By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: The Wanderer on page 1A of its April 23, 2020 issue featured an article by Fr. Richard Breton on his experience of administering the Anointing of the Sick and bestowing the Apostolic Pardon on a dying 94-year-old woman with COVID-19.
(Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He is currently the parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Colchester and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lebanon. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.
(This is the third of his weekly columns for The Wanderer.)
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For the last few months we have journeyed through a dark tunnel called the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this tunnel we have experienced many challenging moments that have included: stay at home orders, face masks, and no public celebration of the sacraments. As spring turns into summer, there is a glimmer of light at the end of this long tunnel. Slowly businesses, restaurants, and even our own parishes and dioceses are showing signs of life.
Who would have thought we would find ourselves living these unprecedented times? May and June are joyful months filled with celebrations like First Holy Communions, Confirmation, graduations, and weddings. Of all these celebrations mentioned above, I believe one stands out above all the rest. What is this magnificent celebration? It is the Ordination of Priests, or the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Who is a priest? Webster’s dictionary defines him as: “one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially a mediator between man and God.” In order to better understand the Sacrament of Holy Orders we must continue our journey through the Books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus with Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite people to the Promised Land. Within the course of their journey, the Lord establishes a Covenant with His people and presents them with the Laws they must follow.
The covenant doesn’t end, because, the Lord goes one step further by establishing an opportunity for the people to give thanks for the covenant they have just received. The opportunity to offer thanksgiving is entrusted to Aaron, Moses’ brother. The Lord chooses Aaron, a man of the priestly class of Levites, and consecrates him and his descendants with the responsibility of offering thanksgiving to the Lord. Aaron takes on additional responsibility as the bearer of the light. Along with offering sacrifices of thanksgiving, Aaron must keep the Holy Fire burning before the Ark of the Covenant, by doing this he keeps the light of the Lord burning brightly before the people (Exodus 28:1,44; 30:30; 40:13-15).
The Lord instructs how Aaron is to dress and how he is to worship. The Lord gives instructions on the different types of sacrifices offered; for different occasions. Aaron is consecrated through the laying on of hands and anoints them with the Oil of Gladness, thus, setting him apart from the rest of the community. Aaron becomes a mediator between God and the people and a bearer of God’s light along the journey of life.
Like Aaron and his descendants, who were consecrated to offer Sacrifices of Thanksgiving and to keep the light of the Lord burning brightly, today’s priests continue that responsibility over 2,000 years later. Like Aaron, the Lord chooses men to assist Him as mediators between God and man. So often we hear there is a lack of vocations to the priesthood. I find this to be false, because the Lord Himself continues to call men to the Sacred Office He established. To say there is a lack of vocations means a lack of trust in the One who calls.
My own vocation story is filled with complete trust in the one who calls. Being born a triplet, three months premature and having a severe visual impairment, who would have thought I would be chosen as one to mediate between God and man? Chosen by the Lord for this most humble responsibility, I often find myself each day meditating on my vocational journey. I remember as a little child at the age of four feeling a close connection with the Mass.
Every Sunday as a family we attended Mass. Each week I felt a burning desire within my heart. This desire would draw me closer and closer to the Lord. Soon I began my Catholic school education and that desire just increased. I remember the day of my First Holy Communion and the feeling of receiving the Lord Jesus for the first time. On that day God began to live within me and took up residence within my heart. I became an altar boy and began serving as often as possible, sometimes daily. I remember being mesmerized by the mystery of the Liturgy unfolding before my eyes. As I served at the Altar of the Lord, I knew one day I would be offering the Sacrifice of Calvary, no longer as an altar server, but, as a priest myself.
Then after years of formation and preparation the day of Ordination was near. The Lord found me worthy, despite all my faults and failing, to become one on His mediators. It was a beautiful day in May, the last day of the month to be exact! It was the celebration of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary when Elizabeth encountered her Lord in a most beautiful way. As the infant leapt for joy within her womb, so, my heart was jumping for joy as I readied to be forever grafted to the Person of Christ. My Ordination day was joyful!
Then the following day, amid the pomp and celebration of my First Mass of Thanksgiving, it happened! Something wonderful happened! In the homily preached by a dear priest friend, the Rev. Roland J. Bousquet, the Lord revealed to me the purpose of my chosen calling, the purpose of my vocation. In a most beautiful and simple way, Fr. Bousquet, said to me: “Father Breton today you embark on a love affair: Love of God, Love of His Church and Love of the Souls entrusted to your care!”
He was so right! From the moments of my difficult birth throughout the journey of my childhood all the way to the moment of my Ordination as a priest, I was chosen by the Lord to embark on this “Love Affair.” Like Aaron and his descendants, I, along with all my brother priests, have the responsibility to love God, the Church, and the people we encounter in our daily ministry. As mediators we offer the Perfect Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and we continue to bring the light of the Lord to the people of this darkened world.
Each time I celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism I am reminded of the responsibility God has given me. As His vessel of light, I share the light of faith with the newly baptized. When I confer the Sacrament of Confirmation, I become the vehicle through which the Holy Spirit, as tongues of fire, takes hold of those being confirmed and changed their lives forever. Every time I celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I bear the light of mercy and forgiveness, freeing penitents from the darkness of their sins.
I know the Priesthood has not always been seen in the best of light, but, despite all those difficulties: Pray for your priests! As we offer to the Lord a Thanksgiving sacrifice of praise for the people of God, the faithful must also offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for all priests, the joyful and faithful; along with the not so faithful. Pray that we do our best in fulfilling the responsibility we received at our Ordination. The responsibility of being mediators between God and man and bearers of Divine Light.
In closing, I am reminded of the words spoken by the great French Priest, Jean Baptiste Lacordaire:
To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures;
To be a member of each family, yet belonging to none;
To share all suffering;
To penetrate all secrets;
To heal all wounds;
To go from men to God
And offer Him their prayers;
To return from God to men
To bring pardon and hope;
To have a heart of fire for Charity, and a heart of bronze for Chastity;
To teach and to pardon, console and bless always.
My God, what a life;
And it is yours,
O priest of Jesus Christ.
As I celebrate my twelfth Anniversary of Ordination to the Holy Priesthood, I remember all my brother priests, those nearing the sunset of their ministry, those who will be ordained this year, and yes even those who are no longer in ministry. Cherish the gift you have been given, because we have been chosen by the Lord Himself, to be mediators between God and Man!
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