Gathered for Mass on May 30th, 2009 at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. -the day after their Ordination- new Friars of the Province of St. Joseph heard a homily by Fr. Stephen Ryan, O.P., an associate professor of theology at the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception, who encouraged his hearers to take heart from the examples of Moses and St. Paul. These men, he said, were convinced-"as we all are"-of their "own unsuitability to act as the Lord's apostle," but their amazing works are testimony to "the transformative power of the presence of God in the life of his apostles and prophets." So, too, said the Friar, will the Lord come to the aid of the newly ordained as they begin their priestly journey. "Christ will use you as his instrument," he said. Following is the full text of the homily...

Homily, May 30th, 2009, Dominican House of Studies, Fr. Stephen Ryan, O.P.

There's a verse of Psalm 117, that very short Psalm that we prayed this morning that seems appropriate for this day: "Strong is his love for, he is faithful forever." Though brief and succinct, it says it all.

The ordination of our brothers to the priesthood is a strong, visible sign of Christ's abiding love and of his presence among us. He is faithful forever. Faithful to his Church. Faithful to the Order of Preachers.

I'd like to say a brief word this morning about two passages of Scripture that speak about vocation, mission, and the presence of God.

There's an important moment in the call of Moses in Exodus Chapter 3. Just before the Lord reveals his Divine Name to Moses, He makes him a promise. "But I will be with you." (Ex 3:12) The key here is the promise of presence. But the promise comes in response to an objection voiced by Moses - "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh."

Moses was all too aware - as we all are - of his own unsuitability to act as the Lord's apostle. He had no natural eloquence. He describes himself as slow of speech, and slow of tongue. Some said the same of St. Paul: "His bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account." (2 Cor. 10:10)

But Moses is given a promise that the Lord will be with him. When the tradition ascribes not one or two, but Five Books of the Pentateuch to Moses, we're being told something important about the transformative power of the presence of God in the life of His apostles and prophets. "I will give you words, Christ told his disciples, and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict." (Luke 21:15)

St. Paul's conversion, told three times in Acts, is well known. But perhaps less familiar are the repeated appearances of the Risen Lord to Paul in the course of his active ministry.

"One night in Corinth, we read in Acts Chapter 18, the Lord said to Paul in a vision, "Do not be afraid! Speak out and do not be silent, because I am with you. No one will harm you or attack you, for there are many of my people in this city." (Acts 18:10) We see again the abiding presence of the Risen Lord to those whom He has called and sent. And we are reminded that the Christians in Corinth are not Paul's or Apollo's, but Christ's. There is one Shepherd of the flock, one great High Priest, and all ministry in the Church flows from the priesthood of Christ.

While in Roman custody in Jerusalem, at the beginning of a trial that will lead to his martyrdom, the Risen Lord again came to Paul at night, stood by him, and said to him, "Keep up your courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome." (Acts 23:11)

St. John Chrysostom makes two important points about this appearance. The first is that the Lord praises Paul - you have indeed borne witness to me in Jerusalem. A proleptic "well done, good and faithful servant," one given in mid-course. The Risen Christ encourages Paul to persevere in his ministry, to continue to bear witness, to be strong, loving, and wise, even to the end.

John Chrysostom goes on to ask why it is that the Lord appears to Paul after, rather than before he fell into danger. God consoles us in affliction, he answers, because its then that we desire him the more. The Lord trains us, even in the very midst of dangers.

Take courage then, Ordinati. The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ Himself, and his sevenfold gifts, will be active in your priesthood in ways that you will see fully only on the other side, in patria, not here in this life. Christ will use you as his instrument, bestowing grace, forgiving sins, making sons in the Son.

And know too that God can produce good fruit through your ministry even where you can see only your own ineptitude and failure. And if past experience is any guide, you will have moments when you pray that the Lord can use you even when you fail to say the right thing. I was once horrified to hear myself telling a man in a hospital waiting room, shortly after a movie came out in which this was the gag line, that what he had to do was "take baby steps." Eight years of graduate work in philosophy and theology, seven years of Scripture, and that's the best I could come up with. I think I know from experience what Moses meant when he said that he was a man slow of speech and heavy of tongue. I know experientially what was said of the greatest Apostle who ever lived: his speech is of no account.

I will be with you, the Lord said to Moses. And to Paul: Keep up your courage. You must bear witness, even to the ends of the earth. It is Christ and His Church who have chosen you, ordained you, and sent you. To sanctify His people and to offer sacrifice to God. The priestly character imprinted on your souls is that of Christ Himself. So you share now in His eternal priesthood, and in the mediation of Christ in a new way.

Fr. Walter Farrell, O.P., once described the work of the priest as an endless series of journeys of heart and mind from God to men and back again; in time, Fr. Farrell continues, the priest becomes like an old pack horse who looks naked without a burden.

Coming from God, he carries the precious burden of divine gifts - truth, love, the divine life of grace; coming from man, he carries to God the stuttering prayers of the human heart and the petty satisfactions we are able to offer for the sins we have committed.

As Dominican priests you've been given a share as well in the charism of St. Dominic. Fr. Richard Schenk, O.P., has reminded us that the human misery that particularly moved the heart of St. Dominic was the inability of so many in his age to believe aright. Nearly all of St. Dominic's prayers are ones that seek God's mercy: either directly for those weak in faith; or indirectly for them, for God's grace on the "Order of Preachers." For men graced with intellectual compassion, who could share with the needy the misericordia veritatis, the mercy of truth.

On this first full day of your priesthood, we pray that Almighty God assure you of His presence, and bestow on you all the gifts of His Holy Spirit. May He accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of His name, for our good, and the good of all His Church.