Priestly and Subdiaconate Ordinations on Oct. 30th

by tobainc | Oct 25, 2021 | Events, News

We are pleased to announce the ordinations of Rev. Mr. Elijah Mundattuchundayil to the priesthood and of Mr. Isaac Díaz Mendoza to the subdiaconate on Saturday, October 30th by His Excellency Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska at 10:00am CDT.

The liturgical ceremony is open to the public, but the reception afterwards is for invited guests only. 

There will be a live broadcast, links and more information will be posted to this page shortly.

Here is the link for live broadcast. The broadcast will be available a few minutes before the event.

We will keep you informed of the status of upcoming ceremonies the rest of this academic year. Please pray for the ordinandi.

About the SUBDIACONATE

“The office of the subdiaconate is to serve God and the Church in the Sacrifice of the altar and to assist the deacon. For this purpose Christ came on earth…Our Savior spent his life serving God and men… When the bishop consecrates a subdeacon…the ordaining prelate begs God to bless, sanctify and consecrate the ordinand. Holy Mother Church implores Him to constitute the subdeacon a tireless and watchful sentinel of the heavenly army.” — St. John Eudes

Due to the subdeacon’s immediate proximity to the Holy Sacri-fice, the subdiaconate is reckoned among the ‘sacred’ or ‘major’ orders of the Church’s sacred hierarchy. As such, the subdeacon has traditionally been bound to perpetual celibacy and to the daily recitation of the Divine Office. His sacred duties include serving the deacon at Mass; preparing the bread, wine and sacred vessels for the Holy Sacrifice; presenting the chalice and paten at the Offertory, and mixing water into the wine in prep-aration for the offering made by the priest. With the priest, he offers to God the solemn chanting of the Epistle at Mass, and afterwards is charged with the purification of the sacred linens. Carrying the crucifix (the ban-ner of Christ) in solemn procession is proper to a subdeacon as is the in-censation of the elevated Host and Chalice (as seen during a Requiem). Both of these functions are mentioned in Sacred Scriptures as the heaven-ly duties of the holy Archangel. Early Popes would also use subdeacons to convey important messages to distant prelates: another angelic duty in service of the Church.

About the PRIESTHOOD

DIVINE, says St. Cyril of Alexandria, “are the offices confided to priests.” The entire Church cannot give to God as much honor, nor obtain so many graces, as a single priest by celebrating a single Mass; for the greatest honor that the whole Church without priests could give to God would consist in offer-ing to him in sacrifice the lives of all men. By a single Mass, he gives greater honor to God than all the angels and saints, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, have given or shall give to him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God.

And God himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of his priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they refuse or give absolution, provided the penitent is capable of it. Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, and sit in a confessional to administer the sacrament of penance, and a priest to sit in another confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent, “Ego te absolvo,” the priest would likewise say over each of his penitents, “Ego te absolvo,” and the penitents of each would be equally absolved.

The priest must labor during his whole life, and with his whole strength, not to acquire riches, honors, and worldly goods, but to inspire all with the love of God. The business, then, of every priest is to attend, not to the things of the world, but to the things of God: He is ordained in the things that appertain to God. (Heb. 5:1) Hence St. Silvester ordained that for ecclesiastics the days of the week should be called Feriæ, or vacant or free days; and he says: “It is every day that the priest, free from earthly occupations, should occupy himself entirely with God.” By this he meant that we, who are ordained priests, should seek nothing but God and the salvation of souls. St. Antonine says that the meaning of “sacerdos” is “sacra docens”, one that teaches sacred things. And Honorius of Autun says that “presbyter” signifies “præbens iter”, one that shows the way.

Annual Ausflug: September 24, 2021

by tobainc | Sep 29, 2021 | Events, News

This fall the seminarians were able to go on their annual “Ausflug” (German for “vacation”) to Colorado. They drove from the seminary to Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Littleton for the weekend. Many generous parishioners signed up to host a group of seminarians during their stay.

They arrived Friday night to settle in their homes. Saturday morning they celebrated a Solemn High Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, had breakfast in the parish hall, and took off for a day hike in the Colorado foothills. The mountain they hiked had a peak of 13,000 feet. After the hike, some seminarians went to local sports games, while others were invited to parishioners’ houses for dinner. Sunday morning had a Solemn High Mass both at the parish and the local Carmel. The yearly parish picnic was held in the afternoon with games, food, and fun for both parishioners and seminarians. The seminarians had their last Mass in Colorado on Monday morning then headed back home to the seminary.

It was a memorable experience for everyone involved. The seminarians wish to thank all the generous parishioners who helped make this Ausflug happen this year, and they hope to come back next year for another trip!