'The mission does not end with Peter or Paul' —Cardinal Tobin ordains 4 new priests

Listen and you will have an abundant life, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark told the four men being ordained last week.

Deacons Robert Burkot, JuHyun Andrew Lee, Bernardo Garcia, and Frenel A. Phanord were ordained as priests on Saturday, May 27, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

Inquiring as to the reasoning behind why Jesus called “Robert, Andrew, Bernardo, and Frenel” to follow Him, Cardinal Tobin referred to a passage in John’s Gospel wherein Jesus stated, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

“The mission does not end with Peter or Paul. It continues to invite men and women to witness, their Master, Teacher, Lord, Shephard, Light, and Truth,” Cardinal Tobin said.

The Mass was held on the day before the last day in Easter — Pentecost, the celebration of the inception of the Church and the bestowal of the Holy Spirit’s gifts upon the apostles. According to Acts, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

Cardinal Tobin said, “God has called you to prepare His beloved brothers and sisters to witness the resurrection of Jesus, the dignity of His Kingdom, and the gift of eternal life. …You are going to do this by becoming radically obedient. Obedience is listening to God, to Jesus, in prayer, reading the daily Word, Church, the bishop in Rome, your own bishop, and your brother priests. Most importantly, listening to the people of God you’ve been called to serve.”

Don’t forget where you came from, Cardinal Tobin said.

“As Pope Francis would say, ‘Don’t lose the smell of the flock,’” Cardinal Tobin said. “The author of Hebrews says, ‘Remember who introduced you to the faith.’ Paul said to Timothy, ‘Remember your mother, your grandmother, remember those who passed their faith onto you.” Following the gospel, the ordination began with the presentation of the candidates. Burkot, Lee, Garcia, and Phanord were called forth. During the ordination ceremony, Cardinal Tobin inquired about the worthiness of the candidates. In response, Msgr. Gerard McCarren, S.T.D., who serves as the Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, where the candidates had undergone years of study, confirmed their suitability. The announcement was met with a thunderous round of applause from the congregation, who rose to their feet.

The men then declared their intention to undertake the office of the priesthood, after which each candidate knelt before Cardinal Tobin, placing his joined hands between the hands of the cardinal and making the promise of obedience.

In one of the more dramatic moments in the liturgy, the diaconal candidates laid prostrate on the floor while the litany of the saints was sung. The gesture symbolized the priests’ unworthiness for the office and dependence upon God and the prayers of the Christian community.

During the ordination ceremony, the cardinal blessed the candidates by invoking the Holy Spirit to bestow upon them a sacred character for their designated ministry. The bishops and priests present also laid their hands on each man.

Assisting priests helped the men with their new vestments — the stole and the chasuble. The stole symbolizes the authority and responsibility to serve in imitation of Christ. It reflects the line from Scripture,“For my yoke is easy and my burden light,” in Matthew 11:30. The chasuble is the main garment of the priest celebrating the Eucharist, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal Tobin performed the Anointing of the Hands and the Handing on of Bread and Wine with each new priest. The anointing with oil stems from the Old Testament and “indicates that someone or something is being set apart for a sacred task or duty. The anointing of the hands signifies that the hands of the newly ordained priest are being prepared for the sacred duties and vessels, which will be part of the priestly ministry” — offering the bread and the wine, anointing the sick and blessing people, according to USCCB.

The cardinal said as he anointed the hands, “May the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and power guard and preserve you, that you may sanctify the Christian people and offer sacrifice to God.” A cloth held under the hands during anointing was then tied around the priests’ hands.

After the gifts were received for Eucharist, Cardinal Tobin placed the paten holding the bread and the chalice containing the wine into each of the priests’ hands, highlighting that the Eucharist is the heart of the priesthood and the importance of celebrating the Eucharist in the life of the priest.

“Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God,” Cardinal Tobin said to each priest. “Understand what you will do, imitate what you will celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.” The cardinal, bishops, and priests gave the newly ordained the fraternal kiss.

After the Mass, family, and friends lined up for the new priests’ first blessings.

Father Burkot, 59, was inspired to become a priest after having a dream in which Mary pushed him into Jesus’ embrace. He said, “Anything is possible for God.”

Father Burkot, will be serving at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Jersey City.

Father Garcia, 29, heard his calling after witnessing the joy among the priests while attending a Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica. At that moment, he realized giving himself to God might fill the emptiness he felt in his life. Father Garcia said he wants to be a priest out of “gratitude for how good God has been with me and how He has rebuilt my life.”

Father Bernardo Garcia has been assigned to Sts. Bernard of Clairvaux and Stanislaus Kostka in Plainfield.

Father Lee, 27, said he was called right out of high school. After experiencing poverty, Father Lee developed a desire to help others who are struggling like he did. He said that everyone is “always lovable and precious in God’s eyes, and there is no such thing as ‘too late’ to return to God.”

Father Lee will serve at Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange.

Father Phanord, who grew up in the Turks and Caicos Islands, said he sought a lot of tough answers about the purpose of his life in the seminary. He said he joined the seminary because without priests “we are unable to have the sacraments” — the Eucharist and confession. Father Phanord is eager to help others by bringing them to Christ.

Father Phanord is assigned to St. Mary in Plainfield.

Photos and video by Joe Jordan and Julio Eduardo Herrara