‘Carry Out the Ministry of Christ’

PATERSON  Bishop Serratelli ordained nine men of various ethnicities and backgrounds as priests of the Diocese, during Mass May 26 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here. He challenged these new priests to live out their priesthood ministry as “true icons” so as “to communicate the Divine Presence of Christ — his grace, his love and his will toward all in all they do to serve the people of God in the Diocese of Paterson.”

During the Rite of Ordination, steeped in the traditions of the early Church [see related story on page 12], Bishop Serratelli ordained the following men to the priesthood: Father Jader J. Avila, Father Jorge H. Castano, Father Dulibber G. Gonzalez and Father Yohan A. Serrano of Colombia; Father Joseph R. Boykow of Rockaway; and Father Kamil Kiszka, Father Mateusz Darlak, Father Krzysztof L. Slimak and Father Lukasz Wnuk of Poland. The Bishop was homilist and main celebrant of the Mass, which was concelebrated by Bishop Emeritus Frank Rodimer and priests of the Diocese and beyond. The ordination was streamed live on the Diocesan website, www.rcdop.org.

“It’s a beautiful day. We rejoice, because the Church of Paterson is alive and it is young with these nine young men as our new priests, as good examples, inspiring other young men to become priests, young women to devote their lives to consecrated life and those in the diaconate to respond graciously to that call,” Bishop Serratelli said in his remarks at the conclusion of the ordination Mass.

Filling St. John’s — the mother church of the Diocese — were seminarians’ families — some traveling long distances, friends, members of faith communities they have served, and parishioners from around the diocese, who gathered to show their support and offer their prayers for the newly-ordained priests. The liturgy featured the powerful voices of the Diocesan Choir and also readings, prayers and hymns in English, Polish and Spanish, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the men who were ordained and the Diocese they will serve.

In his homily, Bishop Serratelli challenged the nine men he ordained to become “true priests of the New Testament, preaching the Gospel, shepherding his people and celebrating the Lord’s sacrifice.” Priests are also called to bring the faithful together into one family in one spirit, he said.

“Carry out the ministry of Christ the priest with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns, but to those of Jesus Christ. See that you believe what you read, that you teach what you believe and that you practice what you teach,” Bishop Serratelli told the new priests. “Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate and conform your life to the mystery of the cross.”

The Bishop also told the men to “exercise Christ’s office of sanctifier” — “the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful made perfect” by their being “united to Jesus’ sacrifice” as offered through their hands “in an unbloody manner on the altar in union with the faithful.”

“Carry out the ministry of Christ, the priest, with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns, but to those of Jesus Christ.” He also told them “to follow the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served, but to serve, and who came to seek out and save what was lost,” Bishop Serratelli told the new priests.

In his closing remarks, Bishop Serratelli thanked everyone who attended the ordination Mass and all those people, who over the years helped to shape the lives and vocations of the new priests, including their families, brother priests and the seminaries that they attended. He also led the congregation in reciting the diocesan Prayer for Vocations, of which he is the author. Afterward, to resounding applause, the Mass ended with a long procession out of St. John’s with the new priests and the Bishop. Then, the newly ordained returned to the sanctuary of the cathedral to bestow their first blessings on well-wishers, many of whom cried tears of joy.

One family member, who received a blessing from Father Castano, was his aunt, Mariela Toro Penagos, who used to live in their native Colombia, but now lives in the Caribbean island of Curacao. “I can cry. There are no words to describe this. Jorge is like my son,” the Spanish-speaking Penagos said through a translator. “He will make a good priest because he is very human, very compassionate, very personable and very respectful. When Jorge was young I could see signs that he would become a priest. He liked going to church and liked being an altar server,” she said.

On Friday, May 25, the day before their ordinations, these nine young men already were anticipating the call to Holy Orders and their forthcoming ministries as priests.

Father Gonzalez described his emotions as “a mix of feelings — happiness and joy of getting ordained as part of my call to become a priest but also nervousness about what is going to happen — what is next.” He told The Beacon, “I can’t wait to say Mass.” During Memorial Day weekend, the new priests celebrated their first Masses in parishes around the Diocese.

Father Boykow described his emotions as “feeling happy, excited and nervous.”

“I feel that the past eight years of seminary have prepared me for the priesthood, the new step in my ministry,” Father Boykow said. “As a priest, I want to consecrate the Eucharist, celebrating Mass for the people, and to confer the other Sacraments, including Reconciliation to bring God’s healing to his people.”