Priesthood: Living Well and Dying Well

Last updated on: March 25, 2016 at 5:32 pm by Father Pablo Migone

Priesthood: Living Well and Dying Well 2016-03-25T17:32:38-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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Exactly one week after being ordained a priest here at this beautiful Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, I celebrated a Mass in another cathedral that is about 200 years older and 3,000 miles away. I celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at the church where I was baptized surrounded by more than 200 family members and friends. Once a rural country parish built in 1703 by Spanish colonists, now it’s the beautifully well-kept Cathedral for the southern districts of Lima, Peru.

Out of all those who attended the Mass, one really stood out, and I was immensely grateful for his presence. Standing by my side throughout the whole Mass, and even occasionally pointing to the correct prayer in the Missal making sure I didn’t get lost, was Father Juan Romero, the Spanish missionary priest who on April 23rd 1982 baptized me. A priest who courageously answered a call from Jesus Christ to surrender his life for the sake of the Gospel; a priest who by baptizing me years ago welcomed me into God’s family, making me a son of God; a priest who by baptizing me into Christ Jesus, baptized me into His death so that I may be raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, as Saint Paul writes. Father Juan opened the doors of grace so that I may live my life well, and one day in the future I may die well as a son of God.

Celebrating my Mass of Thanksgiving in Lima with Padre Juan at my side

Today the Church remembers and prays for all the faithful departed; all souls who have gone before us to rest in the peace of Christ, and also today, the Church commemorates Vocation Awareness Week; a week to pray for and promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life.
The work of the priest is to help all people live their lives well, so they may die well and inherit eternal life. Starting at baptism, the priest prepares those entrusted to his care for eternal life; to be ready to join all the souls who have gone before us.

A few years ago one of my parishioners organized the baptism of her baby daughter. Family was coming to Augusta from all over the country for this baptism; mostly because the baby’s great-grandma was sick and it’d be a great opportunity for all to see her. Two days before the baptism, great-grandma died. Instead of having a baptism that Saturday morning with the whole family, we had a funeral. That very same evening, I baptized the beautiful baby girl.

On that day the starting point and end goal of the work of the priest unfolded before my eyes within the same family. The same Easter Candle that burnt by great-grandma’s remains was used to light the baptismal candle of the newborn baby. Though nobody wants to think about death at a baptism, what begins at baptism, the promise of eternal life, reaches its fulfilment at death. The priest is present through the whole journey in between helping the soul live well so that when the time comes, he or she may die well.

I received a phone call about two years ago from a hospice nurse. A lady was dying near Waynesboro and the family was requesting a priest. I drove out there, prayed and spent some time with her and spoke with her husband who had been distant from the Church for decades. The lady died two days later and I officiated a service at the funeral home. Ever since the service, the husband never missed a single Sunday Mass at the parish having found peace and consolation in God. As a priest, I helped this woman die well, and guided her husband to change his life so that he may be prepared to die well, knowing God’s mercy and love.

Jesus Christ has established his church with priests to make his presence among us more evident, and Jesus Christ continues to call men to the Priesthood so that His will may continue to be fulfilled on earth. Jesus wants every soul to be saved so he continues to call men to serve as priests.

On July 1864, the third bishop of Savannah, Bishop Verot, who was responsible for all Catholics in Georgia and Florida, assigned two of his fourteen priests to Andersonville Prison, a confederate prisoner of war camp filled with 23,000 union soldiers where living conditions were disastrous. Verot wrote that these priests “spent all day in the camp hearing confessions of the dying and administering extreme unction, for the Catholics there were numerous. A number of Protestants and non-believers converted and received baptism.” One of the priests, Father Clavruel, reported that he would be in the camp from five in the morning till sunset. In three months, he assisted 1,390 prisoners at their deaths. He and Father Peter Whelan were the only chaplains of any denomination to serve at Andersonville.

The work of the priest is to lead all souls to Jesus Christ, from baptism to death.

The work of the priest has eternal consequences.

We must pray ardently so that every Catholic man will open his heart to hear if God is calling him to be a priest. God calls many to be vessels of his presence and to courageously serve the people of God. A response in necessary.

If you are a single man here today, imagine yourself doing the work of a priest. Could God be calling you?

If you know a Catholic single man with the qualities you would love to see in your parish priest, ask him if he has ever considered being a priest.

May God bless our diocese with many courageous men willing to serve God selflessly, so that thousands of souls may be ready to encounter Him when they take their last breath.

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