On the afternoon of Sunday 19 May, Don Luca Susana and Don Damiano Terzo were ordained priests through the laying on of hands of Bishop Claudio. The liturgy of ordination contains the many meanings of a faith which, from the apostles closed in the cenacle on the day of Pentecost, has come down to us and acquires a future in these new priests.
The long and emotional celebration on Sunday 19 May, during which the Church of Padua welcomed two new priests, had a significant common thread: hugs, numerous hugs. First of all, those that Don Luca Susana and Don Damiano Terzo exchanged with Bishop Claudio at the end of the ordination liturgy. So those who exchanged each other, companions in the crucial years of training. Finally, the great warmth with which the parish priests of the two new priests concluded the dressing of the two young people in liturgical vestments: Don Roberto Garavello, parish priest of Valbona, and Don Federico Fortin, parish priest of Casalserugo, with their gesture gave the idea of two communities who donate a child to the diocesan Church, before the embraces became “choral”, with other presbyters and then with the families of origin who accompanied Luca and Damiano in responding to the Call.
In his homily, Don Claudio recalled four characteristics of the priestly ministry. A priest “today has the task of accompanying the vocational discernment of every Christian”, to help him grasp the call that the Lord has reserved for him. «He is called to take care of relationships within communities». He accompanies “familiarity with the Word, so that he is an encounter between the Lord Jesus and his own life”. Finally, “he is a sign and instrument of unity: where there is a presbyter, there is a bishop, the whole presbytery and the whole Church”.
Even though it recurs from year to year, the mass of priestly ordinations maintains its charm intact. First of all, the packed cathedral singing the litanies of the saints facing the crucified Christ while the two ordinands prostrate themselves on the ground in prayer. Then the laying on of hands, in silence, by the bishop and then by the other concelebrating priests, to give substance to the descent of the Spirit, which this year acquired further significance due to the fact that the ordination took place on the solemnity of Pentecost. And then the anointing of the palms of the hands of the new priests with the sacred chrism and, finally, the delivery of the bread and wine just received from the parents of the ordinands themselves.
The strength of the sacrament and the tradition of faith then resonate in the commitments of the elect and in the prayer of ordination, from the apostles gathered in the cenacle a few days after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, until today. It is in these two passages of the liturgy that the young people who are about to become priests answer “yes, I want it” to the bishop’s questions about their desire to exercise the priestly ministry throughout their lives; worthily and wisely fulfill the ministry of the word in the preaching of the Gospel and in the teaching of the Catholic faith; celebrate the mysteries of Christ with devotion and fidelity according to the tradition of the Church; “implore with us divine mercy for the people entrusted to you”. And it is in this moment that the new priests promise filial respect and obedience to the current bishop and his successors.
Thus the story of faith in the land that belonged to Prosdocimo is renewed. Through Don Luca and Don Damiano – and together with all the other presbyters and deacons of the clergy of Padua – the communities will continue to receive the sacraments and welcome the Word. The laity will be supported in making their gifts available for the growth of the parishes and with them the very society in which they are inserted. Families will find a certain landing place, a safe discussion in the face of the questions that the little ones will ask them about faith and the Church, perhaps stimulated by a classmate, the religion teacher or the sight of a church in a city square. Young people will know who to ask their meaningful questions to, knowing they will receive a disinterested response and access a relationship that can support them in finding their path on the pilgrimage of life.
