Living the Truth in Love Homily: Transitional Diaconate Ordination of Toán Trán I Have Chosen You The Gospel passage from St. John that we just listened to has a great deal to say to our brother, Toán, as he is ordained a deacon today and as he continues his preparation for priestly ordination. It concerns the call that the Lord has made to Him. My brother, Christ has called you to be His friend but to be His friend in a very special manner by service to Him as a deacon in the Church on the way to His priesthood. What is paramount in this call is that He has chosen you. You are responding to His choice in a positive and free manner but the choice is still the Lord s. That realization will always bring you freedom and joy in your ministry. God's choice is always free. It is always a call to all of us from His love. Our response is not always perfect. It includes mixed motivation and sometimes an enthusiasm that loses its initial fervor. However, it is the Lord's call that takes an imperfect response and makes it bear 1
much fruit. That is quite evident in the call of the Lord to St. Peter who, at first, declined the call, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." But the Lord's response to Peter was, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When the Lord calls us, He brings an abundance from our free but imperfect response. "Do not be afraid." The assurance that God has chosen us, and not we Him, gives us a virtue that is much needed in our lives - courage. That virtue is especially needed in the ministry. In the Gospel today, Jesus calls us into a friendship with Him. That friendship must be at the core of your ministry, my brother, Toán. What beautiful words are addressed to you, especially as a minister of the Gospel of Christ which you will become today, "I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father." This friendship is a unique one because you are not only to know what the Lord is doing, but you are to become like the Lord in doing the same thing as He. You enter into an intimacy with Him that enables you to act in His Person. Christ tells us that He lays down His life for His friends. As a deacon in Holy Orders, and later as a priest, you are to lay down your life for Christ and for His Church. This giving of yourself is at the core of the special friendship you share with Christ - a friendship that will bring you inexpressible joy. "I have told you all of this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." It is well worth reflecting that the Lord who now calls you His friend, and not His slave, made Himself a slave for you. How well are Christ s words regarding the laying down of His life 2
summed up in the words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, "Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance he humbled himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." It is because of this that He was raised from the dead and His name is exalted above all others. This is what we celebrate during this glorious Easter season. This is also why this Easter season is such a fitting one for this diaconate ordination today. My brother, Toán, your attitude must be the same as Christ's. You are to be a servant, if you are to be His friend. You must give yourself totally to Him, knowing that your response is imperfect, and the Lord will take care of the rest. He will do much with your free response and will fill you with the joy that comes from His unique friendship. Today, you commit yourself to Christ in a permanent way through the gift of celibacy. This commitment is primarily a sacrifice of marriage and a family for a deeper friendship with the Lord in order that you might be freer to serve Him and His people. The Church becomes your family. In a real manner you down your life for Christ and for others in a very visible way. However, that laying down of your life brings forth much fruit for you and for others. Celibacy is very much misunderstood in our society and is seen in a negative manner. We all thank you for your positive response of freely embracing celibacy in a courageous manner which is a support to all of us in the Church. It will bring you and the Church much grace. Today, you also commit yourself to the Liturgy of the Hours as a seal of your deeper 3
friendship with the Lord. This daily prayer for the Church centers on the rhythm of the day as well as on the mysteries of the life of Christ celebrated in the Church s liturgical year. Your commitment to this beautiful prayer is but a minimum of the life of prayer to which you wed yourself today. Only through daily prayer, nourished by the word of God and the Eucharist, will you deepen your friendship with Christ and continue to respond to His call to you. In this manner your response becomes more perfect. In some extemporaneous remarks during a homily to the members of the Biblical commission this past week, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, made reference to responding to God in freedom. He remarked that in modern times there is a great tendency to see the human person as free, autonomous and nothing else. This supposed freedom from everything including freedom from obedience to God "is a lie" in the words of the Pope. We were created not to exist on our own but for others and for God. Toán s free response to God's call this morning speaks courageously and boldly to all of us and reminds us of our true nature. Toán s carrying out of the ministry of the word entrusted to him today will enable all of us to live in true freedom and to respond to God's call in our own lives. Toán, after you make your promises this morning, I will say the words, "May the Lord who has begun this good work in you bring it to fulfillment." It is always God who begins the work and brings it to fulfillment. It is always God who chooses us and brings forth fruit from His choice. It is God who gives us the courage to carry out our work and gives true joy to the world which has lost that gift. May your new ministry among us help us all as we grow in the Gospel of the Lord. May the Lord continue to bring to fulfillment His work in you and in all of us. 4
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito May 7, 2010 5