On June 15th, in St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport Connecticut, I had the privilege of witnessing hope in real time. Jozef Ukaj and fellow seminarian David Klein were ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Many of you will remember Seminarian Joe; he worked with us at St. Lawrence during the summer of 2021. Ordination, one of our seven sacraments, isn’t one many of us get to participate in and my heart and soul were touched by the spiritual and timeless beauty of the ritual.
Only two seminarians were ordained, but the Cathedral was filled with a standing-room only crowd. Their parents held seats of honor in the front pews and were acknowledged by the celebrant, Most Reverend Frank Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport, for the faithful witness they have shown their sons.
The Solemn Pontifical Mass began with a long procession of at least 200 priests and seminarians, as well as bishops and deacons – Father Gill and Deacon Mark among them. As the service proceeded, I could sense each one of those men reflecting on their own ordination. The enormity of it: committing their lives to Christ, the privilege and responsibility of that special vocation. Bishop Caggiano expressed it well when he said, “God has called these two men into a mystery my poor words could never describe. It is a mystery of God’s love: a love that the Father and Son have for them, a love that is gentle and merciful, a love that is fierce and challenging, a love that will sustain them in their priestly life, a love that will bring them to eternal life.” The bishop reminded Klein and Ukaj, and all of us, that from the moment they received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they would act in persona Christi—the person of Christ. A unique and mysterious reality in which only Jesus’ priests can participate.
After the bishop’s homily, the Rite of Ordination began. One of the most powerful segments is the Rite of Supplication. We were asked to kneel, the candidates laid prostrate, and the cantor led us through the beautiful Litany of Supplication – a prayer calling upon the patriarchs and prophets, apostles and disciples, martyrs, bishops and doctors, and priests and religious to pray for us. The Communion of Saints among us surely outnumbered earthly family and friends. Once ordained, Father Ukaj and Father Klein were vested with a stole and chasuble as a sign of their priesthood and they were invited to the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where for the first time they concelebrated Mass, consecrating ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. A powerful visual.
After the Mass was over, we had the special opportunity to receive a blessing from our new priests. These are not ordinary men anymore. They have superpowers that we need more of today. In a world entertained by Marvel cartoon characters with make-believe superpowers, we need to acknowledge that real evil is banished by Jesus Christ through his sacraments distributed by his priests.
Call to Action: Encourage young men to join the priesthood and become real-life superheroes.
Photos by Joseph Cotaj
