Six Denver Seminarians Take Another Step Toward the Priesthood
Instituted as lectors and acolytes, the six men are growing closer to Christ in his Word and Eucharist as they continue the deeper work of preparing their hearts for priestly service.
Six Denver seminarians, joined by seminarians from other dioceses, took another step closer to the priesthood on Saturday, as they were installed as lectors and acolytes by Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez. Though the two ministries are often fulfilled by dedicated laypeople in parishes around the world, the formal institution to them forms a meaningful milestone in priestly formation.
“Lector and acolyte are meaningful steps in your vocation journey to the priesthood,” Bishop Rodríguez explained to the men during the special Mass at Christ the King Chapel at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. “But priestly formation is not only about passing some philosophy or theology classes and exams, acquiring some pastoral skills, living some experience. It’s about the gradual conformation of your heart with Jesus.”
As these six Denver seminarians — and all 100 men in formation for the archdiocese — are formed to be happy, holy, healthy priests, they seek to become more and more like Jesus, he continued.
“Your main book is the person of Jesus Christ. Your methodology is intimacy and friendship with Jesus Christ,” Bishop Rodríguez said. “And the outcome is a perfect identification with Jesus’ mind, heart, feelings, grace and purpose. Graduation will happen when you will be able to say with St. Paul, ‘For me, life is Christ.’”
While institution to these ministries is a major step, one that comes with certain responsibilities, at its core, the milestone highlights the ongoing transformation necessary to serve God’s people well.
“Lector refers you to Jesus’ word, his mind and his plan. God’s word in the Scriptures is the best way to enter into the soul of Jesus Christ and to get to know him,” Bishop Rodríguez explained. “You cannot love what you do not know. You will read the Word of God to the community, but your word should come from your mind, a mind transformed and conformed with Jesus.
“Acolytes, you instead are related to the altar, that is, to Jesus’ sacrifice for the salvation of the world,” he continued. “You will serve at the altar. Your place is closer to the place where the sacrifice of Jesus is happening. But that closeness is not only about location, but about the heart. Now, at this point, you are called to identify yourself with Jesus’ love for humanity.”
For the men called to the ministry of lector, serving the Church by proclaiming God’s word has led them deeper into the heart of Christ, burning for love of his people.
“For me, proclaiming the Word of God is proclaiming God’s love for men and his plan of salvation,” Martin Bisio told the Denver Catholic. “The Church entrusts to me the proclamation of what God deigns to teach us so that people can know him and experience his infinite love. I pray that I may be a good instrument of the Word of God so that many people can get to meet Christ and love him.”
“I see it as a great grace and beautiful responsibility to be entrusted with this new charism to proclaim the Word of God and spread it to other people,” added Francisco Conte-Grand. “I’m happy to be able to participate in the mission of the Church to spread the love of God to everybody.”
“Over the past few years, it has become clearer to me that Scripture is a place of encounter with the living God. Meditating on the sacred text has helped me grow in friendship with Christ and reinterpret my life in light of the Father's providential care,” said David Napierkowski. “For me, being installed as a lector is an upward call to increase my devotion to God's word and to share its richness with others.”
For those installed as acolytes, serving at the altar is a great honor — one that has profoundly shaped them. That ministry points them toward the Eucharistic intimacy of the priesthood, many noted.
“Every step is a step closer to the total intimacy with Jesus that comes from consecrating him in the Eucharist,” Brother Peter Xavier, SCJ, told the Denver Catholic. “I am both grateful to get to assist at the altar in this new way and cannot wait to be as close as I can be to him in the Eucharist as a priest.”
“I have grown in recognition of how generous Jesus is, giving himself to us in the Eucharist. He gives us his whole attention, his whole self and presence in the Blessed Sacrament, both being present with us in the tabernacle, and, more significantly, uniting himself to us in Holy Communion,” Brother Philip Collins, SCJ, added. “This generosity of Jesus, giving his whole self to me, brings about a desire in me to give my whole self to him, especially by serving him in his flock.”
“My mindset has transformed to see serving near the altar as a way to serve the center of my spiritual life,” said Cody Bliss. “Entrusting an acolyte with the handling of the Eucharist makes the reality of Christ's presence even more personal. It's no longer just about assisting at Mass, but about letting the humility of Christ in the Eucharist shape how I give myself to the Church every day.”
As these six men and their 94 other brothers continue to discern God’s call for them and to prepare for priestly ministry, they ask the archdiocesan community to keep them in prayer: that they might become good, holy, generous priests and spiritual fathers in imitation of Jesus.
“I would ask the people of the archdiocese to pray for me, that I continue to grow in a fatherly heart, so that I may be the spiritual father they can count on when I am ordained,” Bliss said.
“Many holy priests can make present the love of God in this archdiocese and lead the faithful to Heaven,” Bisio concluded.
For the six men instituted to these ministries on Saturday, that hope begins now: in the Word proclaimed, the altar served and the daily work of becoming more like Jesus.
