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By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer
ALPHARETTA—The dreams of three men from three different
nations were realized June 3 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church when they were
ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
Father Luis Guillermo Córdoba Isaza from Colombia, Father
Eric J. Hill, a native of Indiana, and Father Thony Roody Jean, a native of
Haiti, became the newest in the brotherhood of priests serving the church of
North Georgia.
Archbishop John F. Donoghue presided at the rite of ordination and
Mass, assisted by nearly 50 concelebrating priests. Musicians came from the
churches of St. Thomas Aquinas, Transfiguration in Marietta, St. Joseph in
Marietta and St. Peter Chanel in Roswell.
The church was filled with well-wishers and family members of the
three men anxiously anticipating their ordination.
The readings and music reflected the language and the culture of
those to be ordained, giving the Mass an international flavor. The first
reading was given in French, the second in Spanish and the Gospel was
proclaimed in English.
The rite included the presentation of the candidates by Father
David Talley, director of vocations, their acceptance by the archbishop and
finally the consent of the people, which was expressed with thunderous applause
that echoed throughout the church. The candidates then took their places in
chairs in front of the altar, where they listened to Archbishop Donoghue’s
homily.
Referring to the simple, yet powerful prayer of the Sign of the
Cross, the archbishop spoke of the importance and presence of the Trinity.
“This pattern of our spiritual reality—the awareness of
God’s three-fold Being, and the power which flows from Him clothed for our
human understanding as love, is reflected in all that is beautiful and true
about our Church—about our Church’s life,” he said.
“And this certainly holds when we think and speak of the
Sacrament we celebrate today, the Sacrament of Holy Orders.”
“For with this Sacrament we clearly see, on many levels, the
operation of the Trinity, as the men before us—Luis Isaza, Eric Hill, and
Thony Jean—answer now God’s call to the priesthood, Christ’s
call to loving service, and the Holy Spirit’s call to effective and
certain leadership—and all for the followers of the Lord, the Son of God,
who has done all good things for us, that we might have all good things in
return.”
The archbishop also stressed the importance of the
“three-fold counsels of our Church, the three-fold virtues, habits,
disciplines, taught us by the life of Christ, and upon which all who devote
their lives to religious service must found their careers, their ministries,
and in which they must bury their own egos, their pride, their
‘self-ness.’”
“Immerse yourselves from this day on in the purity of
God—His love, which knows no motivation but its own chaste perfectness,
and which will be reflected henceforth in your utter respect for all, by
uniting yourself in holiest union with no one person, but with all
persons—just as God, through the gift of free will, has become obtainable
by all, and singles out no one to the exclusion of others. Chastity, celibacy,
purity—of intent and of practice,” he said.
He also encouraged the men to embrace the poverty of Christ and to
remain faithful to the teachings of the Church.
“And finally, tie yourself to the Church’s teaching, to
her guidance, to her Tradition and to her wisdom, for apart from the Church,
the Holy Spirit does not govern, and without the governance of the Spirit,
there is only the confusion of human speculation, and the bottomless pit of
unanswered questions,” he said. “Be obedient—to the Church, to
your bishop, and to the will of the Holy Spirit moving through both.”
The rite of ordination then continued as the candidates promised
their obedience to the archbishop and to his successors and prostrated
themselves on the floor while the community invoked the prayers of the saints.
Then in silence the archbishop placed his hands on the head of
each individually as they knelt before him, conferring ordination upon them.
This gesture was repeated by each priest present for the ordination and was
followed by a prayer of consecration spoken by the archbishop.
Each new priest was then helped into his vestments by chosen
friends, fellow priests or family members. Joyfully donning a new stole and
chasuble, the new priests knelt individually before the archbishop, who
anointed their hands. The offertory gifts, brought to the altar by friends and
family members of the newly ordained, were then presented to the new priests.
“Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered
to Him,” the archbishop prayed.
Finally, the new priests were embraced by their fellow priests in
the presbyteral greeting of peace, and then joined the archbishop around the
altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
As they processed out of the church following the Mass, the
contentment and joy of the new priests was evident. The excitement of friends
and family members was also obvious, as they eagerly lined up in front of the
newly ordained to receive a first blessing.
Many parishioners from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church,
Carrollton, came to support Father Jean, who served a pastoral year at the
parish in 1999. His first assignment as a priest will be at St. Joseph Church,
Marietta.
Anna Fazio said she wouldn’t have missed Father Jean’s
ordination “for the world,” and that she and fellow parishioners had
been blessed to have Father Jean in their parish as a transitional deacon.
“He has been so wonderful and so good to everybody,” she
said. “He is going to be a wonderful priest. He is so great with young
people. He is just what a priest is. To me, he has all the qualities.”
Father Jean, 31, a native of Haiti who studied at the Sorbonne
before entering the seminary, was vested by his aunt, Eva Jean. Speaking
through a French translator, she expressed great pride in her nephew.
“This is a very special day because I presented my nephew to
the Lord,” she said.
The aunt of the new priest said that she was moved during the
Mass, when her nephew and the other priests lay prostrate, “because they
made themselves like small children for the Lord.”
“Only God knows what kind of priest he will be,” she
said. “But I’ve been praying for him to be a good one and I think he
will be.”
Nercule Joseph, a friend of Father Jean’s from New Jersey,
said that her friend will be a “very good, loving and caring priest.”
“Because that’s him,” she said. “It’s a
very special day for me. I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.”
Anne Hill of Indiana expressed great joy over her son’s
ordination.
“This is one of the proudest days of my life,” she said.
“It’s almost overwhelming.”
Mrs. Hill is confident that her son, 27, who will serve in his
first assignment as a parochial vicar at Transfiguration Church in Marietta,
will be a true servant.
“He is definitely a people person. He is wonderful with
hospital situations,” she said. “He’s always been a special
child for us.”
Father Hill’s sister, Janice, said that she is praying for
happiness for her brother.
“I have a great sense of pride for him,” she said.
“I just hope for a life of joy and peace for him.”
Father Fernando Molina-Restrepo, a parochial vicar at Holy Trinity
Church, Peachtree City, helped to vest Father Hill, who was his classmate at
St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa.
“It was a great honor,” he said. “I think he is
going to be a very friendly, very welcoming person and he is going to be able
to relate very openly to people. I think he will do well with all kinds of
ministries. He has lots of potential for everything.”
After giving his blessing to many members of his family and
friends, Father Córdoba Isaza, 39, spoke of his own blessings.
“It has been the center of my life to come to the
priesthood,” he said. “It’s a blessing that Jesus wanted me to
share his priesthood and that Jesus wants me to announce the word to the
world.”
Sergio Córdoba said that his brother’s ordination was
a “very great blessing from God for the whole family.”
“He is going to be a very human priest,” he said.
“He will be very dedicated to service and very consecrated to God.”
Carmen Elvia Isaza traveled with her family from Colombia for the
second time to see her son ordained, first witnessing his ordination to the
diaconate in December. Though she was glad to see her son become a deacon, to
see her son ordained a priest, she said, filled her with greater joy.
“I’m even more happy,” she said. “He has
reached what he always wanted and I am thankful to God for this happiness he
has given me in calling my son to be a priest.”
Elvia Córdoba said that it was always her brother’s
dream to become a priest. He will serve at St. Benedict Church, Duluth.
“Ever since he was little he has had that feeling toward the
priesthood,” she said. “This has been my family’s dream, because
we are very Catholic. It has been our deepest wish. It is a great honor to be
the sister of a priest.” |
