CHARLOTTE — On Tuesday, six Diocese of Charlotte seminarians stood before Bishop Michael Martin to affirm their commitment to becoming priests.
The ceremony, called the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders, marks an important step for the seminarians as they begin a more focused period of formation at a major seminary.
The six men – Mark Becker, John Harrison, Gabriel Lugo, Ronan Ostendorf, Mateo Perez and Matthew Stanley – recently graduated from St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly.
This was the first time Bishop Martin was able to mark this milestone with diocesan seminarians, with the ceremony at St. Patrick Cathedral taking place a little more than a month after his own ordination and installation as Bishop of Charlotte.
He offered a moving and insightful homily that encouraged the men to be thankful for every day. While the academic workload and other stressors might pile up during the years to come, Bishop Martin told them not to focus exclusively on the day they might become priests. He told a story from his own seminary days as a Franciscan novice, when he put a makeshift calendar on a bulletin board to mark how many days until he and his peers could take their vows. A fellow seminarian ripped it down immediately, telling him that ticking off days would ruin his formation experience.
“It is a daily choice for you to choose the hard work of being present in the moment, so God’s grace can be present in you and mold you,” Bishop Martin told the men. “It is not a process that ends in ordination – it is a life of formation you are embarking on.”
The bishop referred to the day’s readings from Isaiah, St. Paul and the Gospel of Matthew, which all focused on answering God’s call.
“Let people see the fervor of your love for the ministry to which you have been called,” he said. “What you’re undertaking is a lifetime. You will be exposed to formation and a way of thinking needed to build the Kingdom on earth.”
The bishop concluded by spreading his arms wide and saying, “Work hard. Our life depends on it.” The gesture seemed to be meant for not only the people inside the cathedral, but the Church itself.
After the homily, Bishop Martin asked each of the seminarians to come forward and declare their intention to continue their journey toward the priesthood. He asked them if they “resolved to complete their preparations” and “form your mind and heart to faithfully seek Christ the Lord.”
He also thanked the seminarians’ family members for raising them in a way that led them to turn their lives over to serving God and the Church.
The next steps in seminarian formation are ministry of lector and ministry of acolyte, then ordination to the transitional diaconate, and ultimately, ordination to the priesthood.
Becker, Perez and Stanley will continue their studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, while Harrison, Lugo and Ostendorf will study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
— Christina Lee Knauss
