We start our exclusive coverage (a la the Royal Wedding coverage) of the ordinations of Holy Cross Deacons John Britto, C.S.C., and Paul Ybarra, C.S.C., by getting the “British perspective” on the significance of the upcoming events. And so we turn to our first-year professed seminarian, Mr. Adam Booth, C.S.C., who hails from Great Britain, to set the stage for us this historic week.
When the world was celebrating the new millennium in 2000, my family had a few things of our own to celebrate: I was turning 18 and getting ready to leave for university; my parents were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary; and it was a rather significant birthday for my mother which I shan’t name. So, we threw a big party. I was very happy to finally be reaching adulthood and while the thought of someday turning 50 may not have looked as attractive to me, the idea of someday raising a glass to 25 years of marriage certainly did.
Plans change. But the idea of dedicating my life to love remains constant. Seeing Paul and John ordained this Saturday will show us an iconic snapshot of how that’s possible. We will come together as a community to which these men have already vowed their lives, a community which endeavors to be “a hopeful sign of the kingdom” by letting others “behold how we love one another” (Holy Cross Constitution 2.11). We will be joined by their families and friends, the people who first poured love into these men’s hearts. We will be joined by the bishop, the representative of the apostles who will configure their souls into priestly conduits for the love of the God who first loved us. We will witness their first offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice, which will be both a wholly new act of prayer for them yet also in complete continuity with the fidelity to the cross with which they have lived their lives. And we will rejoice and make merry and throw a huge party, because there’s great joy in this.
