In front of the altar at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg on June 6, Father Andrew Heidelbaugh was ordained to the priesthood in a richly-symbolic rite that configured him to Christ the High Priest.
A congregation of clergy, religious, laity, family members and friends rejoiced in the ordination, the essential elements of which took place through the Laying on of Hands and the Prayer of Ordination by Bishop Timothy Senior.
Addressing the candidate in his homily before the Rite of Ordination, Bishop Senior said, “As you live your life as a priest, your yes to God’s call and the handing over of your life will often stir deep emotion in your heart. We can understand the priesthood intellectually and it certainly can be understood and explained through our rich theological and philosophical tradition, but ultimately the priesthood is lived and experienced in your heart.”
Father Heidelbaugh, a native son of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Enola, will serve as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Mechanicsburg. He is the son of Michael and Cynthia Heidelbaugh; Michael is a candidate in the permanent diaconate class that will be ordained this September.
‘God Had this Day in Mind for You’
The solemn Mass began with an Entrance Procession that formed along the sidewalk outside the cathedral and included seminarians, deacons, priests and Bishop Senior, Bishop Ronald Gainer and Bishop Edward Malesic, a former priest of the diocese and current Bishop of Cleveland. Entering the cathedral as a candidate to be ordained, then-Deacon Heidelbaugh was seated near the foot of the altar as Mass began.
After the Gospel, he was called forth and presented to Bishop Senior by Father Joshua Weaver, Diocesan Vocations Director, and greeted with thunderous applause from the congregation.
The bishop then gave his homily, offering an instruction about the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the nature of the priest’s ministry.
“We heard first from the prophet Jeremiah as he is called by God. Today, God speaks these words to you in a personal way,” he told Deacon Heidelbaugh. “‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I dedicated you.’ Andrew, God had this day in mind for you even before you were conceived.”
Turning to the second reading, Bishop Senior noted that the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that humility is an essential quality for those called to priestly ministry.
“As priests, we are conscious of our weakness, our vulnerability, our unworthiness,” the bishop said. “But we read in Hebrews that this awareness actually helps us to be more effective in our ministry: ‘He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness.’”
On the Gospel reading of the grain of wheat that must die in order to produce fruit, Bishop Senior remarked that, “It is through handing over our lives that we preserve them for eternal life. This handing over happens continually in our lives as Christians and in a unique way in our obedience to our vocation to the priesthood for us as priests.”
“As you continue to grow in holiness of life, you become an ever-more effective living instrument of grace for those whom you are called to serve, leading others to Jesus, the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,” the bishop said to Deacon Heidelbaugh.
As the Rite of Ordination continued, Deacon Heidelbaugh knelt before the bishop for the Promise of the Elect, in which he gave his resolve to undertake his ministry to the priesthood and promise his obedience to the bishop and his successors. Then, he laid face-down on the floor in front of the altar as the congregation chanted the Litany of Supplication to invoke the intercession of the saints.
The essential part of the Ordination Rite followed, as Bishop Senior laid his hands on the candidate’s head and prayed the Prayer of Ordination – the two elements through which Father Heidelbaugh was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. In a gesture of unity and encouragement, all the priests present for the Mass placed their hands on his head.
Father Heidelbaugh was then dressed in his stole and chasuble, vested by Father Herbert Sperger, former Director of Spiritual Formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Next, Bishop Senior anointed the new priest’s hands with Sacred Chrism and presented him with a paten with bread and a chalice with wine.
The Rite of Ordination concluded with Father Heidelbaugh exchanging a Sign of Peace with Bishop Senior and with all the priests present before the celebration of Mass continued.
In a moving gesture at the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Senior, Bishop Gainer and Bishop Malesic took turns kneeling before Father Heidelbaugh to receive a blessing from the new priest and kiss his newly-anointed hands.
‘To Reach People’s Hearts’
In an interview with The Witness, Father Heidelbaugh said he is eager to share the message of God’s unconditional love with the people of the diocese, especially with young men and women and those who don’t have a relationship with the Lord.
“I have a soft spot in my heart for people my age who grew up without much faith or are dealing with depression, uncertainty or anxiety. I can see how much my generation has suffered from not having God in their lives and I pray about that a lot,” he said.
“There are things that everybody struggles with, things that everyone cares about in their lives…. In getting to use the gifts that God has given me, I think I can speak to that in a homily and have the gift and opportunity to reach people’s hearts,” he said.
Watch the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood on the diocese’s YouTube page. Learn more about Vocations in the Diocese of Harrisburg at www.harrisburgvocations.org.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
