Almost two weeks ago, on Saturday, April 6, the Congregation of Holy Cross was blessed with the ordination of three new priests. As a man discerning the priesthood, Ordinations are an awesome time to be in formation.
By attending the ordinations and celebrating with the whole Congregation, I am reinvigorated in my own discernment because I can see what my priestly formation is leading up to. I am inspired by the example the new priests are able to offer to a young seminarian.
What made the celebrations last week particularly interesting to me was that now-Fr. Jarrod Waugh, C.S.C., was the assistant formator for Old College last year. This was the first time that someone I know well was ordained. It is interesting to think that one year ago, he was not able to confect the Eucharist, forgive sins, and anoint the sick, but after the bishop laid his hands on Jarrod’s head and invoked the Holy Spirit, he now has the power to do these things and more because of the indelible mark placed on his soul that conforms him more closely to Christ the Head. What an amazing gift given to Jarrod, which he now gets to share with the whole Church!
To witness this remarkable change occur to a former formator brought home for me the reality of what formation in Holy Cross is about. The Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross say, “We asked how we might follow, and we found many footprints on the road. A great band of men had passed this way, men who had made and lived by their vows, men who had walked side by side in their following of the Lord. They beckoned us to fall in step with them. We wanted to be part of the family they formed in order to share in their life and work” (1:5).
Jarrod has joined this great band of men, and has beckoned us in Old College to fall in step with him.
Let us continue to pray for the newly ordained priests, Jarrod, Brian, and Mark in their ministries and in their new lives as priests.
Paul Fortin is in his second year of formation at Old College Undergraduate Seminary on the Campus of Notre Dame. He is studying Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame. He and his fellow Old Collegians write posts for the Spes Unica Blog, sharing on their life and formation in Old College. Learn more about seminary life in Holy Cross, and specifically Old College Undergraduate Seminary. And meet the current Old Collegians who are in formation for priesthood and religious life in Holy Cross.
