One of the great mysteries of life is God’s call; to know or even to understand God and His calling. Dan and Sinclair, you heard God call, today you are responding to God call. Pope Leo XIV said, “We are called to a greater good and that everything we are doing here is somehow orientated towards the fullness of life and love in God’s hands.” A lot of that is a mystery and I don’t pretend to understand it, much less to be able to explain it. Our Holy Father quotes Psalm 118, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” We too rejoice and are glad to be here today in the Cathedral of St James. Welcome to all this morning for the Ordination of two of our brothers, Deacon Dan Bassile and Deacon Sinclair Cushmore. I greet you with a special welcome for your families and friends.
I thank Father Joseph Zwosta representing the faculty and staff of Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Boston. I thank them for their care in forming and guiding you both to become priests of Jesus Christ. Father Zachary Parker, thank you for your work as Vocations Director and in promoting our future vocations. Thank you for your care and guidance of our future priests. I commend and thank Mrs. Darcey Dinh and Sister Gianna Grace Perino, SCTJM for your dedication and care of our seminarians. I welcome our seminarians and future seminarians this morning. Pay close attention because one day you may be up here!
Pope Leo XIV said in an interview, “When you know Jesus Christ and when you recognize that God has called you, that God has created you, that God has loved you to share that with other people, it is just a magnificent gift.”
Deacon Daniel Bassile was born and raised in in Brooklyn, New York. He is a father and grandfather, soon to be priest. While serving as a permanent deacon at the altar, the burning in his heart returned. “I really felt like God was calling me to be the one who He uses to consecrate the Eucharist. And after everything I had just been through, I thought I could never be worthy. I kept pushing the idea away, but it only became stronger. I spoke to my spiritual director, pastor, children, the director of the diaconate and the vocations director, who all agreed I should pursue priesthood. I left my job, gave away my possessions, sold my house, and entered Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts. Even in those difficult moments when you pour yourself back out to God, you cannot outgive God. God responds and there is an abundance, a super abundance … I am counting down the days until I can be the one to say, ‘Take this all of you and eat of it. This is my body which is given up for you. I cannot wait to be able to do that. And I realized, this is also my body given for all of you. I am giving my life for everyone. I am going to pour out my whole life for all of you.’”
Deacon Sinclair Cushmore was born on Long Island, New York, grew up in a musical family, enjoying choral music and musical theatre. He recalls his favorite musical and vocation story, The Sound of Music. He felt called to a career in hospitality. He interned for Disney in 2014; he loved Orlando so much he decided to stay. He worked for Rosen Hotels and Resorts for five years, then realized climbing the corporate ladder would leave him less time to serve the Church. He recalled, “My older sister had been telling me I should become a priest.” Sinclair volunteered at Holy Cross Parish and the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Deacon Sinclair, you reconsidered your vocation to the priesthood and entered Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary. During your seminary years you grew closer to God.
Deacon Sinclair’s favorite Scripture verse is from the prologue of John’s Gospel: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.” He said, “To me, it represents how Christ is the light shining through all the challenges in my own life. I look forward to being that light to others, really giving all my time, all my talent, all my energy to leading other souls to heaven. That is a special gift. It is a very humble gift, and it is a big responsibility. Men who are ordained to the priesthood do not receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders for themselves. They receive that Sacrament for others. We receive Holy Orders so everyone else can receive the Sacraments. I hope to be a good face to show the Church as kind, to show the Church as approachable, to show the Church as willing to help, the Church who wants to welcome everybody regardless of what they’re struggling with, regardless of what issues they had in the past and the Church to lead everyone to heaven.”
Saint Augustine tells us, “The psalms do not tell us not to love, but to choose the object of our love. But how can we choose unless we are first chosen? We cannot love unless someone has loved us first. Listen to the Apostle John: We love him because he first loved us. The source of man’s love for God can only be found in the fact that God loved him first.” Deacons Dan and Sinclair, at Baptism you were invited into a loving relationship with the Lord. The Holy Spirit helped you grow in your love for the Lord. This is the love that inspires your commitment to celibacy. Pope Leo XIV said, “this love must also be guarded and constantly renewed, for every true affection matures and becomes fruitful over time. You are called to a specific, delicate, and sometimes difficult way of loving and, even more so, of allowing yourself to be loved in freedom. This will make you not only good priests, but also honest, helpful citizens, builders of peace and social friendship.”
Jesus knew His disciples would need divine guidance, wisdom, and strength to live the life to which they were called. Deacons Dan and Sinclair, when you preach the Gospel, the Holy Spirit will give you new life in Christ and fill your hearts with the fire of God’s love. This fire cannot be extinguished because God’s love is never ending. How beautiful is God’s call, how wondrous that He asks you now to lead His people.
In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, The Lord said to Moses, “I will take some of the spirit that is on you and will confer it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself. Deacons Dan and Sinclair, be diligent in your ministry so that your progress may be evident to everyone. Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, by doing so, you will save both yourself and those to whom you minister.
Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass with Priestly Ordinations suggested the ordinands reflect on Jesus’ promise, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Deacons Dan and Sinclair, I see great generosity and enthusiasm in your willingness to serve the Church and the people of God. Today you will be ordained as priests to minister to the people of God. Pope Leo reminds the ordinands that “there are numerous and diverse community gathered around the one Master.” In the Diocese of Orlando we have people from all over the world, Masses are celebrated in many different languages. It is the Holy Spirit who unites people in freedom. Pope Leo said, “Your priestly ministry comes in a deeply personal encounter with the person of the Son, but it immediately opens our eyes to our brothers and sisters who are already experiencing, or who are still seeking, the ‘power to become children of God’ (Jn 1:12). This is one secret for the life of the priest. Dear ordinands, the deeper your bond with Christ, the more radical your belonging to all of humanity. There is no opposition, nor competition, between heaven and earth; in Jesus they are united forever. This living and dynamic mystery binds the heart to an indissoluble love: it binds and fills it.”
Pope Leo tells us, there is another secret to the life of the priest. The Lord’s words are full of realism. He knows the cruelty of the world, where He walks with us. With His words, He evokes not only forms of physical aggression, but above all spiritual aggression. This does not, however, deter Him from giving up His life. Denunciation does not become renunciation; danger does not lead to flight. This is another secret for the life of the priest: we must not be frightened by reality. It is the Lord of life who calls us. May the ministry entrusted to you, dear brothers, convey the peace of those who know that they are safe, even amid dangers . . . May your security not lie in the role you hold, but in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as well as in your participation, along with your people, in the story of salvation. This salvation is already at work in the many good deeds that are quietly carried out by people of goodwill in the parishes and settings where you will join them as fellow travelers. What you proclaim and celebrate will protect you, even in difficult times.
“In the communities where you will be sent, the risen One is already present, and many have already followed Him commendably. You will recognize His wounds and distinguish His voice. You will encounter people who will direct you towards Him. These communities will also help you to become saints! For your part, help them to walk together, following Jesus, the Good Shepherd, so that they may become places — gardens — of life that rise anew and share themselves with others. People often lack a place where they can understand that it is better and beautiful to be together, and that it is possible to get along. Facilitating encounters, helping to bring together those who would otherwise never meet, and conciliating division is one and the same as celebrating the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Coming together always means planting the church anew.”
You will encounter moments in your priestly ministry when the people and occasions are teaching you and leading you to do God’s work. Beware and do not neglect these moments. The Good Shepherd story taught me many valuable lessons in my priestly life. The shepherd must know his people before he can lead them and can trust him.
In my first assignment as a priest there was a large hospital. The first week I got a call a midnight to anoint a person in the medical intensive care unit. I got up and got dressed, went, and anointed the person. I went home and got in bed. I received another call to anoint another person. I was not as enthusiastic this time, but I went and anointed the person. I received another call that woke me up from a deep sleep. The operator simply said the hospital needed a priest; I was not happy and said I said I was just there. The operator said, “Father, this is the emergency room.” I went, nevertheless. But it became a transforming moment in my priestly life. There was a serious car accident on I-95; a mother and her two young children were seriously injured while visiting Florida. The emergency room doctor brought me to anoint the children first. He simply told me they were not going to make it. Then I anointed the mother who was gravely injured, but conscious. The doctor asked me to stay and said please do not leave. He came to me a little time later and told me the boys had just died. He asked me to go with him to inform the mother. Then we called her husband, the children’s father, who was at home in Connecticut.
Sometimes we may not fully understand or feel appreciated. The Good Shepherd calls us to lead and guide and protect the sheep. Jesus the Good Shepherd offers us a new life infused with joy, love and meaning. The shepherd always leads with God’s help and we are not alone. Brothers, the people of God will not follow you on Facebook, but they will see you and you will see them before and after every Mass. You may not know their names, but they will know you and they will follow you. If you have a school in your parish, visit the school often, especially the First Communion and Confirmation class or grades. Children are the best teachers. They will help you to teach them about Christ.
Pope Leo ended his homily by telling the newly ordained to go out and discover the culture, the people, and the life. My first experience of culture is being hugged!!!!, at Mass. I told a friend; he said that is because you Irish only touch in anger.” Pope Leo said, “Marvel at the things that God makes grow without our having sown them. The people you will serve as priests — lay faithful and families, young and old, children and the sick — inhabit pastures that you must come to know.” At times it will seem to you that we are lost. God too has his GPS – God’s Program of Salvation. So many people today feel lost! Many feel they can no longer find their bearings. Remember the words of the Good Shepherd: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters: He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:2-3). The He is Jesus. “God saves.” You are witnesses to this. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life“ (Psalm 23:6). Pope Leo ended his homily, “Dear brothers and sisters and young people, may it be so!”