You Are A Priest Forever

today we were honored to attend the priestly ordination of a good friend from college. fr. john rapisarda was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of baltimore this morning at the basilica of the national shrine of the assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary. the joy radiating from his face brought tears to your eyes. it was such a humbling moment to see someone whom you have spent countless hours through the years talking, joking and singing with answering the call of Our Lord on his life. giving his life in complete service to God and His Church. in fact, when called by the bishop at the beginning of mass he stepped forward with the proclamation "i come ready to serve." i watched his ordination and i began thinking of something i saw on youtube recently. it is called "it's morning again in the Catholic Church." seeing someone so young, so faithful, so compassionate and so holy ordained is such a breath of hope. in fact, before the final blessing at the ordination mass (i have no idea if this is traditional or not), the bishop and the newly ordained went to the center of the altar. the bishop knelt before fr. john and received his blessing. i thought this was such a powerful sign of how The Church needs the young men who are joining the priesthood. they are the ones whom i believe will continue what is already in motion. they will fully return Her to the beauty and reverence that is rightfully Hers. i have no doubt he will be a very holy priest. his love for The Lord, for His Mother and for His Church shows forth in everything he does. and i have no doubt that he will accomplish great things.we were joking with fr. john this afternoon about becoming a bishop some day. he just laughed and said that would be the day that the Pope had to scrape the bottom of the barrel. i don't think so and only the Lord knows what his future holds. but there is one thing that i know. today The Church received a tremendous blessing in the ordination of fr. john rapisarda. may he live a long and holy life serving The Church that he loves and teaching Her people the truth. God bless you john. we love you more than words can express.