Two weeks ago I attended the Mass of Ordination of Deacons in St. Paul Cathedral. Three of the seven men ordained served with me as interns: Levi Hartle, Chris Mannerino, and Zach Galliyas. A week ago I attended the Mass of Ordination of Priests in St. Columba Cathedral, in the Diocese of Youngstown. One of the two men ordained, John Ettinger, had lived with me for two summers in St. Juan Diego Parish, Sharpsburg. And, with the previous post, today we are announcing that newly ordained Father Mike Ackerman (one of four men ordained today by Bishop Zubik) will be coming to our four parishes to replace Father Nick Vaskov.
Obviously gifts are appropriate at a joyous time like an ordination. I gave the requisite check, a copy of an excellent new spiritual book by James Martin, S.J., Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and a letter. I tried in two pages to put down what advice I would give these young men. (Presuming anyone would ask for my advice!) Here is the letter I gave them.
Dear brother in Christ,
I am a little jealous--you have a whole lifetime of ministry in the name of Jesus Christ ahead of you!
Please allow me to share with you eight brief pieces of advice I have learned in my 35 years of priestly ministry. I give them to you in the spirit of one of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. "Begin with the end in mind." In other words, envision yourself like me, an old dog, 35 years into the future. What would you do right now and for the immediate future so that you could become the best servant of Jesus you could be, so that you could do the most to share and live the Good News of God's love with everyone over those many years? Here is my puny attempt to answer that question.
(1)Pray every day. You know that you committed to pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day of your lives with your diaconate ordination. I hope you are able to fulfill this demanding yet rewarding obligation. But even if you do not, pray every day. It may be a decade of the rosary, maybe the Examen, maybe simply an Our Father, but pray each and every day.
Father Charlie Bober once said to me: "Priests think that they have to say Mass each day but only pray occasionally. They have it backwards. Priests need to pray each and every day, and say Mass when the demands of ministry call for it." Amen.
(2)Take your day off each week. It is counter-intuitive, but the person who takes a day off, I believe, works harder the other six days than someone who "works" seven days. If you "work" seven days a week, you increasingly allow yourself time off during those days for non-ministry activities. At first, these are for very legitimate things, like getting a haircut or making a doctor's visit. Later, you slide into afternoon naps, watching your favorite soap opera, long visits to Starbucks, grazing the internet for useless information--or more unhealthy or unholy behaviors. Taking a day off forces you to leave the campus of the parish, forces you to have relationship with family and friends, forces you to develop a hobby, reminds you that you are a "human being" not a "human doing." Taking a day off allows you to come back to ministry with new or renewed energy. Taking a day off also prevents the opposite slide into workaholism.
(3)Make a spiritual retreat each year. See above. The Catholic Church will pay you to go away somewhere quiet just to pray for four or five days. Why not accept the gift?
(4)Tithe. Priests today receive an adequate salary. Most of your essential expenses (housing, food, health care, dental care, pension contribution) are paid for by your assignment. The only two essentials which you must pay for are your automobile and clerical clothing. The rest of your salary will go to "non-essentials," that is, whatever you like (e.g., vacation travel, hobbies, books, gambling, entertainment, etc.).
Tithing allows you to recognize that all gifts come from God. It is a practical way to give at least the first ten percent (yes, a literal 10%) back to God (whether to parish, diocese or other charities) in thanksgiving for all gifts received. I assure you, if you tithe (and also if you save regularly for retirement and a rainy day), you will never want for money.
(5)Keep a health notebook. When you are younger you will seldom need a doctor or medical services. But as you age, such services become more frequent and necessary. Get a dime-store notebook, and write down every doctor's and dentist's visit, every prescription filled, every E.R and hospital visit (I hope you have none for a generation), every health problem. This will assist you to keep track of your health over the long haul, and come in handy when bad things happen.
(6)Keep a spiritual notebook. Not quite a diary, but rather I'm suggesting writing down a running conversation with yourself (you don't have to show it to anyone) about what is going on in your spiritual life. Include scriptural quotes that touch your heart, powerful sermons you hear (or you write/deliver), quotations from authors or friends or other sources that mean a great deal to you, notes from your annual spiritual retreat--even photos or poems, these and anything else you want to include go here. It will help you to see a "trajectory" and pathway in your spiritual life.
(7)Remember the poor. See most of the sermons of Pope Francis. Read Matthew 25:31-46 regularly.
(8)Be open to criticism and to new ideas. None of us is perfect. None of us is beyond improving one or another portion of our lives. Listening to what others say about us helps us see our faults. Reading widely opens doors to new horizons. If we remain open to constructive criticism and to new ideas, we stay young, no matter what our chronological age.
There are other common pieces of advice I could mention (exercise, drink alcohol in moderation, find and keep a spiritual director who is smarter than you, keep your weight down, practice celibacy daily), but these are the ones that have served me, and I believe will serve you the best. And along the way.......enjoy and give thanks to God for the wonderful challenging fruitful joyous serving Christ-filled vocation God has given to you. Know of my daily prayers for you.
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