tvc.dsj.org | June 20, 2017
PRIEST
ORDINATION
5
Bishop McGrath’s Homily: Ordination to the Presbyterate
Our brothers, Khoa and Gabriel, have
been called to the Presbyteral Order.
As we consider the position to which
they are to be promoted in the Church,
we know that God has made His entire
people a royal priesthood in Jesus, the
Christ.
Our High Priest, Jesus Christ, also
chose some of His followers to carry out
publicly in the Church a priestly minis-
try in His name on behalf of humanity.
As Pope Francis reflected, “they were
elected by the Lord Jesus, not to further
their careers, but to offer this service.”
And so, they are here among us
today because they have discerned the
voice of the Shepherd calling to them
and because they are willing to follow,
not to be “lords” over the people, but to
be in service to the people.
Today, we celebrate your willingness
to serve, a service that places you at odds
with the overriding sentiments of our
society, a society which still has much
to learn from the Lord. However, there
is also the insidious temptation to place
yourselves over and above others, the
People of God, as though you are being
ordained into some glorified caste.
That is not so!!
Sent to serve, you will involve your-
selves now in the lives of the people
entrusted to your care, not in some cold,
clinical sense. Pope Francis again urges
priests to “get your hands dirty.” When
people approach you for spiritual help,
you must enter into the complications of
their lives. Again, the Holy Father says
that, “priests cannot be afraid of being
drawn into unclear and messy situa-
tions.” Khoa and Gabriel, you, too, must
be unafraid to touch the lives of people.
“Mercy touches, it gets involved, it
gets caught up with others, it gets per-
sonal,” Pope Francis tells us. “It does
not approach ‘cases’ but ‘persons’ and
their pain.”
“Mercy exceeds justice; it brings
knowledge and compassion; it leads to
involvement,” the pope continued. “By
the dignity it brings, mercy raises up the
one over whom another has stooped to
bring help. The one who shows mercy
and the one to whom mercy is shown
become equals.”
Gabriel and Khoa, you have the
energy and idealism of youth. Soon,
people will call you “Father.” That is
a wonderful expression of faith and of
the spiritual bond that exists between
priests and the Christian community.
Do not let it feed your egos. Ordination
does not make you an expert in cateche-
sis, or liturgy or counseling. What we do
today will not give you the wisdom of
age and experience. Be humble, turn to
others for help... and do it often.
Remember that you are chosen from
among God’s people and appointed to act for them in relation to God. Do your
part in the work of Christ the Priest with
genuine joy and real love. Be joyful,
joyful, with the joy of Christ’s service,
even amid suffering, misunderstand-
ings and your own sins. Keep your
gaze ever fixed on the example of the
Good Shepherd who did not come to
be served but rather to serve. Do not be
bureaucrats, but rather shepherds of the
People of God.
Be humble in your relationships with
your coworkers: your pastors, brother
priests, the religious and laywomen and
men, as well as in your relationships
with your parishioners. Yes, be humble.
This is not the false humility that is
for show, but an attitude that courses
through every fiber of your being.
Ordination will not raise you above
others; it will put you on your knees, as
was Jesus at the Last Supper, an act of
self-giving for the life of all. It is in re-
membrance of Him that we are called to
serve, and in His memory that we follow
and do as He has charged us: offering
our lives, also, in loving service of our brothers and sisters.
“Remember,” says Pope Francis,
“that the word of God is not your prop-
erty: it is the word of God. And the
Church is the custodian of the word
of God. True humility places us at the
service of the word of God, and not the
other way around.”
Indeed, I have no fear for either of
you, because I know that you have
learned all of this from your parents and
families. You were schooled in humility
and service in your homes, where you
were educated in the ways of family
love, where you learned how to be the
young men that you are today. And so,
on behalf of the whole Church and our
Diocese, I thank your families for the
gift that each one of you is for us today.
I also offer my gratitude to the par-
ishes where you first heard the call of
the Lord, and where your vocations
matured. Both Holy Korean Martyrs
Parish and Saint Patrick, now Our Lady
of La Vang Parish, have a rich history
of sending young men to the seminary
in preparation for service as priests for
our local Church. Indeed, many of our
most recently ordained and youngest
priests are either from the Vietnamese
or Korean communities.
Finally, I want in a public way to
thank the Sulpician Fathers and Saint
Patrick’s Seminary and University for
your part in these men’s preparation for
priestly ministry. I also want to thank
you for helping to form over the years
so many of the priests here in San Jose
and throughout the region. We are truly
indebted to you.
May the Lord watch over and con-
tinue to bless us, now and always.
Gabriel Lee and Khoa Vu lay prostrate in the sanctuary d uring the Ordination Mass.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Pak) Father George Schultze vests Father Gabriel
Lee with a chasuble. (Photo courtesy of
Mike Pak) Father Gabriel Lee is congratulated by Father
Joe Kim, Director of Vocations for the Diocese
of San Jose. (Photo courtesy of Mike Pak)
(Photo courtesy of Mike Pak)