I welcome you to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. We are here today in thanksgiving to God for our brothers, Deacon Michael Batista and Deacon Phillip Mills who are to be ordained to the Priesthood. The Ordination Rite is a ceremony rich in prayerfulness and blessings. It is a source of inspiration and hope. We are truly blessed with the presence of you, our community of faith, here today.

Deacon Michael, we welcome you and your parents, Pedro and Inez Batista, your sister, Emillie and her family, and your brother, Peter and his family. Deacon Phillip, we welcome you and your parents, Richard and Lucy Mills, your sisters, Ann and Allison and their families and your brother, Matthew. I welcome all your friends who join us here this morning from Candler, Kissimmee, Georgia, and Ocala; from New York to Puerto Rico, United States to Guyana. I welcome the visiting priests from other Dioceses and the priests and deacons from the Diocese of Orlando.  I offer a special welcome to your classmates who were ordained recently and those who are about to be ordained. Welcome to all our seminarians and young people; the religious sisters and brothers. Welcome to those who are joining us by way of live stream.

I thank the faculty and staff of St. Vincent de Paul and St John Vianney Seminaries. I welcome the Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Fr Alfredo Hernandez, priests and religious sisters, faculty, and staff. I offer a special thanks to our Director of Vocations, Fr. Josh Swallows, and his staff, Darcey Dinh, and Sr. Gianna Grace, SCTJM, for their care and guidance of Deacons Michael and Phillip over the past years during their time in the seminary.

Pope Francis said to become complete priests is to respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer most. In this regard, (quoting Blessed Cardinal Marcel Spínola y Maestre) he said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that should be taught…knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, virtue and knowledge must come together in prayer, study, fraternity, and mission. During the past years you have learned to become men of virtue through a life of prayer, spiritual direction, and formation. You have become men of relationship with the Lord and through, with and in the Lord, the people of God. You have studied Philosophy and Theology to deepen your love and understanding of God to live and teach His Word. Living the past eight years in communities of learning; today you will begin a new journey and go out into the world to preach the Gospel.

In the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah the prophet tells us that those who serve are anointed by the Lord; Michael and Phillip today you will be anointed by the Lord “to bring the good news to the afflicted, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to prisoners.” You have been called to become priests of the Lord chosen and anointed by God. We heard proclaimed in Psalm 89, “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.” Michael and Phillip, the Lord calls you and anoints you to serve.

Michael, in your self-evaluation you wrote, “when I had finished the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius, I was able to experience God’s love for me in a unique and intimate way. The Lord reminded me that I was not alone.” In the Psalm we pray these words, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock, my Savior.”  Michael, the Lord is your God and Rock who loves you. 

Phillip, you wrote, “I’ve been impressed by the way the Spirit has drawn me to share in the lives of others in their best and worst moments.” Phillip, St. Paul exhorts us today, “we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as servants of Jesus.”

Michael, “I’ve seen myself grow in my understanding what it means to be a shepherd and to be with the people of God; being a shepherd in a new way by serving the people immersed with the love of God.” Phillip, “I discovered what my state of life as a Deacon is, by diving deeper into Christ through his Word, living out the Word for love of others and the salvation of their souls, and remaining in the Word to know God’s love for my own salvation.” Michael and Phillip, Jesus tells His disciples in John 16, “the Spirit of Truth, will guide you to all Truth.” Learning to let Christ Jesus be manifest in your lives is awesome. Yet you are earthen vessels, abandoning yourself and learning to trust in God. Only by having God within you can you communicate His peace and bring it to all His people.

Today as we bear the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ call to love and forgive. Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me?” Peter is very hesitant to answer. So, Jesus asks Peter a second time and a third time. Loving Jesus is a required qualification to preach the Gospel. Michael and Phillip, Jesus will ask you many times in your priestly life, “Do you love me?” Remember Jesus needs your ‘Yes.’ Only then can Jesus invite you, as he invited Peter, to follow Him. Michael and Phillip, your simple response today, “I do,” is the beginning of your priestly relationship with Jesus Christ. Your fiat, “I do,” is a moment of deep and lasting fidelity, grounding yourself in Jesus, grafting yourself to the Vine. Pope Francis explains, closeness to God is where a priest draws “all the strength needed for his ministry.”

“Without a meaningful relationship with the Lord, our ministry will prove fruitless,” offers our Holy Father. He stresses the importance of a consistent prayer life, which he said helps a priest to trust in God during difficult moments. He tells us, “Many crises in the priesthood originate precisely in a poor life of prayer, a lack of intimacy with the Lord, the reduction of the spiritual life to mere religious practice…the spiritual life is one thing, religious practice is another. “How is your spiritual life going?” “Good, good. I make my meditation in the morning, I pray the rosary, I pray the breviary and all the rest. I’m doing everything. No, this is religious practice. But how is your spiritual life going? I can think of important moments of my own life, where closeness to the Lord proved decisive in sustaining me, sustaining me in dark moments. The intimacy born of prayer, the spiritual life, concrete closeness to God through listening to His Word, the celebration of the Eucharist, the silence of adoration, entrustment to Mary, the wise accompaniment of a guide and the Sacrament of Reconciliation… Without these concrete “forms of closeness,” a priest is merely a weary hireling who has none of the benefits of the Lord’s friends.” 

Pope Francis also described our life with the Lord as a relationship with a friend which grows day by day. “Friendship with God is able to change the heart,” he explained, while “piety is one of the great gifts of the Holy Spirit, which gives us the ability to recognize God’s fatherhood.” “Peter and Paul were free because they were set free,” he said. He emphasized that “at the heart of their story is not their own gifts and abilities but the encounter with Christ that changed their lives. They experienced a love that healed them and set them free. They then became apostles and ministers of freedom for others.”

He explains, “We cannot be authentic fathers unless we are first sons and brothers. And we cannot foster communion and participation in the communities entrusted to our care unless, before all else, we live out those realities among ourselves. I am quite aware that, amid the constant call of our pastoral responsibilities, this commitment may seem burdensome, even a waste of time, but the opposite is true: indeed, only in this way will we be credible, and our activity not end up scattering what others have already gathered.” Michael and Phillip, you are being ordained today; to become authentic fathers who will foster communion and participation among your brothers and sisters. 

Pope Francis announced that 2025 will be a Jubilee Year calling us, Pilgrims of Hope, for “Hope Does Not Disappoint” (Romans 5:5).  He said of this hope, “Christian hope gives us the courage to build a fraternal and peaceful world when it seems barely worth the effort. Jesus destroyed our death, that we might receive life, forever, it is this hope, based on Christ who died and rose again. Each of us needs hope in our lives, at times so weary and wounded, our hearts that thirst for truth, goodness, and beauty…Everything, within and outside of us, cries out for hope and continues to seek the closeness of God, even without knowing it. Hope is needed by God’s creation, gravely damaged and disfigured by human selfishness. Our Holy Father asks us to realize hope as a gift of God’s love. “This hope has nothing to do with mere human optimism or the ephemeral expectation of some earthly benefit. It is a gift daily bestowed upon us until the time when we will be one in the embrace of His love.”

Michael and Phillip, the Lord calls you and sends you forth to rediscover hope, to proclaim hope and to build hope in the lives of the people of God.

Our Holy Father prays, “I am at your side in this process, in which I am taking part. I bless all of you from the heart, and in turn, I need to feel your closeness and the support of your prayers. Let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Way. She shows us the way; she leads us to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

Deacon Michael, we welcome you and your parents, Pedro and Inez Batista, your sister, Emillie and her family, and your brother, Peter and his family. Deacon Phillip, we welcome you and your parents, Richard and Lucy Mills, your sisters, Ann and Allison and their families and your brother, Matthew. I welcome all your friends who join us here this morning from Candler, Kissimmee, Georgia, and Ocala; from New York to Puerto Rico, United States to Guyana. I welcome the visiting priests from other Dioceses and the priests and deacons from the Diocese of Orlando.  I offer a special welcome to your classmates who were ordained recently and those who are about to be ordained. Welcome to all our seminarians and young people; the religious sisters and brothers. Welcome to those who are joining us by way of live stream.

I thank the faculty and staff of St. Vincent de Paul and St John Vianney Seminaries. I welcome the Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Fr Alfredo Hernandez, priests and religious sisters, faculty, and staff. I offer a special thanks to our Director of Vocations, Fr. Josh Swallows, and his staff, Darcey Dinh, and Sr. Gianna Grace, SCTJM, for their care and guidance of Deacons Michael and Phillip over the past years during their time in the seminary.

Pope Francis said to become complete priests is to respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer most. In this regard, (quoting Blessed Cardinal Marcel Spínola y Maestre) he said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that should be taught…knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, virtue and knowledge must come together in prayer, study, fraternity, and mission. During the past years you have learned to become men of virtue through a life of prayer, spiritual direction, and formation. You have become men of relationship with the Lord and through, with and in the Lord, the people of God. You have studied Philosophy and Theology to deepen your love and understanding of God to live and teach His Word. Living the past eight years in communities of learning; today you will begin a new journey and go out into the world to preach the Gospel.

In the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah the prophet tells us that those who serve are anointed by the Lord; Michael and Phillip today you will be anointed by the Lord “to bring the good news to the afflicted, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to prisoners.” You have been called to become priests of the Lord chosen and anointed by God. We heard proclaimed in Psalm 89, “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.” Michael and Phillip, the Lord calls you and anoints you to serve.

Michael, in your self-evaluation you wrote, “when I had finished the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius, I was able to experience God’s love for me in a unique and intimate way. The Lord reminded me that I was not alone.” In the Psalm we pray these words, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock, my Savior.”  Michael, the Lord is your God and Rock who loves you. 

Phillip, you wrote, “I’ve been impressed by the way the Spirit has drawn me to share in the lives of others in their best and worst moments.” Phillip, St. Paul exhorts us today, “we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as servants of Jesus.”

Michael, “I’ve seen myself grow in my understanding what it means to be a shepherd and to be with the people of God; being a shepherd in a new way by serving the people immersed with the love of God.” Phillip, “I discovered what my state of life as a Deacon is, by diving deeper into Christ through his Word, living out the Word for love of others and the salvation of their souls, and remaining in the Word to know God’s love for my own salvation.” Michael and Phillip, Jesus tells His disciples in John 16, “the Spirit of Truth, will guide you to all Truth.” Learning to let Christ Jesus be manifest in your lives is awesome. Yet you are earthen vessels, abandoning yourself and learning to trust in God. Only by having God within you can you communicate His peace and bring it to all His people.

Today as we bear the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ call to love and forgive. Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me?” Peter is very hesitant to answer. So, Jesus asks Peter a second time and a third time. Loving Jesus is a required qualification to preach the Gospel. Michael and Phillip, Jesus will ask you many times in your priestly life, “Do you love me?” Remember Jesus needs your ‘Yes.’ Only then can Jesus invite you, as he invited Peter, to follow Him. Michael and Phillip, your simple response today, “I do,” is the beginning of your priestly relationship with Jesus Christ. Your fiat, “I do,” is a moment of deep and lasting fidelity, grounding yourself in Jesus, grafting yourself to the Vine. Pope Francis explains, closeness to God is where a priest draws “all the strength needed for his ministry.”

“Without a meaningful relationship with the Lord, our ministry will prove fruitless,” offers our Holy Father. He stresses the importance of a consistent prayer life, which he said helps a priest to trust in God during difficult moments. He tells us, “Many crises in the priesthood originate precisely in a poor life of prayer, a lack of intimacy with the Lord, the reduction of the spiritual life to mere religious practice…the spiritual life is one thing, religious practice is another. “How is your spiritual life going?” “Good, good. I make my meditation in the morning, I pray the rosary, I pray the breviary and all the rest. I’m doing everything. No, this is religious practice. But how is your spiritual life going? I can think of important moments of my own life, where closeness to the Lord proved decisive in sustaining me, sustaining me in dark moments. The intimacy born of prayer, the spiritual life, concrete closeness to God through listening to His Word, the celebration of the Eucharist, the silence of adoration, entrustment to Mary, the wise accompaniment of a guide and the Sacrament of Reconciliation… Without these concrete “forms of closeness,” a priest is merely a weary hireling who has none of the benefits of the Lord’s friends.” 

Pope Francis also described our life with the Lord as a relationship with a friend which grows day by day. “Friendship with God is able to change the heart,” he explained, while “piety is one of the great gifts of the Holy Spirit, which gives us the ability to recognize God’s fatherhood.” “Peter and Paul were free because they were set free,” he said. He emphasized that “at the heart of their story is not their own gifts and abilities but the encounter with Christ that changed their lives. They experienced a love that healed them and set them free. They then became apostles and ministers of freedom for others.”

He explains, “We cannot be authentic fathers unless we are first sons and brothers. And we cannot foster communion and participation in the communities entrusted to our care unless, before all else, we live out those realities among ourselves. I am quite aware that, amid the constant call of our pastoral responsibilities, this commitment may seem burdensome, even a waste of time, but the opposite is true: indeed, only in this way will we be credible, and our activity not end up scattering what others have already gathered.” Michael and Phillip, you are being ordained today; to become authentic fathers who will foster communion and participation among your brothers and sisters. 

Pope Francis announced that 2025 will be a Jubilee Year calling us, Pilgrims of Hope, for “Hope Does Not Disappoint” (Romans 5:5).  He said of this hope, “Christian hope gives us the courage to build a fraternal and peaceful world when it seems barely worth the effort. Jesus destroyed our death, that we might receive life, forever, it is this hope, based on Christ who died and rose again. Each of us needs hope in our lives, at times so weary and wounded, our hearts that thirst for truth, goodness, and beauty…Everything, within and outside of us, cries out for hope and continues to seek the closeness of God, even without knowing it. Hope is needed by God’s creation, gravely damaged and disfigured by human selfishness. Our Holy Father asks us to realize hope as a gift of God’s love. “This hope has nothing to do with mere human optimism or the ephemeral expectation of some earthly benefit. It is a gift daily bestowed upon us until the time when we will be one in the embrace of His love.”

Michael and Phillip, the Lord calls you and sends you forth to rediscover hope, to proclaim hope and to build hope in the lives of the people of God.

Our Holy Father prays, “I am at your side in this process, in which I am taking part. I bless all of you from the heart, and in turn, I need to feel your closeness and the support of your prayers. Let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Way. She shows us the way; she leads us to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”