The beginning of every academic year at the NAC is marked by arguably the single most beautiful event of the entire year! This coming Thursday, 30 of our brothers who are entering theology IV will be ordained deacons in St. Peter's Basilica at the hands of Sean Cardinal O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston. It's an amazing experience to watch hundreds of American prelates, priests, deacons, seminarians, family members and friends pack into the vast space behind Bernini's iconic baldechino, at the breathtaking altar of the chair. There, on the marble floor at the center of Christendom, my 30 brothers will literally lay down their lives in service of God and His people, and, upon rising once again, will be conformed to Christ the Servant when Cardinal O'Malley lays his hands upon them.
For the third straight year, I will participate in the celebration by singing in the choir. To be honest, a church as big as St. Peter's has a really difficult acoustic to sing in! But we always do our best, and the music always does turn out beautifully. The beauty of an other-worldy liturgy is truly a wonderful gift that we are able to give the newly ordained men and their families.
Probably the coolest thing about the ordinations (at least from the point of view of a "younger brother") is that, every year, the reality of ordained ministry becomes more and more vivid! This year, for instance, I will be able to witness the ordination of two of my best friends in the world, Tim Wratkowski and Nick Hagen, both of whom are to be ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I've know both of them for so long, and it's going to be so surreal to see them kneel before the Cardinal as laymen and rise again as deacons! I'm so proud of both those guys, as well as the entire class of ordinandi, and it's so cool to think that, in roughly one year's time, it will be time for my classmates and I to lay down our lives on that marble floor!
The morning after the ordination Mass is always quite a treat too. Every newly ordained deacon chooses a church in Rome in which to have a Mass of Thanksgiving with his family and friends. It is at this Mass that he is able to proclaim the Gospel and preach a homily for the first time! Having been to a couple such "first deacon Masses" now, I can honestly say that there are few things cooler! (A "first priest Mass" is probably one of those cooler things!)
Tonight, we will be celebrating a Mass in our College with all the friends and family of the deacons-elect as an "opener" of sorts to this amazing week. Then, on Wednesday evening, all the priests and seminarians of the College will gather in this same chapel for an hour of adoration, a reflection on the diaconate, and procession to our outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother, where we will entrust our 30 brothers to the motherly care of Our Lady, Queen of the Clergy. It is always one of the most wonderful, heart-warming moments of prayer in the entire NAC year. And this year, it promises to be more moving than ever, as I think about these amazing friends and brothers who will soon be receiving this tremendous gift of the diaconate.
Please pray for Tim, Nick, and the other 28 men who will be ordained this Thursday! May God bless them and grant them joy and generosity in their vocations!
Christ's peace to you all!
-Colin
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