May 15, 2010 The Seventh Sunday of Easter
...and Ordination Weekend

I will be ordained a priest for 37 years on Wednesday of next week. Here is a reflection on this Seventh Sunday of Paschal Tide and on ordination weekend here in our diocese. I want to give this brief reflection in the context of this weekend's Holy Scripture and also in the context of the life and death of a priest you probably have never heard of.

First off, the first reading is from Acts and it is the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen. According to tradition, Stephen was a deacon of the very early Church, of the Church in those years just after the resurrection of Jesus. Stephen was a powerful preacher and some found his words just to hard to bear. He was stoned to death and as he was dying, Scripture says that he used the same words as Jesus used from the cross: "Into your hands, I commend my spirit."
St. Stephen is always pictured as young, vibrant full of life and energy.

The Gospel is a prayer. It is a prayer of Jesus for his new priests as they sit at the Last Supper table. Jesus knew only too well the situations that they and the future priests would face.

That's the Scriptural context. Now I want to give you the context of Father James Coyle. He was shot to death on the front porch of his rectory in August, 1921 in Birmingham, Alabama. Just a few hours earlier Father Coyle had presided at, what we used to call a mixed marriage, i.e., a marriage between a catholic and non-catholic, in this case between a catholic and a methodist.

The father of the methodist was so angry that he shot the priest dead. The shooter was a
methodist minister.

This was a tense time in America. Fear of immigrants gripped our nation (sounds familiar in 21st century America) and this same fear embraced groups of so-called patriots such as the KKK.

Some states enacted laws that allowed for searches of convents, monastaries and catholic hospitals. The Knights of Columbus were accused of stockpiling munitions and plotting a papist takeover of the nation. Father Coyle defended the Church, the rights of immigrants (and he himself was one) and the Knights of Columbus, who stand for Patriotism, Unity Charity and Fraternity.

On Saturday, six men were ordained priests for service in our diocese. Over 400 priests attended a Convocation this past week together with the Cardinal and our auxiliary bishops. We reflected on the sacredness of our vocation and the challenges that we face today due to the scandals and a secular society.

We need the conviction of and the energy of St. Stephen who was filled with the Holy Spirit. Our eyes, like Stephens must be fixed on heaven. Our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit.

I ask for a prayer today. For me, for all priests, for the newly-ordained. "Holy Father, Keep them, keep us in your love.

Pax et bonum.