! Francis has dominated the world headlines these past days. Not our new Father Francis, who dominates the headlines here in Iroquois, but our Holy Father Francis, who was in the Holy Land. During that visit, he bent low on the banks of the River Jordan, to touch the waters where John the Baptist was baptizing. When he did that he was only a very short distance from the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on earth, some 1400 feet below sea level. In coming to the vicinity of the Dead Sea, Jesus begins His public ministry with a great descent. The eternal Son of the Father descends to take on our human nature. He descends into the waters which can bring death, not far from a sea which in fact kills all life in it. And he descends geologically to the very lowest place on earth. It is not possible to descend any further. God descends as far as His own creation will permit him to descend.! Having descended, the Lord then begins to rise. He rises up out of the waters of death, transforming them into the baptismal waters of life. He rises to the heights of the whole world, taken up by the devil to be tempted with worldly power. He rises up upon the mount of Transfiguration to show forth His glory, and He rise upon the mount of Beatitudes to teach the new covenant. He will rise up on the Cross to redeem the whole world. And He will rise from the tomb, the proof given in history that love is indeed stronger than even death. Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, the definitive rising, when the Risen Jesus 1
takes our lowly humanity to the very right hand of the Father. In the Incarnation we give thanks that God has united His glory with our humanity in this world; in the Ascension we give thanks for something even greater, that our humanity has been made into a new creation that is capable of dwelling with God in the glory of heaven.! In each Holy Mass we get a glimpse of that glory. Today it is easier for us to glimpse the glory, for our hearts are full of joy as we gather for Father Francisʼ first Holy Mass. We could say that this occasion a First Mass and this action the Holy Mass itself are held together by what has made them possible in the first place. Our occasion is thanksgiving for the share in Christʼs priesthood in which Fr. Francis now takes part; our action is the holy sacrifice of the Mass which is our greatest prayer of thanksgiving. And yet, it is neither Fr. Francisʼ ordination nor even the Holy Mass which has brought us to this moment. It is the Ascension of our Lord into heaven that provides us with both this occasion and action. It is the Ascension of our Lord which brings His Incarnation to fulfillment. And through Fr. Francisʼ ordination, for which we give thanks, as well as through the Eucharist which we are offering, we see revealed to us all that Christʼs Ascension has accomplished.! Jesus being taken up into heaven only makes sense because, in the first place, He came down from there; not as a spirit but as a man- as one of us- born 2
in the flesh of a woman. This is what we call the Incarnation. Before Jesus ascended, He descended. He entered this world empty handed, as all babies do, but He returned to His Father with His arms full, at least in the anticipation of bringing us all back with Him. Descending for the sake of ascending; laying oneself down empty handed so as to rise with full hands. This dynamic is dramatically lived out in the life of a seminarian who is ordained to the priesthood, to which we were all witnesses yesterday.! Eight years ago, Francis left all that was familiar to him in order to enter the seminary. I can testify, and many of my brothers here present would agree, that entrance into the seminary can feel something like a ʻdescentʼ. One becomes quickly burdened by study, formation, community life and the pressure of discernment. Over time however, there is a definite ascent which begins to take place. The man in formation works his way through the process and, though it may not seem like one minutes less than eight years, he emerges, deemed ready to begin. This readiness culminates in precisely what took place in the Cathedral yesterday morning.! You may have noticed that in the ritual of ordination itself the dynamic of descent and ascent is repeated. Not even half an hour in, a man with eight years of formation and theological training who has ascended to the heights, lays himself out flat on the floor. This moment is the descent of all descents. In that 3
moment, with all humility, he declares before God, to the whole Church, I am unworthy and incapable of assuming this task, to which the People of God respond by imploring the intercession of the entire Communion of Saints and begging God to ordain him anyhow. And so begins the ascent.! It is a gradual ascent, mind you, which, from a prostrate position, merely brought Francis to his knees in order that the dignity of the priesthood would be bestowed upon one who knelt before the greatness of such a gift. He ascended slightly further, now as Father Francis Zambon, to be invested with vestmentsthe outward signs of his dignity and office; and in a penultimate ascent, to the bishopʼs right hand at the holy altar, where he now belongs for the rest of eternity.! I used to be under the false impression that the word ʻpenultimateʼ meant something to the effect of the most ultimate ; some sort of emphatic ultimateness. I was eventually humiliated when publicly corrected for using that word incorrectly as it, in fact, means second to the ultimate- second to last. So now that I know how to use penultimate properly, why would I call Fr. Francisʼ ascent to the bishopʼs right hand at the altar yesterday morning his penultimate ascent in this great drama? Because we have yet to witness the ultimate, the final, the greatest; though, in a matter of mere moments, we shall.! Soon, we shall see Fr. Francis ascend in the truest and most complete sign of his identity as a priest of Jesus Christ when, in the consecration, he will 4
elevate the sacred Body and Blood of our Lord in the most Holy Eucharist for us to adore. It will be the final ascent of Fr. Francis along this incredible journey because, while truly being the Body and Blood of Christ elevated and offered to the Father, so too, will it be the body and blood- the whole self- of the one who will speak those words, the priest of Jesus Christ, Fr. Francis Zambon.! In this great mystery of our faith, we see the culmination of all that our Lord has accomplished in becoming man and ascending back into heaven. By assuming our human condition in every way except sin, He can truly be said to be one of us. As one of us, His ascent into heaven and return to the Father signals what He has made possible for all of us. God became man so that men might become God, in the sense that our perfect union with Him one day in heaven will give us a share in His very life and being.! In Jesus Christ, we see God who has become a man. Similarly therefore, in one of His priests, could we not say that we see a man who has become like God? I am sure many of my brother priests have shared in the experience of having innocent, young children, following the Sunday Mass, throwing their arms around your legs and exclaiming, Bye, God! before leaving with their family. We are very obviously not the Triune God to be ever worshipped and adored. At the same time, we are very obviously not, strictly speaking, natural men by virtue of the supernatural power and ministry which we exercise. No one could fathom the 5
glory of what they beheld the day they watched Jesus ascending into heaven. Nor can we truly fathom what it means to ascend to the priesthood.! Pope St. Leo the Great helps to understand. He wrote about the Ascension: Indeed that blessed company had a great and inexpressible cause for joy when it saw manʼs nature rising above the dignity of the whole heavenly creation, above the ranks of angels, above the exalted status of archangels. Today we share in the joy of that first blessed company as we see our nature exalted in the person of our son, brother, nephew, cousin & friend, Fr. Francis, lifted up by his ordination.! I know my dear friend Fr. Francis well enough to know that, by now, these words are beginning to make his deep humility and genuine self-effacement extremely uncomfortable. But why should he, or us, be uncomfortable with what God has chosen to do; Father Francis does not ascend as a matter of his own will, but because God Himself has chosen to call him to the heights of glory. The glory of the priesthood principally entails the devoted and tireless service to, and sanctification of, Godʼs holy people. For what else would we become priests if not to help raise up many saints ahead of ourselves?! In that same passage, St. Leo goes on to say, Nor would there be any limit to its upward course until humanity was admitted to the right hand of the eternal Father, to be enthroned at last in the glory of him to whose nature it was 6
wedded in the person of the Son. This is why Christ raises men to His priesthood, in order that you may be assisted in fulfilling your vocation and your mission, which is to ascend to the glory of the Father yourselves by means of a life lived in holiness on earth. I have no doubt that Fr. Francis will help all of you achieve that, and in so doing, will himself also hopefully be counted among the worthy.! Some years ago at a conference of Catholic students, Francis was chosen as the participant who most looked like Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. A young Italian who died at only 24 years old, Pier Giorgio is very popular with young Catholics today for he shows us how it is popular to be attractive, successful, popular and fun, and how being holy, pious and devout is a complement to that, not a contradiction. Perhaps Francis was chosen because the many young ladies present thought he attractive like Pier Giorgio was. Pier Giorgio was fond of mountain-climbing and led his friends on many excursions into the mountain. One of the most compelling images of him is a photograph of him climbing a peak, on which is written in his own handwriting an expression he often used with his friends Verso lʼalto toward the heights! That is what the priest is supposed to do to point us toward the heights, to lead us up the mountain. Father Francis even long after you cease to look like a young Pier Giorgio! lead us Verso lʼalto, toward the heights, toward the Eucharist raised up above the altar, towards 7
the Risen Jesus ascended to Heaven, toward God Himself. Father Francis, today the Church asks you to lead your parishioners, lead your family and friends, lead all those who are blessed to cross the path of a new priest lead us, Father Francis, toward Pier Giorgio and the company of the all the saints, toward your patron Saint Francis, toward the patroness of this parish Saint Cecilia, toward the holy priests of every time and place, toward our Blessed Mother, Queen of all Saints.! Fr. Francis, carissimo fratello, I cannot adequately express my joy and thanksgiving that I now call you a brother priest. You are a treasured friend who has been by my side for many years. One of my favorite memories from our seminary days is the countless times we prayed the rosary together after supper. We have helped each other foster a true and meaningful devotion to our Blessed Mother. It is certainly no coincidence that you were ordained to the Holy Priesthood on the Feast of the Visitation of our Lady. Every year on your anniversary you will remember to see the Visitation as the model for your priestly ministry: Seek those in great need, run to them in great haste, bring Jesus to them with great zeal.! The Blessed Mother went up into the hill country of Judea. The Lord Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives. Father Francis, you have been chosen to lead us to the heights. Verso lʼalto! 8