially ... Mass begins when the congregation stands ...

while the Priest processes up to and into the Sanctuary ...

usually accompanied by the singing of an Entrance Hymn.

Officially ... Mass begins when the Priest kisses the Altar.

In doing so, the Priest is transferring attention and veneration away from ...

the Tabernacle ... that holds the Sacramental presence of Jesus ...

onto the Altar of Sacrifice that ... at the words of Consecration ...

will also hold the Sacramental presence of Jesus!

When does Mass end?

Officially ... Mass ends when the Priest kisses the Altar after the Final Blessing

In doing so, the Priest is transferring attention and veneration back to ...

the Tabernacle ... that holds the Sacramental presence of Jesus.

Ceremonially ... Mass ends after the congregation stands ...

and the Priest processes down from the Sanctuary to the door of the church

usually accompanied by the singing of a Recessional Hymn.

So, ceremonially, you need to be present from the time the Priest enters the doors of the Church ... and stay until the Priest leaves the doors of the church.

And officially, you need to be present from ...

the moment the Priest first kisses the Altar ... until the Priest re-kisses the Altar.

You could say... that the Mass runs ... from Kiss to Kiss!

My request ... and gentle reminder ...

is that you arrive on time to participate in singing the entrance Hymn ...

and then leave after singing the Recessional Hymn ...

   and I’ve passed through the Church doors to have a final prayer and blessing

    with my Deacon and Servers.

The whole point of this little liturgical review is to highlight the importance of ...

The Priest.

For you see, the Greatest Most Powerful Prayer in the World is ... The Holy Mass

and it begins and ends with... the Priest!

If there’s no Priest ... there’s no Mass!

The Priest is the essential person for the celebration of Holy Mass.

• The Organist, the Cantor & Choir can be ready;
• the Ushers can be in their places;
• the Extraordinary Ministers can be signed in and seated,
• the Altar Servers can be vested in Cassocks and Surplices with candles lit,
• and every single Parishioner can be in the pew ...

but the Mass doesn’t take place without the Priest.

No Priest … no Mass!  The Priest is essential to celebrating Holy Mass.

By God’s design, the ordained Priest stands in the place of Christ at the Altar and has the power to transubstantiate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

The Priest must be present for this miracle to happen ... and for

the re-presentation of Jesus’ once for all perfect sacrifice to the Father ...

   to take place.

I hope that this helps you to see the need that we have ... the need ... for Priests.

No Priests … no Mass!

And, without the Mass, we would lose our Greatest, Most Pleasing, Most Efficacious link with God the Father that is through, with and in His Son, Jesus.

When you realize just how sacred and special the Mass is in our worship of God,

the very thought of losing access to the Mass is very scary indeed.

We need the Mass desperately. And therefore we need Priests to pray the Mass.

God knows this. He’s the one who established the Mass and He’s the one who has called men throughout the ages to become Priests so as to pray the Mass.

In our Gospel today, Jesus called Peter, James and John to surrender their profession of being fishers of fish to take up the profession of being fishers of men!

St. Luke tells us today,    “They left everything and followed him.”

That’s the way that we should all respond to God’s call ...

with a willingness to drop everything and follow Him wherever He wants us to go.

When I say that we need Priests, it isn’t because God isn’t calling men any more,

rather, it’s because the noisy and distracting culture that we live in ...

is making it especially difficult for men to hear God’s call.

We live in a culture that glorifies the human person, instead of God.

We live in a culture that emphasizes having things our way and not God’s way.

We live in a culture that measures our worth ... by how much we have ...

           not by who we serve.

With that noise surrounding us, it’s difficult to hear the voice of God calling us.

In our First Reading, we hear how God called the man Isaiah, asking,

“Whom shall I send?”  ...    to which Isaiah responds, “Here I am … send me.”

By answering God’s call ... Isaiah went and did mighty things for God.

Today we call him ... The Prophet Isaiah ... the greatest of the Prophets!

God knows that we need Priests in order for us: to give Him proper worship and

in order for us to feed on His Son. So, He’s definitely calling men into this vocation.

The question is, “Are men listening?”

The question is, “Are men hearing God’s call to serve Him as His Priests?

You see,      Priesthood is not something that’s chosen by men;

                       it’s something that’s bestowed by God.

Priesthood is not something a man decides he’ll do ...

   it’s something a man discerns God calls him to do.  

In our Gospel today, we hear Jesus, the Son of God, calling men to be Priests.

Peter, James and John had first chosen to be fishers of fish ...

but, Jesus wanted them to be something else … fishers of men ...

He wanted them to be Priests of His Church!

There’s no way in the world that those men could have known

what Jesus had in mind for them. But by submitting to His call,

they got to experience things that no one else in all of time will ever experience.

They got to walk and talk with Jesus every day for three years!

They became the first men in the world to feed on the body and blood of Christ. And they were given the power to confect the Sacrament ...

 so as to feed others with the Body and Blood of Jesus.

They were given the power to bestow God’s blessing on other men to be Priests ...

making it possible to perpetuate the Mass throughout the ages ... so we can worship the Father through, with and in His Divine Son ... over and over again.

By submitting to God’s call, the Apostles were also the first ones

 to wash the souls of sinners with the mercy of God!

God is still calling men of every place and time to serve His Church

as a Catholic Priest.

What’s required is the environment to be able to hear God’s call to Priesthood,

and then ... the humility to say yes to God’s call.

It’s our responsibility as Church family.... to do everything possible ...

to insure that all those Jesus is calling ... hear and answer His call.

As we progress through into this New Year, perhaps this would be a good time

for all single men to ask themselves the question,

“Could God be calling me to serve His Church as a Priest?”

God calls men at all different ages.

• Kevin Bazzel, who is returning soon from Temporary Assignment in Rome,

entered seminary right out of College, at the age of 22.    

• I entered the seminary after 22 years in the workforce, at the age of 44.
• Don Forsythe, now deceased, entered the seminary after serving as

an anesthesiologist for some 37 years, at the age of 66!

• Forsythe was ordained in 2007 and served for 8 years till his death in 2015.

This man was married for 37 years and raised 8 children. But after his wife died of cancer, he felt God calling him to be a Priest and he answered the call!

God calls men of all ages … some at 22, some at 44, some at 66.

The whole idea is to follow God’s call, whenever it comes ...

because God has the best plan for our life.

For those of you who are parents, this would be a good time to start reflecting on the question, “Could God be calling my son to be a Priest?” It’s possible that you have some pretty clear designs on what you’d like your son to become in life.

You may want him to be a Doctor, or Lawyer or Football player.

But the best thing that you can do is to pray for and hold up to your son the idea of following not your son’s plan, not your plan, but God’s plan,  whatever that may be.

Your son will never be happier ... and he will never bring more glory to God ...

than by following God’s plan for his life.

One way that men can find out if God might be calling them to the Priesthood

is by taking part in a Vocational discernment retreat.

One is being offered here in our diocese in 2 weeks ... up at the Casa Maria Retreat Center in Irondale, east of Birmingham. (Fri., Sat. & Sun. Feb 18^th - 20^th .

All single men, High School age or older are invited to attend this brief exposure to what Priestly life is all about. Simply call the Vocations Office of our Diocese, or our Parish office or speak to me for more details about this opportunity.

Being a Priest is a wonderful life.     If God is calling you to be a Priest,

He will surely bless you with joy and fulfillment.

One thing’s for sure about the Priesthood … you’ll have job security!

There’s more than enough work to be done.

There are so many people who want to nourish their faith!

There are so many people who have neglected their faith!

There are so many people who have never heard the Good News about Jesus Christ!

Hopefully the day will never come ...

where you come for Mass and there’s no Mass … because there’s no Priest.

God’s lambs need to be gathered

and He’s counting on His Priests to lead them to the fold.

Please pray for Priests … everyday!

Pray for the Priests serving you now.

We have so many Priests over the age of retirement. I’m over the age of retirement.

Fr. Muller at Our Lady of Sorrows in Homewood is 90 ...

          and many others are getting up in age.

If they retire get sick or die ... we will really be hurting to serve the people of God.

Pray for our future Priests …

the 11 we have in Seminary right now and those discerning His call.

The Great Modern Day Saint, Padre Pio, who died in 1968, declared:

“It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun ...

    than without the Holy Mass.”

Think of that!   Without the sun, our bodies would grow cold and die.

     without the Mass, our souls would grow cold and die.

Please pray for Priests every day ... those serving and those God is calling to serve.

And do everything you can ... to help your children and your friends hear ...

God’s vocational call for them.