PHOTOS | Ordained to Love: Archdiocese of Denver Celebrates Three New Priests Called to Lay Down Their Lives
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
As Father Blaise Buches, Father José Delgado and Father Craig Kinneberg prostrated themselves before the Lord Jesus at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver on Saturday, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila exhorted them to be humble, prayerful witnesses to Christ throughout their priestly ministry.
“Today, your life will be forever changed. You will be configured through the power of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of my hands to Christ, the head and shepherd of the Church,” Archbishop Aquila said in his homily. “You remain a part of the body of Christ, but you are now called to represent, to be an icon of, the head and shepherd. That must be taken on with complete humility, not seeking grandeur, not seeking affection, not seeking adulation, but rather, keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus so that you will be able to say like St. Paul, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’” (Galatians 2:20).
Taking as their example St. John the Baptist, who humbly proclaimed, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), the three new priests must seek “to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him,” the archbishop said, referencing Pope Leo XIV’s recent exhortations to the Church.
In order “to bring others in the world, even those on the peripheries, into an encounter with Jesus Christ,” the archbishop said, the archdiocese’s three newest priests should “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
“You must be able to articulate in your own heart how Jesus has changed your life and continues to change it, and how the Father has done that, and the Holy Spirit,” he said in his homily. “That only comes about through deep prayer in the Word, listening to the Word and being thoroughly convinced of every promise that Jesus makes in the Gospel.”
(Photos by Dan Petty)
Despite the difficulty the new priests may face in a world hostile to the Gospel, Archbishop Aquila said, they should rest in the confidence that Jesus has gone before them, that he has prayed for them and continues to do so. Only by staying close to the vine, which is Christ, can they continue to grow in holiness and bear much fruit.
“Jesus has prayed for you and continues to pray for you. For each and every one of us, he prays,” he said in his homily.
“The evil one loves the downfall of every priest and works for that, but Jesus has prayed for us,” he continued. “Never forget that. All of us who are priests here, never forget that! Turn to Jesus with confidence, as Peter did, as Paul did, as the other apostles did, as the saints did. With Augustine, ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.’ Jesus wants us to rest in him. If you are not resting in him, then you cannot bring others to rest in Jesus. Nor can you grow in holiness.”
As they begin their priestly ministry across Northern Colorado, rescuing souls so that they may have abundant life for the glory of the Father, the three new priests will be called to act in the person of Christ, the head of the Church, shedding his light and sharing his truth in the world, the archbishop said.
“My prayer for you, my dearest sons, is that you will continue to grow in that ongoing conversion, that today, as you are configured to Christ, the head and shepherd of the Church, that your intimacy with the Father, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit will grow each day, that you will continue to ponder in your heart what it means to be consecrated in the truth by Jesus, and that he continues to pray for you in your priesthood. Whether it be in the metro area, the Western Slope, the Eastern Plains or elsewhere, you are called always to lead others to Jesus and to be those who serve rather than [those who are] served,” he concluded.
