Ordination to the Priesthood - Fr. Aaron Hess

I have pointed this out a few different times up to this point, but we are getting very close to the ordination of Deacon Adam Berning to the priesthood. This is an incredible blessing to our local church and to the Archdiocese, so continue to pray for him and for all 7 men who will be priests. An ordination weekend includes many different pieces, but one of the biggest ones is when the newly ordained priest celebrates his very first Mass.  I remember as I was preparing for ordination, this was one of the things that made me and my classmates the most nervous and the most excited.

The first Mass that a priest celebrates is somewhat different than a normal Sunday Mass. The priest usually chooses all of the lectors, servers, and other ministers for the Mass: either friends, family members, brother seminarians, or young men maybe considering the priesthood. He also gets to pick out the musicians and the music that he would like sung and played at the Mass, which means that a lot of times you will hear songs that are different than at a normal Mass. Oftentimes, the priest will ask another priest to preach the homily. This is for a number of different reasons. First of all, there are plenty of other things for the man to be nervous about, so having to prepare and preach a homily is one less thing on his plate. Additionally, the homilist chosen usually was a strong inspiration for the newly ordained in his vocational discernment.  Finally, at many first Masses, a priest will present gifts to his parents: the maniturgium and the stole from his first Confession, as a token of gratitude for all they did in raising him in the faith (if you want to see a priest cry, this is probably your best chance!)

A final beautiful blessing that comes with a priest’s first Mass is that there is a plenary indulgence available to anybody who attends the Mass. This means that if you go to his very first Mass, go to Confession within 20 days, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, and be completely detached from sin, you can have all punishment for sins forgiven, either for you or for a soul in purgatory. Now, in all honesty, this is very hard to do--probably none of you reading this article right now are completely detached from sin! I know I certainly am not! But there are still so many powerful blessings and graces that can be attained from this Mass.

I’m sure that there will be more communicated about this, but Deacon Berning’s first Mass as a priest will be on Saturday, May 18th at St. Michael’s at 7:30 pm. Feel free to make plans to come, to experience the beauty of the Mass, of the music, and of this wonderful opportunity in our family to pray for and with this new Father. It also is an incredible opportunity to encourage vocations in our young men, so if you have a son, a grandson, a nephew, a neighbor, or whoever that you think would make a good priest, I would encourage you to invite him to come along with you! It will be a powerful experience, and one that none of you will want to miss!