50th Anniversary Mass of Ordination, Fr. Jerome Machar at Genesee Abbey

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Lk. 22:15). When Fr. Gerard asked me to consider going to New Melleray Abbey in their hour of need, my only request was that I be allowed to return to Genesee to celebrate this anniversary with you, my brothers. As I have often written, although my body is in Iowa, my heart is in Genesee. Celebrating this day of joy with you is a tremendous blessing to me.

It is hard to believe I’ve been a priest for 50 years, but numbers don’t lie. I am humbled to think that Christ called me to share His priestly ministry and has used me to build up His kingdom. These have been years of joy and sadness; of success and failure, but never regret. I have had the pleasure of preparing couples for marriage. I have also assisted individuals in obtaining annulments when their marriages failed. I have baptized many infants and witnessed professions of faith when adults chose to enter the Church. I have accompanied many people as they prepared for their final journey to their heavenly homeland. Hearing confessions has always been a special grace. It is a great joy to be the welcoming Father who celebrates the prodigal’s return, realizing that the penitent’s journey may have been a long time in the making.

Let me tell you about the inspiration for my vocation. My hero was Fr. Casey Sitko, who was the assistant pastor at Transfiguration Parish. He was everything I ever wanted to be. After he was killed in a car accident, my greatest desire was to take his place someday. Fifty years ago, today, my wish was granted. Here are some Fr. Casey memorabilia. One of the seven bishops concelebrating the ordination mass was Bishop Floyd Begin, the bishop who celebrated Fr. Cassey’s funeral mass. My first assignment as a priest of the diocese of Cleveland was to Saint Adalbert parish in Berea, which, coincidentally, was Fr. Casey’s first assignment. God has never disappointed me in my hope.

Every time I open the Sacred Scriptures, I am mindful of the instruction I received during my deacon ordination: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” Similarly, every time I approach the altar of the Lord to renew the sacrifice of human redemption, I recall the instruction that was given at my priestly ordination: “Be aware of what you are doing; imitate what you hold in your hands.” Whenever I approach the pulpit or stand before the altar, I identify with the emotions felt by the prophet Isaiah. “I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I am a man of unclean lips… Yet I have gazed upon the King, the Lord of heaven with my own eyes” (Is. 6:5). Please know how blessed I am that you are sharing this day with me.

My time in Iowa has allowed me to focus on my priestly calling. At both New Melleray and Our Lady of Mississippi, I am asked to set the paschal banquet before the monks and nuns. In my role as guest master, I am asked to nourish our monastic guests with the Word of God and to strengthen them with the sacrament of reconciliation. Through my contact with the AA fellowship, I am asked to show the love of God to those who don’t always get it right and need fraternal support. These words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer touched my heart. “We have for once learnt to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcast, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled – in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. The important thing is neither that bitterness nor envy should have gnawed at the heart during this time, that we should have come to look with new eyes at matters great and small, sorrow and joy, strength and weakness, that our perception of generosity, humanity, justice and mercy should have become clearer, freer, less corruptible. We have to learn that personal suffering is a more effective key, a more rewarding principle for exploring the world in thought and action than personal good fortune” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

Thank you for being here today to share with me the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of fifty years of priestly ministry. Over the years, I have been able to rejoice with many people during significant events in their lives. I have also wept with many people at times of great sorrow and tragedy. I thank the Lord Jesus for sharing his shepherd’s heart with me, and allowing me to touch the hurts of others’ hearts. Please pray that I never lose the flame of my first love and that my ministry never becomes barren.

Lord, thank you for opening your heart. By your death and your resurrection, you have become the source of life. Continue to pour forth your Spirit upon us. Help us to live, and move, and have our being close to your Sacred Heart. Grant that we may be sources, wellsprings of living water for others. Lord bless us, and bless all those who desire to have rivers of living water flow in their hearts and are committed to running the path of your commandments. May we dwell in your house in unity and love all the days of our lives. Amen.