Posted on 06/28/2015 3:29:09 PM PDT by NYer
An overcast day could not keep Deacon Carl McIntosh from smiling.
As the 11:00 am ordination Mass drew ever closer, his smile and his spirit provided the light that the clouds tried to conceal.
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano lay his hands on the head of a kneeling Deacon Carl McIntosh at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport, and priestly ontological change was impressed upon his soul. In that instant, Deacon Carl McIntosh became Father Carl McIntosh.
Pictured: Deacon Carl McIntosh is all smiles as he waits for his ordination Mass to begin. In the background is an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to whom he has a great devotion.
“We came here this morning to celebrate the gift that Deacon Carl McIntosh is to the Church,” Bishop Caggiano had said at the outset of the ordination Mass.
Now the diocese and the universal Church celebrate together the ordination of a newly minted Catholic priest!
Father McIntosh’s ordination also had some historical significance. At 64, he is the oldest man to be ordained a priest this year in the United States.
Father McIntosh will celebrate his first Mass at St. Lawrence Parish in Shelton at 11:30 am tomorrow (June 28). Father Michael Jones, pastor at St. Lawrence, will be the homilist.
Excerpts from Bishop Caggiano’s ordination Mass homily at St. Augustine’s Cathedral, June 27, 2015:
Carl, in a few moments, by the imposition of my hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, you will enter into a great mystery...
You are going to be configured to Christ, the crucified, and Risen Priest. And from this moment unto all eternity, Christ will press upon your very soul the gift of His Priesthood...
It is a mystery that you and I, and every single one of us in this Church ordained to priesthood are neither worthy of nor can be ever fully prepared to live. But it is a mistake to think that we are the actors; we are the protagonists. We are not. Christ is. In you, and me.
And as you will prostrate yourself in just a few moments here, before the altar, which is Calvary in grace; when you rise from this place you must remember, my brother, what I must remind myself each day...it is Christ I honor, Christ I serve, and Christ whom, through His grace, I will make present in the world through my priestly life. That will be your mission (Carl) from this day forward...
You will do it because you are going to become a minister of the sanctification of God’s people...You will take bread and wine, and through the power of the Risen Lord in His Spirit, that bread and wine will become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Crucified Lord...We will be fed with the Bread of Life.
We are also called to a prophetic office in Christ, which means that you and I are to be heralds of the Gospel, the good news of salvation.
You will (also) share in the Kingly Office of Christ, and if the world ever wonders what it means to call God “King,” look to the Crown of Thorns that the King of Heaven and Earth wore on (Calvary). That is our crown brothers. That is your crown (Carl) from this day forward.
If you wish to be truly holy; wish to be disciples of Christ; wish to sanctify the world; wish one day to come to glory; Our Lady, the Mother of God, is your mother and mine. Today (Carl) she becomes for you, your special mother...She will wrap you in her mantle.
(In your priesthood), go to our mother, and she will never fail you.
And so, my brother Carl, I welcome you into the sacred priesthood today with great joy, and with great confidence that you will do wonderful work...and be a worthy servant of Christ.
Yes. It would have been nice to congratulate him personally.
Terrific! God bless him!
PRAISE GOD!!!
And his Dad was there, too!! ((Happy tears))
Wow! My son was ordained in the Bridgeport Diocese last year! Congratulations to Fr. McIntosh!
O Lord Jesus Christ, enkindle the heart of Thy priest with the fire of zealous love for Thee, that he may ever seek Thy glory; Give him strength that he may labor unceasingly in Thine earthly vineyard for the salvation of our souls and the glory of Thine All-Honorable and Majestic Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Wonderful! Prayers up for Father McIntosh.
Congratulations to him.
Deo gratias!
Yeah!!!
God bless!
Awesome!
Wow! God Bless Fr McIntosh..conrats to him ...and I feel grateful for him saying yes to God..
This is wonderful news, congratulations to Fr. Carl !
Congratulations, Father Carl. May you have years of blessed life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
Congratulations to you, too! We are blessed to have Freeper priests And priest’s moms!
Congratulations Fr. Carl! You remain in my family’s daily prayers and Rosary.
Congrats to Fr. Carl. Best wishes for a life of joyful service.
Congratulations Padre!
Hey it could happen LOL!
There been Polish Pope Aregentina Pope maybe we have Freeper Pope LOL!
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