ORLANDO | “He who tries to find his priestly identity by soul-searching and introspective will fail.”

Bishop John Noonan’s pointed words accentuated his strong message to the priests, deacons, seminarians and the faithful present at Chrism Mass at Holy Family Parish in Orlando March 30, 2026.

At the Mass, the priests of the diocese renewed their priestly vows and promises, and Bishop Noonan blessed the sacred Chrism, Oil of Catechumens, and Oil of the Sick. Priests celebrating the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of their priestly ordination were also recognized and honored.

In his homily, Bishop Noonan expounded on Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic letter, “A Fidelity that Generates the Future.” Issued Dec. 22, 2025, the letter reflects on the priestly vocation and draws from two decrees promulgated from the Second Vatican Council, Optatam Totius, concerning priestly train-ing, and Presbyterorum Ordinis, on the ministry and life of priests.

Through his letter, Pope Leo XIV examines “the identity and function of the ordained ministry in light of what the Lord is asking of the Church today… through the lens of fidelity, which is both a grace of God and a constant journey of conversion.” He explains that this reevaluation is necessary due to the vast changes in the world since Vatican II, and recent developments in the Council’s doctrine on the Church’s nature as communion, according to the dimensions of synodality and mission.

Bishop Noonan, following Pope Leo’s lead, offered comments on priestly fidelity in relation to service, fraternity, synodality, mission, and the future. “Pope Leo is ask-ing all the priests to reflect on their priestly life. What will priestly life be like in the future? What will the Church be like in the future?”

Bishop Noonan said fidelity and service underlie the sacredness of one’s call to the priesthood. “Every vocation in the Church arises from a personal encounter with Christ, which ‘gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.’ Before any commitment, personal aspiration or service, there is the voice of the Master calling: ‘Follow me.’ (Mk 1:17) … This is not just an inner voice, but a spiritual impetus that often comes to us through the example of other disciples of the Lord and takes shape in a courageous choice of life.”

“For me personally, I trust that God will always provide us with the right leaders and at the right time” said Bishop Noonan, recalling the fidelity of service of every pontiff from St. Pope John XXIII to Pope Leo XIV.

Speaking about the identity of the priesthood, Bishop Noonan quoted from Pope Leo’s passage on fidelity and fraternity. “Being faithful to communion means overcom-ing the temptation to individualism because it is incompatible with missionary and evangelizing activity, which always concerns the Church as a whole.” (15) Since the Church’s unity derives from the unity of the triune God, “making this relational and communal dimension of ordained ministry increasingly visible is one of the main challenges for the future, especially in a world marked by wars, divisions and discord.”

Bishop Noonan also echoed the call for priests to build genuine communities, so they may experience rich fraternity, better cooperation in their ministry, and cultivate their intellectual and spiritual life.

Bishop Noonan went on to lay out the three dimensions of priestly fidelity and synodality that Pope Leo highlighted: the relationship with the bishop, sacramental communion and fraternity with other priests, and the relationship of the lay faithful. Priests are “indispensable helpers and advisers” to the bishop, whose presbyteral fraternity is strengthened by their priestly service through the same work and purpose. (20) Bishop Noonan challenged priests to “discover with faith the various humble and exalt-ed charisms of the laity, among the other gifts of God which are found abundantly among the faithful.”

The mission and identity of priests are inseparably linked, said Bishop Noonan. “A priest is called to let love and mercy of Christ shine through him… he must shun all forms of egoism and celebrating of self. For this reason, (Pope) Leo en-courages priests to carefully evaluate their presence in the media and on social networks, making service to evangelization the basis of discernment.”

“Bishop Noonan noted that Pope Leo “calls for prudence and wis-dom. He likewise warns against the temptation of quietism, that is, fear that stifles one’s courage to share faith boldly and to evangelize. He also reminds us to disappear so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small, so that Christ may be known and glorified.”

The letter ends with Pope Leo XIV’s hope that actualizing this vi-sion of the priestly vocation “will result in a renewed vocational Pentecost in the Church and in-spire many holy and steadfast vocations to the ministerial priest-hood… (and) the desire to commit ourselves fully to the promotion of vocations and to constant prayer to the Lord of the harvest be reawakened in all of us.” (27)

As the faithful come to the end of another Lent, Bishop Noonan re-minded everyone to entrust them-selves to God during their earthly pilgrimage. “All of us are on the journey of faith. All of us are pray-ing and asking God to lead, guide, and support us on our journey to heaven.”

By Lucas Blackwell of the Florida Catholic staff, April 2, 2026