By Paula Day

Father Michael McWhorter was ordained a priest of the Atlanta archdiocese December 12 by Bishop Thomas Larkin, bishop emeritus of Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Family members, friends and approximately 30 priests were present for the ordination at Christ the Kind Cathedral in Atlanta.

"I'm very excited, especially for him," his mother, Dorothy McWhorter said. "I've never seen him look so joyful." The ordinand's father Billy, his brother Shawn and his grandmother, Beatrice McWhorter also attended.

Bishop Larkin, who had ordained Reverend Mr. Greg Goolsby a transitional deacon the evening before, referred to himself as the designated hitter, filling in for Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM. Calling a vocation to the priesthood a great mystery, the bishop questioned, "Why did Christ choose me rather than thousands of others who are so much better qualified? I am sure every priest asks himself that question. We won't know the answer until we are ushered into eternity. The only explanation we have now is the great personal love the Lord has for us."

Father Don Kenny, archdiocesan vocations director, presented the candidate to the community and he and Father Vincent Malatesta, SJ, placed the stole around the candidate's shoulders and clothed him in the chasuble, vestments worn by priests.

Monsignor Edward Dillon, vicar general, Father Tom Kenny, rector of the cathedral, Father Edward O'Connor, Father Ed Thein, Father Tony Curran, Father David Talley, Father Stewart Wilber, Father Richard Wise and the vocations director were principal concelebrants.

Noting the ordination was celebrated on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop Larkin said Mary's life can be a model for the life of a priest. "Mary's faith is perhaps her greatest virtue and is a perfect example for us as priests to imitate."

"When the angel announced to her that she would be the mother of the Son of God, she said, 'I am the maid servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say.' Her obedience followed, and was inspired by her faith. It was a spontaneous, cheerful and generous obedience to the will of God under the cover of His Divine Providence. It involved very difficult trials. Her fidelity to the Lord's will pervaded her entire life."

The priesthood does not transcend the Church but is service within the Church, Bishop Larkin said. "The priest is a lasting sign that God's word will never be withdrawn."

Priestly ministry, in contrast to other endeavors, is not a profession but a life whose goal is "clear, constant and unwavering," the bishop said. Quoting Jesus' word to Peter, he reminded the candidate that from now on he would be "catching men."

A priest does not have a life separate from his calling, the bishop said. "If the priest tries to separate his office from his life by trying to keep himself for himself" and perform duties "that can be listed in a 40-hour week, he has violated his vocation." He quoted theologian Karl Rahner, noting, "One can only fulfill priesthood by paying one's life for the privilege."

The priest's ministry is expected to bring joy and hope, the bishop said. Although the priest cannot remove the pain and frustration in people's lives, he can help them cope with their difficulties by seeing them with eyes of faith.

People are "not looking for religious leaders who can solve all their problems or answer all their questions," Bishop Larkin said. "Often they know the answers already and they know their problem has no immediate solution. More than anything else people look to us who minister to them for our presence as loving, caring, and forgiving people. They want our help in their efforts to handle pain and frustration. They look to us for understanding. They seek a sensitive and consoling response to their hurt feelings. They need the spiritual comfort we can bring through our ministry of word and sacraments. They want someone who can pray with them, whose presence will remind them that no matter what their difficulties might be, God really loves them and cares for them. They want assurance that God will never abandon them. This is the preferred style of spiritual leadership in our day."

A reception for Father McWhorter hosted by the Serra Club in the cathedral's Hyland Center followed the ordination.

Father Tom Kenny, who received Michael McWhorter into the Catholic Church in 1984 as pastor of Corpus Christi parish in Stone Mountain remarked, "I told him I'd be behind him all the way (in his quest for ordination.) I always felt he was called."

McWhorter was baptized at 11. His faith journey took him from the Baptist to the Methodist to the Episcopalian faith communities before he became a Catholic.

Father McWhorter celebrated his first Mass December 13 at Sts. Peter and Paul parish, where he had ministered as a seminarian.

Val Dorsey, a parishioner at the Decatur parish, said seeing the seminarian at daily Mass brought him "utmost respect" for the young man. "He will make a tremendous priest, loving caring and sharing."

A number of people expressed a sense of loss, noting Archbishop Lyke was unable to ordain Father McWhorter. "If the archbishop were sitting in his chair, it would be perfect," commented Mrs. McWhorter before the ordination.

Father McWhorter will begin his duties at St. John Neumann parish in Lilburn December 20. Father Don Caron, parochial vicar at St. John Neumann, commented, "What I know of his temperament and style, he'll fit right in with what we're trying to accomplish in the parish."

Father McWhorter's is the third priestly ordination in the archdiocese this year. Father David Dye and Father Alvaro Avendaño were ordained in the spring. Five transitional deacons are expected to be ordained priests for the Church of Atlanta in the spring of 1993, according to Father Don Kenny.