… To be a priest for all of you …’

By PAUL BINZ

The Valley Catholic

HARLINGEN —  Father Caleb De La Rosa became the newest priest of the Diocese of Brownsville at his ordination by Bishop Daniel E. Flores during a special Mass May 28 at St. Anthony Catholic Church.

Bishop Flores called the day a “moment of great joy in the life of the local Church … this manifestation of the generosity of the Lord as it gives the local Church a priest to continue the sacramental Word of the Lord in our midst.”

As is the custom during the early part of the Ordination Mass, the candidate was called forth by name.

“Most Reverend Father, Holy Mother Church asks you to ordain Deacon Caleb, our brother, to the responsibility of the priesthood,” said Father Leonel Rodriguez-Bazan, the diocesan director of vocations.

“Do you know him to be worthy?” Bishop Flores responded.

“After inquiry among the Christian people, and upon the recommendation of those responsible, I testify that he has been found worthy,” Father Rodriguez replied.

Bishop Flores then declared, “Relying on the help of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose Juan Caleb De La Rosa our brother for the order of the priesthood,” after which the faithful affirmed the moment: “Thanks be to God.”

After his homily, Bishop Flores called upon the candidate to take his vows.

“My dear son, before you enter the order of the priesthood, you must declare before the people your intention to undertake this office.”

The candidate then made five declarations, answering these questions from the bishop.

• “Do you resolve with the help of the Holy Spirit to discharge without fail the office of the priesthood in the presbyteral rank as a worthy fellow worker with the order of bishops in caring for the Lord’s flock?

• “Do you resolve to exercise the ministry of the Word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith?

• “Do you resolve to celebrate faithfully and reverently in accord with the Church’s tradition the mysteries of Christ, especially the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation for the glory of God and the sanctification of the Christian people?

• “Do you resolve to implore with us God’s mercy upon the people entrusted to your care by observing the command to pray without ceasing?

• “Do you resolve to resolve to be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest who offered Himself for us to the Father as a pure sacrifice, and with him to consecrate yourself to God for the salvation of all?”

“I do,” De La Rosa answered to all but the last, to which he responded, “I do, with the help of God.”

He then took the vow of obedience to the bishop and his successors, after which Bishop Flores intoned, “May God who had begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.”

Prostration in humility at the foot of the sanctuary during the litany followed. Rising, the candidate received the laying on of hands first from Bishop Flores and then by a succession of priests of the diocese.

After subsequent prayer by Bishop Flores over the candidate, he received his priestly vestments. Bishop Flores anointed his hands, and the offertory, borne by the new priest’s parents, followed. At that point, now-Father De La Rosa was embraced first by Bishop Flores and then long line of his brother priests and seminarians.

Near the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Flores presented Father De La Rosa with his faculties authorizing him to say Mass and hear confessions in the Diocese, and his first assignment to Mary, Mother of the Church Parish in Brownsville. Bishop Flores then received Father De La Rosa’s first blessing.

Father De La Rosa and his family, all of Lyford, have long been members of St. Anthony Parish. Last year he described how his mother, while pregnant with him, received her first sacraments there during her conversion to the faith. His parents are teachers in Lyford schools.

The church was nearly full for the occasion, with Father De La Rosa recognizing family from all over, well-wishers from San Carlos and La Grulla, where he served his transitional diaconate, and friends from Houston, where he attended seminary at St. Mary’s.

“There are so many of you here that it just overwhelms me, how much support that I have, and most importantly (from) those who have drawn themselves to God and to witness this moment,” he said during his first address from the pulpit as a priest.

He stated the aim of his new role while reiterating his personal humility, enunciated a year earlier at his diaconal ordination.

“I do not underestimate the fact and grace of what God has called me to do. I have always said and still uphold that I am unworthy of this ministry, and yet the Church has called me worthy,” Father De La Rosa said. “And I wish to be able to live that out, as Bishop Flores said in the Consecration prayer, to be able to grow and live in right conduct, and to be able to be a priest for all of you in the Diocese of Brownsville, to be one that you can look to and see humility, a provider of God’s mercy …”