Big Announcement: I Am Becoming A Candidate for Holy Orders This Week! Things Are About to Get Real.
Christ has Ascended into Heaven! Peace be with you!
I have an important announcement to share with you today concerning my path to the priesthood.
This week, on Wednesday May 27 at 11:00am on the feast day of St. Augustine of Canterbury (in the Ordinary Form calendar), in a small ceremony during a daily Mass, I alongside two other Nashville seminarians who form the future priestly ordination class of 2024 will take part in the Rite for the Admission of Candidacy for Holy Orders. With our past years of philosophical studies completed (Pre-Theology 1 and 2 or College 1-4), we are now ready to move on to our final four years of formation, theological studies (Theology 1-4).
What you may not know is that (after the reforms of Vatican II), a man has to become a “candidate” to receive Holy Orders before he can be ordained to the diaconate and to the priesthood later on. This is also true for men in formation for the permanent diaconate as well. He becomes a candidate by being admitted to Candidacy for Holy Orders by his bishop, or a bishop who has obtained the permission to admit him from the candidate’s bishop. This admission is done during a specific rite that often takes place during Mass during the same place in the liturgy an ordination would take place but since this rite is not an ordination it is obviously much shorter and involves different actions and intensions.
A brief synopsis of what goes down is this: during the Rite of Admission to Candidacy a man in formation for Holy Orders (in my case the priesthood) is examined and makes promises to his bishop and the Church that he will faithfully participate in the rest of his formation in preparation for ordination. One of the questions in which he promises in response is:
“In response to the Lord’s call are you resolved to complete your preparation so that in due time you will be ready to be ordained for the ministry of the Church?
Together the candidate(s) answer:
I am.”
When a man is admitted to Candidacy best believe that things are getting real. A switch occurs at this moment. The name of the game is no longer discernment but preparation for the priesthood. We will talk more about this.
Over the three next days including the day I receive Candidacy I will post about this next step in my journey and share more information and my own reflections about it on my site. I will write three articles and link them through my social media extensions.
Monday (5/25): “It’s Getting Real: My Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders – The Significance of Candidacy and Why It is Required On the Journey to The Priesthood.”
Tuesday (5/26): “It’s Getting Real: My Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders – Looking and Reflecting on the Text of the Rite of Candidacy.”
Wednesday (5/27): “It’s Getting Real: My Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders – What it Means to be a Candidate for Holy Orders Now.”
I know many of you have been following my journey up to this point along with my apostolate, and I say thank you for all your prayers and support as I come upon this next step, if God wills! I hope you will continue to journey with me as I move forward. If you have any questions, please fill free to ask me!
Please continue to pray for me, as I prepare for this small but important day! Thank you again!