ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What a joy it is to gather together this morning on this feast of Saint Charles Borromeo and in this Seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo!

We are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, having been called by Him to share in His Eucharistic Sacrifice. It is in His name that I greet you all, beginning with Bishop Burbidge, our former Rector and now Bishop of Raleigh. Greetings to Bishop McFadden, Bishop Thomas, Monsignor Prior and all the Administration, faculty and staff, together with all our Seminarians, especially the nine men who are receiving Candidacy at this time. This event, which touches them deeply, unites us all in a special bond with the dioceses that present them: with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Diocese of Raleigh, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the Diocese of Arlington and the Diocese of Allentown.

This is a great ecclesial event, which we pray will eventually lead these candidates definitively into the pastoral mission of Christ and His Church. Meanwhile, the Church offers them this great opportunity to open their hearts to the call of God and to respond with generosity and joy to what God is asking of them at this moment of their life.

As the Church prays over them they can hear clearly—as did the prophet Isaiah—the voice of the Lord, who says: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" And surely these men are encouraged and motivated listening to the response of Isaiah, saying: "Here I am...send me!"

From their experience in the Seminary, they are already deeply aware that in order to be sent by the Lord, they must first come to be with Him and share in His company, His friendship, His life. They remember how Saint Mark describes the calling of the Apostles, saying: "[Jesus] appointed twelve [whom he named Apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons... (Mk 3:14).

Today we confirm and celebrate this coming to be with Jesus of our brothers, so that they may first be with Him, in preparation for being sent out to proclaim the Gospel and to bring all the power of the Paschal Mystery into contact with the sins of the world and the powers of darkness. Candidacy is then a special call to intimacy with Jesus Christ, experiencing His company, being supported by His friendship and learning the secrets of His Sacred Heart, which He yearns to communicate in their fullness.

To come and be with Jesus and then to be sent out are the two great elements of the apostolic and priestly vocation, both in the beginning and now, and forever.

Today the Church encourages and blesses our new candidates. In the words of Saint Paul, she says to them: "Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, persevere in prayer." The Church insists that the degree of their union with Jesus Christ, the extent of their holiness of life, will have a great impact on the future effectiveness of all their priestly and pastoral service to the Church. The life of the Church attests to this reality which is part of God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ.

As the Church encourages her sons with her wisdom and embraces them in her love, she also points out to them outstanding examples of supernatural success in priestly zeal and pastoral effectiveness. One of these great examples is Saint Charles Borromeo, who completed his work at the age of forty-six, within the short time-limit allotted him by God. Today the Church extols Saint Charles as a faithful imitator of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd—the one who lays down His life for the flock. Through the ministry of Saint Charles, the voice of Jesus echoed strongly in the sixteenth century and continues today to have a powerful impact throughout the world.

It is so important in God’s plan that the seminarians of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary absorb the pastoral spirit exemplified by Saint Charles himself, but which he learned from Jesus the Good Shepherd. The essence of this pastoral spirit is expressed five times in the tenth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel: "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." And Jesus repeats: "I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep." And again: "This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life." And again: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own." And finally: "I have power to lay it down...."

Dear friends, dear brothers: the power to be a good shepherd with Christ, the power to lay down one’s life for the flock is hidden in the Heart of Jesus. It is there that we must go to draw forth this power that will sustain our priesthood and give deep fulfillment to our lives. Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint John Vianney and so many other holy priests discovered the secrets of Christ’s Heart and drew from it an immense power of pastoral love and sacrifice.

And so, once again, the Church reminds us that every call to be sent forth is first of all a call to come to be with Jesus, to remain in His company, to share His friendship, to penetrate the secrets of His Sacred Heart and to draw from it the power to lay down one’s life for the flock.

Dear brothers: this is the meaning of your candidacy and the reason why the Church rejoices to acclaim your generosity and why she encourages you to even greater love. Amen.