SENT TO SERVE CHOOSING TO ACCEPT THE MERCY OF GOD IN OUR LIVES

This month is an occasion of great joy for our diocese as we welcome three new priests – Deacons Matthew Prosperie and Joseph Lapeyrouse, whom I will ordain this month, as well as Deacon Davis Ahimbisibwe, who will be ordained in his home country of Uganda before returning here. As we celebrate their ordination and the gift of priestly vocations, it has sparked my own reflection on the gift and the mystery of this call. At its very heart, a vocation is a mystery. It is not something that I or anyone can create or produce, but rather it is a work of God, only revealed to each person by the person of Jesus Christ. By God’s design, each of us, in a unique way, are called by the Father through the Son to a mission of salvation in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of us have a vocation, a special calling and purpose written in our hearts by the Lord.

The vocation of a priest is a special gift to the church. Jesus, as you know, was both God and man. He is both the Second Person of the Holy Trinity present from all eternity, and He also chose to become man, born of the Virgin Mary, to suffer and die so that we might live forever with Him in heaven. Jesus could have chosen to offer us this salvation all on His own. Since He was God, He could have done this work in whatever way He wanted. However, He chose a very specific way to bring the gift of salvation to all of us. He chose twelve men by name and invited them to share His life. He made them His friends. He knew they weren’t perfect. He knew that some would betray Him, deny Him, abandon Him. Yet He still called them to participate with Him in the mission of salvation. He chose them to be His representatives in the world for all of time. It is through the priest, acting in the person of Jesus Christ, that the saving grace of the sacraments is offered to us every day.

None of those original Twelve were perfect. Yet their sin and imperfection were not too big or bad for the Lord to overcome. Rather, in a beautiful way, their reliance on His mercy in the moments of their weakness allowed His grace to enrich them even more. Reconciliation allowed them to grow closer to the Lord, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). Both

Peter and Judas had the same offer of mercy opened to them. One of them was able to accept it, while one of them was not. When we choose to accept the mercy of God, we see our own vocation, the call He has placed on our hearts, as something that is really possible – not by our own efforts, but by His grace.

That offer of mercy and compassion, and the beauty of God’s call, is not something that is just in the past for Jesus and His apostles, but is rather something that continues to this very day, even in our own diocese. As we receive three new priests this month, and as many young men and women continue to discern the call that God has for them, we see Him continuing to work in the hearts of so many, inviting them to be His close friends as they give their lives to Him. Not one of us is exempt from that call. The call to holiness and friendship with God is a universal call that excludes no one. If you think you are too sinful, or not good enough, or will not be happy, have no fear! God calls you especially to be an instrument of His great mercy.

Deacon Joseph, giving their sons to serve their own area, or families like that of Deacon Davis, who generously gave of their son to a missionary call to serve the people of the bayous, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and the entire church are so blessed by the sacrifices these families make. I am so joyful to be able to welcome these men to the brotherhood of the presbyterate and to work with them to continue the work of Jesus here.

I ask you to please pray for our priests – both those who have so generously given their entire lives in many years of service, and those who are just beginning a lifetime of ministry – that we may all be united as instruments of God’s mercy to each person we encounter. Please also pray for the men in our diocese who may be hearing the call of Jesus to be His priest, that they have the courage and confidence to say “Yes!” Whenever we follow Jesus with our whole heart, we will never be disappointed.

May God bless all of you as we work together in this important mission of answering God’s call in our lives.

Vocations do not come from thin air – they come from families. Every single one of us comes from a family, and it is there that God’s call begins. It is beautiful to see families giving such a great gift to the church – their own children – to continue the work of Jesus Christ here in this diocese. Whether it is local families, like those of Deacon Matt and