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Ordination to the Priesthood of Fr. David Cupps
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Parish, Richmond
Evening Vespers Homily written by: Rev. Msgr. Thomas Shreve, Vicar
General
May 29, 2009
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Since this evening and certainly tomorrow
swirl around the unique “giving thanks” that you and I name the
Eucharist, it seems appropriate to pull out this opening
paragraph of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians and
super-impose it on this very special Pentecost weekend. “I give
thanks to my God every time I think of you….in every prayer I
utter.”
David, in the name of all of us here, I
thank you for allowing us to be a part of these final pieces of
your preparation for priesthood. Here, in the stillness of this
Cathedral, we gather to pray for you and with you “that your
love (for God and for His people) may more and more abound both
in understanding and wealth of experience so that, with a clear
conscience and blameless conduct, you may learn to value the
things that really matter, up to the very day of Christ.”
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We thank you
for offering us a happy occasion and a blessed excuse to stop and think about
some of the things that are truly of value – the priesthood of Jesus Christ
which He shares with the likes of us – the Eucharist itself (that great giving
thanks that we are all so familiar with, even to the point of not appreciating
how important it is to “know what you are doing and imitate the mystery you
handle.”) – the love and mercy of our God – the special cords of affection and
the ties of blood that bind us into our own individual family – and the
ever-widening circle of friends and parishioners. We are each so busy as one
week slides into another that we too seldom take a look at the people and the
things that are most important. Your Ordination is about all of these things and
you draw us into your conscious awareness of these gracious gifts of God to you
and to ourselves.
David, I
invite you in particular to think of all the people across the years who have
stepped into your life and you into theirs – ever and always, of course, your
family who coded their guidance and direction and encouragement with layer upon
layer of sacrificial love; the childhood and the high school friends who have
maintained that friendship, and the seminary classmates from St. Mary’s in
Baltimore and your other fellow seminarians for Richmond who have become even
more than friends, but truly brothers in the Lord; fellow employees from your
days at Capital One; individuals and families from the various parishes that you
have been a part of in your journey to the priesthood.
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I suggest that all of us perhaps page
through the photographs posted in our memories and the special
people who have stepped into our lives across the years, the
people whose example established a challenge and a goal in life
for us to pursue and whose goodness demanded our notice and
captured our imaginations and prompted us to think of
priesthood.
David, your
handsome chalice is shined and polished; your vestments are pressed and waiting;
the orders of worship are printed; the liturgy has been rehearsed – and you are
more than ready and anxious to announce that you are “present” and that “with
the help of God” you are primed to step forward to commit yourself to celebrate
the Sacraments and to preach the Gospel and to be a constant source of blessing
to the Household and Family of God.
Grace and
peace then be yours from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ. …I am
sure of this much; that “He who has begun the good work in you will carry it
through to completion right up to the day of Christ Jesus.”
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