Witnessing the ordination of a new bishop
7/24/2022
Lk 11:1-13 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had
finished, one of his disciples said to him,"Lord, teach us to pray just as
John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily
bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."
Have you ever heard the old
saying, “Always a bridesmaid and never the bride”? That is how I looked on
Friday while attending Bishop Erik Pohlmeier’s ordination as the new bishop of
the Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida. Bishop Pohlmeier asked me to be one of
his two “honorary chaplains” at the ordination Mass, which is basically like a
best man at a wedding. Like a best man stands closest to the groom at the
wedding, and usually carries the rings, so I sat right next to the new bishop
and carry whatever he gave me. He handed me his program.
But I was not sad like the
bridesmaid wishing she was the bride. My heart was bursting with pride and joy
for my friend who was now a bishop. I felt like St. John the Baptist when he
saw Jesus, and said: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom, the best
man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.
So this joy of mine has been made complete” (Jn 3:29).
One of the less-known, but no
less significant, symbols of a bishop is his episcopal ring. Normally, we
picture a bishop with his fancy tall hat (called a miter) and his cool stick
(called a crosier). But most people forget all about his ring. That ring, I
think, is as important an image of what a bishop is and does as his big hat and
his cool stick. How so? Well, that ring means that Bishop Pohlmeier is a
bridegroom, like Jesus. And on Friday, Bishop Pohlmeier married his new
diocese, his new bride, because he got a ring.
Another cool custom about being a
bishop is you get to design your own coat of arms. Have you heard of this? This
tradition dates back to the medieval days when royal families had a coat of
arms with symbols that spoke about their shared heritage and family values.
Perhaps your family has one. Bishop Pohlmeier’s coat of arms expresses his deep
faith and the spiritual convictions which he will share with his new bride, the
Diocese of St. Augustine. Let me just touch on three symbols in his coat of
arms.
At the bottom is an unrolled
scroll with Bishop Pohlmeier’s motto, which reads: “Seek first the Kingdom of
God.” Before Bishop Pohlmeier tells others to “go seek the Kingdom”, he has
personally sought the Kingdom. Many years ago Bishop Pohlmeier – he was Fr.
Erik back then – and I took a trip to Ireland. We visited old castles, drove
down narrow Irish roads, climbed to the top of the Skellig Islands, and even
visited a pub called “Dirty Nelly’s”. You have to say that with an Irish
brogue: “Dirty Nelly’s”.
But before we did any of that,
though, we said Mass every morning in our little bed and breakfast. Bishop
Pohlmeier taught me to always seek first the Kingdom of God by insisting on
Mass every morning. The Mass is where the King (Jesus) feeds his subjects. The
rest of the day may be great while on vacation, but it was always just gravy in
comparison to the the Mass. Bishop Pohlmeier will share that priority of the
Mass as the Kingdom meal with his new bride. Be fed by the King first, because
everything else is gravy compared to his Food.
Another image in the new bishop’s
coat of arms is the crescent moon, one of the enduring symbols of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. I entered the seminary a couple of years before the future bishop.
One day we were talking about why we wanted to be priests and I asked him what
made him want to go into the seminary? He answered that he had gone on a
pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in Europe and fell in love with Mary. He felt
Mary calling him to follow Jesus as a priest.
But my question was more than
idle curiosity. I was really wondering what could possibly make such a young,
handsome, intelligent, athletic, energetic, a born leader, who had the world by
the tail, want to give all that up and become a priest? I thought I was the
only one like that! The answer was simple: we both fell in love with the same
woman, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every priest is a man deeply in love, and the
woman we love is Mary. Bishop Pohlmeier will share his devotion and love for
Mary with his new bride, and I hope the Diocese of St. Augustine will not get
too jealous.
The third feature of the coat of
arms is the three tiers of tassels that hang on both sides of the shield. These
tiers are shaped like a pyramid, with the bottom tier containing three tassels,
the second level with two tassels, and the top tier with only one tassel. That
represents the three orders of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The bottom rung is
deacon, the middle level is priest, and the top level is bishop. Why are there
different numbers of tassels at each level: three, two, and one?
Those tassels represent how
Jesus’ one priesthood is divided in Holy Orders, and the graces distributed at
three levels of ministry. A deacon receives one-third of the graces of Holy
Orders, so it takes three tassels (or three deacons) to equal Jesus’ the High
Priest. A priest (like me) only receives half of the graces of the sacrament,
so it takes two tassels (or two priests) to equal Jesus the High Priest. But
the top shelf – the highest level – has only one tassel because a bishop
receives all the graces of the sacrament of Holy Orders. And that is why we
pray for our bishop by name at every Mass: because he needs it.
A bishop alone represents Jesus
the High Priest, because he is no mere blushing bridesmaid, or some stumbling,
bumbling best man. He is a veritable personification of Jesus, the Bridegroom,
who loves his Bride, the Church, with all his heart. That is why only a bishop
is given a ring at his ordination ceremony, but not a priest, and not a deacon.
You could say that I am only 50% a priest. But my friend, Bishop Erik
Pohlmeier, is 100% priest; he is a top level, single tassel. Why? Because on
Friday, July 22, he received ALL the graces of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
And I got to sit next to him as his chaplain and be his best man. And I got to
be in all the pictures.
Praised be Jesus
Christ!
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