Homily for the Ordination of Thomas Tobin
May 21, 2005

Deacon Tom Tobin with Bishop Coleman, June 2004

Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle
Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch, Bishop of St. Petersburg

When Bishop John Kaising and I first began to think about becoming priests, longer ago than either of us is willing today to admit, the popular picture, indeed one might say the visual depiction of the priesthood, was personified by Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. The latter, a wise, flinty, loveable pastor and the former, a handsome, vocally gifted singing priest were the popular models of the Catholic priesthood of the forties and early fifties. In Bing’s case, if you could not convince Ingrid Bergmann as Mother Superior to embrace a course of action, you simply crooned “The Bells of St. Mary’s” to her and she would melt into gracious acceptance. I suspect the horrors of war moved Hollywood to present an idealized, stylized picture of priesthood as a relief from the grim reality of the theatre of the great war.

In the fifties and sixties, priesthood on film was personified by Spencer Tracy and Father Flanagan of Boystown to whom a young waif spoke these unforgettable words: “he ain’t heavy, Father, he’s my brother.” A few movies about heroic chaplains during World War II also found their way into the hearts of Americans whether Catholic or not. The seventies and eighties TV miniseries brought the Hollywood notion of priesthood into our homes in the person of Ralph D’Brisscaret in the Thorn Birds and film’s lenses began to explore a darker side of Catholic priesthood as Hollywood understood it..

Tonight, on Showtime, a made for cable movie will present yet another stylized image of priesthood. The movie “Our Fathers” claims to detail the first two years of this century, focusing on the Archdiocese of Boston and the “sins of the fathers” and the action or inaction of the archbishop. In my lifetime, I have yet to see a visual picture of the priesthood which I and my brothers attempt to live today or as Tom and Mike seek to embrace this morning. Priesthood is far too complex to be captured on film. Priesthood is far too challenging to live, much less to make good entertainment. Priesthood is never about the priest but is always about Jesus Christ and that reality never translates easily onto the screen.

Nine and one half years ago, a dying cardinal stood at the ambo to my right to preach at an ordination ceremony. When sent by Pope John Paul II to Chicago in 1982, the young archbishop gave them his description of sacred priesthood.. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin said:

“The priesthood is a passionate commitment, a fiery-eyed vision, an insatiable thirst for holiness and practical justice. The priest is called to be a challenger, an enabler, life-giver, poet of life, music maker, dreamer of dreams. He must be a man of deep personal faith, conformed to Christ, a man who loves the Scriptures, draws sustenance from the sacramental life of the Church and truly knows the community with and for whom he offers sacrifice. A priest is a man with a clear sense of his own self, one who strives to develop all his natural talents to the limit for the good of the Church. He is a man of unreasonable hopes and expectations, who takes seriously, for himself and others, the injunction to be perfect as the heavenly Father is.” [Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, August 24, 1982].

Most of the qualities the Cardinal saw in priesthood can not easily be transformed onto the silver screen. To be a good priest, a happy priest, means that one must first come to peace with himself, to know and understand all the lights and shadows that comprise the pentimento of who we are as humans and of our relationship with our God. To be a good priest, a happy priest means that we must regularly deal with our weaknesses before we can our display our strengths and place them at the service of the Church.

The thirst for personal holiness in priests will take different directions and different definitions. There is no “one-size fits all” for priestly holiness. Clearly the priest must daily draw his spiritual food from the sacramental life which he celebrates and leads. The best moment of every day must come to be that moment when he gathers either with a full community anxious for community celebration of the Eucharist or often in a smaller, daily gathering that mostly disdains full participation in the celebration of Eucharist. It should matter little because at that precise moment, the source and summit of his day as priest is reached. His life touches the life of Christ to whom he is configured and then he shares it with his community. What happens the rest of the day is anti-climactic, albeit very important and often challenging.

The priesthood, Cardinal Bernardin began, is a passionate commitment. In a few moments, Michael and Thomas, on behalf of the Church I will ask you a series of five questions, each of which begins with the phrase DO YOU RESOLVE? The Oxford English Dictionary defines “resolve” as meaning that you, my brothers, free of all doubt and uncertainty have settled on an action and are fully determined to pursue it. Only you can know if this commitment soon to be publicly affirmed is passionate, fiery-eyed, and insatiable. But if you conform yourself to Christ, today you publicly begin your journey to perfection knowing honestly and full well that it will be a life-project.

This Church will soon pray for you, invoking the memory and assistance of many of the great women and men whom we know to be saints. May Blessed John XXIII who was not afraid to be a man of daring vision and St. Vincent de Paul who was not afraid to pursue practical justice for all people be sources of inspiration to you. For you, Tom, your wife of many years now with God, joins your two daughters and their families in joy and happiness that a dream you once held is soon to be realized. Pray to her often. For you, Mike, your parents are unable to be present physically today but I know they are proud and at this moment are united with you in prayer. As you prostrate before this altar, ask the saints to be with them and with yourself so that you feel neither alone nor abandoned but today adopted by a larger family which looks forward to your priestly presence.

We may not have the good looks of actors or the voice of Bing Crosby, please God we do not have the weakness of fallen idols of our own time, but may God keep us all from being idols to anyone but rather to be people of service, men for others, configured to Christ, and proud, not vain, but proud to serve.