FULL TEXT: Archbishop Aquila’s Possible Last Priestly Ordination Homily
- Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
- Sep 24
- 8 min read
In what could be his last priestly ordination for the Archdiocese of Denver, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila exhorted newly-ordained Father Daniel Viana Pereira and Father Paolo Mori to follow Jesus Christ, surrendering everything to him, the Father and the Holy Spirit. As they begin their priestly ministry in a world punctuated by pain, suffering and darkness — like "lambs among wolves" — the archdiocese's newest priests are called to incarnate the love, mercy, Truth and compassion of Jesus Christ to everyone they meet, no matter where they may be sent.
Archbishop Aquila's homily is printed in full below, and is also available for listening on his homily podcast.
My dearest sons and brothers, in the readings that you have chosen today for your ordination, the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah speaks to Jeremiah’s youth. He first of all recognizes that it is God who created him. It is God’s word who is speaking to his heart: “I formed you in the womb. I dedicated you. I appointed you.”
And it is the action of God in the life of every priest as he enters the seminary that he has first heard that call in some way or some form, that it is the plan of God for his life that he give himself completely to the Lord. And all of us, at one time or another in our formation, and maybe even at the very beginning, we’ll say to the Lord, “I know not how to speak. I am too young.” But the Lord reminds us to depend on him: “Say not ‘I am too young.’ To whomever I send you, you shall go. Whatever I command you, you shall speak. I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
And those words are important for us in the times in which we live. They’re similar to the times of Jeremiah, where there is much confusion in the world, where there has been abandonment of God in the world, where people not realizing it worship false gods. They have never encountered Jesus.
And the Lord assures us: “I place my words in your mouth.”
My dearest sons, you must have a deep love for the Word of God. We have the words of God revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and, most especially, in the voice of Jesus. As we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and let him form our hearts and minds as we listen attentively to the Spirit, he will always lead us to the truth, to the truth who is Jesus Christ.
St. Paul speaks of that in his second letter to the Corinthians, as he writes to them of what they have renounced: shameful, hidden things, falsifying the Word of God. But it was by open declaration of the Truth that they do not preach themselves but Jesus Christ as Lord.
My dearest sons and brothers, it is essential for you to meditate upon those words. You are not to let your authority be lorded over people. You are not to put yourself as judge over people. You are to preach Jesus Christ, and you are to act, as St. Paul reminds us, as slaves for the sake of Jesus. Those can be very hard words for us today, but the Lord demands it of us. He speaks of the narrow way. He speaks of laying down our lives as he has laid down his life. Our Lord never speaks of entitlement, of saying, “I will only go here or there.” But, as we hear in the Gospel, he sends his disciples out everywhere to prepare the world and people for him. It is essential that you understand that no matter where you are sent within the Archdiocese of Denver — whether it is the I-25 corridor, the Western Slope or the Eastern Plains — you are called to be a slave for the sake of Jesus. You are called to go. Or, if you are sent out on mission to other parts of the world, it is Jesus Christ whom you are to bring, not focusing on yourself but giving yourself to the surpassing power of God. It is God who will form your heart and your mind the more you surrender to him.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs. He knows that they must support one another and, in that experience, he tells them that the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.
My dearest sisters and brothers, that imposes on us, all of us, whether we are bishops, priests, deacons, religious or laity, to be those who pray for vocations. How frequently do we ask the harvest master to send out laborers for the harvest? My vocation director complains to me that I pray too much and I keep him way too busy, but that is okay. It is an answer to my prayer that I make every day that the seed of a vocation to the priesthood is planted in the hearts of young men. That the seed of a vocation to the consecrated or religious life is planted in the hearts of young women and men. That the seed of a vocation is planted in the hearts of young men and women who enter the sacrament of marriage and who beget children for the Kingdom of God. It is essential that we pray for vocations, especially in a world that is so resistant to the vocations of priesthood, religious life and, yes, even marriage.
The Lord warns his disciples in his time, and the words are still valid for us today: “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” And my sons, we have seen that in the last two weeks, with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with the again tragic shooting of young people, we live among wolves. We live among people who are filled with hatred. We live among people who have no respect for the dignity of human life, who fail to see that every human being, no matter who that human being is, even if it is an enemy, that they are created in the image and likeness of God. It is the wolves who are in the greatest need of hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. They do not know, nor have they received, but they have resisted the love of the Father, the love of Jesus and the love of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord tells us, no matter where we go, we are to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. And no matter where you go, whether it is in parish ministry, whether it is on mission or itinerancy, that is your task: to be those who proclaim the Kingdom of God.
As you are ordained today through the laying on of my hands and by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be configured to Christ, the head shepherd and bridegroom of the Church. It is important for you in your own prayer life to strive for holiness, to grow in holiness, to give yourself completely to the Trinity and to those you serve. You will be called to teach, to teach Jesus Christ, to teach the Scriptures, to be those who point to Jesus, as John the Baptist did, that he must increase while I must decrease. It is teaching the truths of the Catholic faith and in handing on those truths that we have received from generation to generation.
You will be called, too, as priests to offer the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And, my dearest sons, it is important for you to understand each time you pray the words that ‘This is my body given for you. This is my blood poured out for you,” that those words must become your words, that you, too, must make yourself a total self-gift as Jesus made himself a total self-gift. That is why the Church asks that priests celebrate Mass every day, as a constant reminder, as a constant strengthening of giving oneself in praise and glory and adoration of the Father.
You, too, will live out the sacraments, whether it be Penance or Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation, all of those sacraments you will celebrate. Be sure to celebrate them with the compassion of Jesus, with the love of Jesus, going out no matter what hour you are called in the middle of the night to care for the dying, to be with those who have lost loved ones, to be with those who have experienced the sudden death of loved ones.
Always pray before you go, asking the Lord to give you the words to say to those you will serve. Do not go grumbling and complaining that it’s three in the morning. Do not be getting upset, but rather, turn to the Holy Spirit, pray to the Spirit, that you have the words to say.
In that, too, you will shepherd and oversee the people entrusted to your care. You are to walk with them as a servant. But, in walking with them, you are also to direct them, to guide them, to proclaim the truth to them in season and out of season. You are to bring about unity in Christ and to help them to receive that unity that only he can bring about.
Today is the memorial of the Korean martyrs, St. Andrew Kim and St. Paul Chong and their companions. They are recent martyrs in terms of they were in the early 1800s that they were martyred, that they laid down their lives for Christ. And we have seen martyrs in our own time, whether in Africa or in Asia or even here in the United States. We are called, no matter what, to be faithful to the Truth, no matter the cost. We can never betray Jesus. We are called to keep our eyes fixed on him, knowing that he is faithful to his promises.
Today is a great day of joy for the Church of Denver as she sees two of her sons ordained to the priesthood. Ponder these readings in your hearts and know that the Lord is faithful when he speaks the words to you that he is sending you, that he is with you to deliver you, that he will place his words in your mouth. And do everything for the glory of God, for the glory of the Father, trusting in the surpassing power of Jesus and of God.
Never fear that you are being sent out into the harvest as lambs among wolves. The Lord will be with you to deliver you in that. And, yes, people will hate you, people will slander you, people will speak harshly about you. I guarantee you that. And with that, though, we must be those who still, with love and humility, proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
May your priesthood be fruitful as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and keep your hearts and minds with him who will strengthen you for many decades ahead in your ministry.
May the Lord fill you with an ever deeper love each day for him, the Father and the Spirit, and most especially for the faithful you will serve.
