|
By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer
DULUTH—An eager crowd cheered the arrival of four men to the
priesthood as they were ordained by Archbishop John F. Donoghue July 14 at the
Church of St. Benedict.
Sunshine smiled upon those who arrived at the church to witness
the Mass of ordination for Rev. Mr. Luke Ballman, Rev. Mr. Charles Byrd Jr.,
Rev. Mr. Bryan Horn and Rev. Mr. Roberto Orellana.
The Knights of Columbus fourth-degree honor guard stood, with
swords aloft, as the future priests processed into the spacious church, along
with Archbishop Donoghue and over 50 archdiocesan and visiting priests.
The church itself was filled to capacity with those anxious to see
the men fulfill their dream of becoming priests.
Reflecting the nationalities of the four men, the Liturgy of the
Word and the music were expressed both in English and Spanish.
During the rite of ordination, Msgr. David Talley, chancellor and
former director of vocations, presented the candidates to the archbishop and
the congregation, who accepted them with applause.
The men then listened intently as Archbishop Donoghue spoke to
them about the office and duties of their vocation.
He began his homily by giving thanks to those who made the
ordinations possible—God, the families, and the men who had chosen to give
their lives in service to the priesthood.
“And last, we thank these men themselves, for a gift that
none of us can measure—a gift that can be seen in its entirety only by the
eyes of Jesus Christ who has called them—and felt only by the love of the
Spirit who now remakes them—and known only by the eternal love of the
Father, who will give them their charge, and who will judge their
performance,” he said.
“Vocation to the priesthood aspires to a degree of love that
exceeds the normal—but for that reason, our gratitude, our promises of
support and love, our loyalty to these men, should also exceed, and attempt to
meet the grandness, and the nobility of what they are giving to us.”
The archbishop then turned from gratitude to advice, “so that
our brothers about to be ordained, may be encouraged, and set about doing, with
a glad heart, what God now expects them to do.”
“Dear brothers, love springs from the heart of our Baptism,
our Confirmation, our Ordination—love springs from these wells of our
Faith, in three streams, from whose purity you must drink now every day of your
ministry, if you are to keep your soul fresh for the Lord’s work, if you
are to keep your feet firmly on the path He walked, the path of the Cross, and
the path of victory over sin and death,” he said. “These three
streams you know well from your studies, and from your prayers made in
preparation for this day, and for your future lives. They are the good
counsels, the dispositions of Christ’s own life: poverty, chastity and
obedience.”
“They are life lived for others and never for gain—life
lived in that innocence which is incapable of exploiting the emotions, the
bodies, the thoughts or the beings of your brothers and sisters in
Christ—life lived in humble and selfless recognition that truth is given
by the Holy Spirit through the Church for all time, and not created on your
own, day-by-day, situation-by-situation,” he told the men. “They are
the spareness of Christ’s life, the purity of His relationships, and the
unfailing honor by which He always put first, not Himself, but the Father in
Heaven.”
Following the homily, the four candidates then affirmed to the
people of God their intent to serve in the priesthood with a clear conscience
and a prayerful spirit.
Then, kneeling before the archbishop, they promised obedience and
respect to him and his successors.
The four men then prostrated themselves on the white marble in
front of the altar while the congregation knelt and asked for intercession on
their behalf by singing the Litany of Saints.
Following this prayer, the archbishop placed his hands on the head
of each man individually, as they knelt before him, conferring ordination upon
them. The concelebrating priests repeated this gesture, also laying their hands
upon the new priests and praying for them. A prayer of consecration followed.
Each new priest was then helped to vest by chosen friends and
family members.
Now vested, the new priests were prepared for the celebration of
the Eucharist as their hands were anointed with chrism by the archbishop and
each received a chalice and paten.
“Accept from the holy people of God the gifts to be offered
to Him,” the archbishop prayed.
After this prayer, the new priests were embraced by their brother
priests, visibly filled with joy in welcoming the men to their sacred
brotherhood. Spontaneous applause was heard throughout the congregation as the
priests hugged one another. The new priests then joined the archbishop on the
altar for the celebration 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.
Three busloads of parishioners from the Church of Transfiguration
in Marietta came to the ordination to support Father Horn, who served in their
parish last summer, as well as in 1997. Waving homemade fans with the picture
of the new priest that read “I’m a fan of Father BRY+AN,” the
exuberant parishioners loudly cheered the former University of Kansas
linebacker who was selected to play in the 1982 Hula Bowl.
His mother, Gaye, said she was grateful that her family could come
together for her son’s ordination and she has a strong belief in the
member of the Trinity who most helped her son in his vocation.
“It was truly the work of the Holy Spirit that the idea of
the priesthood kept going through his mind,” she said. “The road
hasn’t always been easy for him, but the Holy Spirit truly helped him
through.”
The new priest’s mother said that she “wasn’t
shocked” by her son’s vocation, but that she wanted him to follow
God’s path.
“I would always pray that he would know God’s will for
his life,” she said. “I am so blessed that the Holy Spirit chose
Bryan. I pray that the Holy Spirit will be there for all the new priests.”
Father Horn’s father, Jack, said that the Mass of ordination
was “overwhelming.”
He said that his son, whose first assignment is as a parochial
vicar at St. Brigid Church in Alpharetta, will be an “outgoing, dynamic
priest.”
“He is deeply religious and he can express his religious
feelings freely with people,” he said. “He is open-hearted with all
people.”
Father Byrd, a native of Columbus, whose parents live in Newnan,
was vested by his friend, Father Kevin Hargaden, a parochial vicar at St.
Joseph Church in Marietta. Father Hargaden had words of praise for his new
brother priest.
“He is going to be an awesome priest,” he said. “He
is a very prayerful, intelligent man who is well-rooted in the Gospel and in
love of people and service to them,” he said. “It’s great—a
Georgia native come home to serve the people.”
A convert to the Catholic faith, Father Byrd will serve his first
assignment as a parochial vicar at St. Andrew Church in Roswell. His mother,
Ruby, a Baptist, said she was “pleased to support” her son.
“He will be the best (priest) there is,” she said.
“He has lots of talent, multiple talent. He is an excellent writer, he
sings beautifully. He has traveled the world over.”
She said that her son will be a humble priest.
“He will come into this as a servant,” she said.
“That’s his desire—to serve. He is from a family of educators,
so he has always been around people that worked with other people.”
Father Orellana, a native of El Salvador, was vested by Father
Richard Young, chaplain at Our Lady of the Americas Mission in Doraville. The
church is a mission of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Atlanta, where Father
Orellana will serve his first assignment as a parochial vicar.
Father Young said that Father Orellana was one of the first people
to call him “Father” after his own ordination in 1995.
“He said, ‘Father, do you remember me,’”
Father Young recalled.
It turned out that Father Young had taught Father Orellana English
as a Second Language at the University of Georgia. Father Young then got to
know the man better when Father Young served at the Cathedral of Christ the
King in Atlanta where Father Orellana was a parishioner. Father Young said that
it was an honor to help vest the new priest.
“It was really wonderful to see someone from a former life
have that radical of a change from the world,” he said, adding that his
own vocation to the priesthood, which followed his adult conversion to
Catholicism, changed his life. “It’s great to see it happen to
someone else. It’s something that we can share now that he is a
priest.”
Father Young said that Father Orellana has a great devotion to
Mary and is “full of many gifts to share.”
“He was brought up in the Hispanic culture, but received his
high school and college degrees in the United States, so he is perfectly
bilingual and perfectly bicultural,” he said. “He can work with both
communities equally well. He can relate to the Anglo community and the Hispanic
community because he has been in and operated in both worlds, and he knows the
struggles of both communities.”
Rose Ballman, Father Ballman’s mother, said that although she
tried not to be emotional at her son’s ordination, she “just lost
it.”
“I am very, very proud and emotional,” she said.
“It is a privilege very few mothers have.”
She said her son has always had a good heart.
“He is a very compassionate young man,” she said.
“He has always been a very loving and kind man, and very
intelligent.”
Though her son was once a part of the corporate world, working for
Andersen Consulting, she prayed for his vocation.
“The good Lord wanted him before Arthur Andersen did and,
boy, am I glad,” she said.
Anita Flohre, Father Ballman’s older sister, said that she
was “shivering all over” during her brother’s ordination.
“It’s very exciting and we’re all very proud,”
she beamed. “He will be a wonderful shepherd. He loves the Lord so much
and he can’t help but love everyone because he sees the Lord in
everyone.”
Father Ballman, a native of Ohio, will serve his first assignment
as a parochial vicar at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta. |
