‘You have been chosen for a mission that is older than you,’ Archbishop Vigneron tells new priests ordained May 27 at cathedral
DETROIT — Five men answered the Lord’s call and stepped forth to be ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Detroit at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on the eve of Pentecost, May 27.
Richard Dorsch, Jeremy Schupbach, Michael Selvaraj, Andrew Smith and Ryan Walters all sat with their families at the start of the liturgy, symbolic of how it was their families who brought them into the faith.
But when Fr. Stephen Burr, rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, called out their names, each of them answered “present,” and stepped forward to be ordained by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit.
“The spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ has set upon us all here in the cathedral, as Christ makes five men in our archdiocese priests and sharers in the gifts of our Church,” Archbishop Vigneron said at the beginning of the Mass.
After readings from the prophet Jeremiah and St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, describing how throughout salvation history God has appointed certain men to be mankind’s representatives, each of the five men stood before the archbishop for the Election of the Candidates, during which Fr. Burr confirmed they were worthy of ordination.
“Relying on the help of the Lord God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose these our brothers for the order of the priesthood,” Archbishop Vigneron said, as the congregation erupted in applause before Detroit’s chief shepherd delivered his homily.
Archbishop Vigneron said it is Christ, through very simple human gestures such as the laying on of hands and recitation of prayer, who transforms the men into priests, using the ordinary to do something extraordinary.
“No man makes himself a priest; it is something that Christ does,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “No man is made a priest by the delegation of a committee or any one person in the Church. It is Jesus who shares his mission and ministry to those he called, as he does today, as he called the Twelve. (The bishop) is only an instrument in the ordination rite, or a working of the Spirit to transform a man as a priest forever.”
Reflecting on the Scriptures read during Mass, Archbishop Vigneron said Jesus told the apostles — and the whole Church — what he expects from the priesthood.
“In the Gospel, St. John recounted how Jesus said ordination is a consecration, and we heard the text from Jeremiah (that) this consecration is for the mission, and from the letter to the Hebrews, telling us what this mission is,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “The proclamation from Jeremiah pointing out the establishment of an order of men for the priesthood is about mission, a task. You heard the prophet recount how God told him, 'Where I shall send you, you shall go. Whatever I command you, you shall speak.'
“Indeed, that is your mission: to go where you are sent, to speak what you are told to say,” Archbishop Vigneron added. “It’s not your word, not your opinions about politics or society, but the Gospel of Christ. And you, like Jeremiah, have been chosen for this mission, according to a plan that is older than you.”
After the archbishop’s homily, the elect made their promises to undertake the responsibilities of the priesthood and obedience to the archbishop of Detroit and his successors. The five men laid prostrate before the altar as the Litany of Supplication was sung.
The elect then rose, and one by one, presented themselves before a seated Archbishop Vigneron, who laid his hands on the elect without saying anything.
All of the other priests present then laid their hands on the elect while the choir sang “Veni Sancte Spiritus” ("Come, Holy Spirit").
All five of the elect then knelt before Archbishop Vigneron, who chanted the Prayer of Ordination, transforming the five men into priests, now and forever, "according to the order of Melchizedek."
The newly ordained priests were invested with a chasuble for the first time, and Archbishop Vigneron anointed their hands with Holy Chrism.
The mothers of the five priests brought forth a paten holding the bread and chalice containing the wine mixed with water for the celebration of Mass. The gifts were brought before Archbishop Vigneron, who handed them to each of the newly ordained, saying, “Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God. Understand what you will do, imitate what you will celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.”
The ordination of five priests comes at the end of a Year of Prayer for Priestly Vocations in the Archdiocese of Detroit, with the archbishop leading the congregation in a prayer for an increase in priestly vocations at the end of Mass.
Fr. Jeremy Schupbach addressed the congregation on behalf of his ordination class, thanking family, friends, clergy, teachers, and all the men and women who accompanied them on their journey toward the priesthood.
“I’d like to begin by thanking Archbishop Vigneron. Your Excellency, thank you for ordaining us,” Fr. Schupbach said. “Thank you for the incredible trust you have placed in us, and thank you for your leadership in our archdiocese and the fire you have enkindled to unleash the Gospel.”
Fr. Schupbach thanked Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes, Bishop Donald F. Hanchon, Bishop Robert J. Fisher, Bishop Gerard W. Battersby and other clergy who were in attendance, along with Fr. Burr and former Sacred Heart Major Seminary rector Msgr. Todd Lajiness, for their dedication in forming men for the priesthood.
Fr. Schupbach expressed gratitude for all parents, grandparents, parish priests, school chaplains and mentors who helped the five men along the way, with a specific shoutout to the family of Fr. Michael Bruno Selvaraj, whose family made the trip from India.
It was a special day for all parents of the newly ordained, who in all likelihood were the first to hear about their sons’ and brothers’ call to the priesthood and were there every step of the way.
Susan Walters said her son, Fr. Ryan Walters, had many mentors and priests in their home parish, SS. Cyril and Methodius (Slovak) in Sterling Heights.
“When he was in his junior high to high school years, he started thinking about the priesthood,” Susan Walters said. “When he got in high school, it got more serious, and he had some very good priests and mentors at our parish.”
As the Archdiocese of Detroit concludes a year of praying for priestly vocations, Susan Walters said how humbled her family is to have her son be one to answer the call.
“I’m very humbled and honored our son decided to follow his vocation,” she said. “He believes this is his vocation, his path to follow. You have to have a lot of courage to follow that vocation and listen to the Lord’s voice.”
Fr. Schupbach thanked the many staff and faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and their internship parishes who helped them in their formation.
“Now, the most important for last: Thank you, God, for coming into the world as a man to save us and calling on us to share in that work of salvation,” Fr. Schupbach said. “Thank you for your total faith in us, despite our weaknesses. And thank you, Mother Mary; none of us would be here without your motherly protection.
“Finally, we want to close with this promise to the people of the Archdiocese of Detroit: that my brothers and I are committed to laying down our lives for God and for you,” Fr. Schupbach said. “And there is nothing we want more in this life than the glory of God and the salvation of souls. And it will be our greatest honor to serve you as a priest of Jesus Christ. Thank you.”
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