Weekends in Los Angeles

By Sr Virgie Mozo SSC

Sister Virgie is from Manila and has worked in Chile. She is now in the USA.

On 30 May, the eve of Pentecost, I had the privilege with Columban Sister Grace de Leon from Zambales, assigned before to Hong Kong and Peru and now stationed here in the USA, to represent the Columban Sisters at the ordination of six men to the priesthood at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles. They were Francis Melchior Villafranca Aguilar from Quezon City, Richard Gene Sunwoo, a Korean from Guam, Joseph Van Vu from Vietnam, Budi Wardhana from Indonesia, Julio Cesar Gonzalez Bautista from Mexico and Christopher Brian Fagan, a former attorney, from Whittier, the only native of the archdiocese.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, with the support of over a hundred priests, family members, relatives and close friends of the six, created an awe-inspiring crowd of thousands for this blessed and sacred milestone in their lives.

The ordination Mass was multinational and included an array of cultures. The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, was in Korean. Psalm 116 was sung in English while the second reading, from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, was in Vietnamese. The Gospel, from St John, was proclaimed both in English and in Spanish.

Cardinal Mahony’s homily reinforced that the call to priesthood or religious life is not only given strength and structure in the seminary or house of formation, but through our interaction with all who are part of our lives. It is the day-to-day learning in our lives that creates the path we choose to follow.

Referring to the congregation as ‘the people of God’, Cardinal Mahony descended from the pulpit to address the people on a more personal level. In a statement that was profound and unique he humbly acknowledged that his ministry is sustained by the faith of the people . . . ‘the support and prayers of the people, especially the faithful, has sustained the life of the Church and in particular the life of the priest’.

Paraphrasing the Second Reading, Cardinal Mahony, referring to ‘earthen vessels’, reminded the newly ordained men that this sacrament bestowed upon them two wonderful gifts and responsibilities in the person of Jesus: to offer the Holy Eucharist and to celebrate peace through the sacrament of reconciliation.

Cardinal Mahony re-emphasized his original message that the faith of the people has sustained the Church in the midst of difficulties and trials.

The offertory procession had a unique ‘state of the art’ presentation representing Indonesian culture and traditions. The offering featured a pyramid of fruit and vegetables symbolizing the mountain that gives life and all of the works and life experiences that we offer to God.

Another meaningful and thought-provoking element of the ordination was each newly ordained priest being escorted by a bishop to the sanctuary. Prior to the final blessing each of the six greeted his family in a personal and touching manner.

In closing the service, Cardinal Mahony once again broke tradition and acknowledged the presence of men and women who were present who were in their initial formation towards the priesthood or religious life. He invited interested men to come forward as a sign of their interest in joining the priesthood. Over two dozen young men joined Cardinal Mahony at the altar and accepted invitation cards for vocation discernment.

Immediately after the Mass, Sister Grace and I proceeded to the Cathedral Plaza for the first blessings of the newly ordained priests.

We were among the first to greet Indonesian Father Budi, a former member of the charistmatic group in Alhambra, LA. Mexican Father Julio and Korean Father Joseph had done their chaplaincy training at the hospital with which Sister Grace is affiliated.

It was a special privilege to be able to give the mission appeal at St Basil’s Parish, Los Angeles, on this wonderful Pentecost and ordination weekend. The pastor, Fr Francis J. Hicks, was extremely gracious and has a special connection with the Columban Sisters as he was assigned as a seminarian to St Thomas Aquinas Parish were our Sr Ellen Muldoon was working.

There were Masses in three different languages, English, Korean and Spanish. Korean Columban Sister Yoon Mi, assigned to Peru but in the USA for further studies, and I had the privilege of extending in those languages the Gospel invitation to ‘Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News’.

I end this with a prayer: May the warmth of the Holy Spirit that lives in us continue to make us a caring Church that longs to be a mission partner in Christ’s humanity.

You may write Sister Virgie at Columban Sisters, 2546 Lake Road, SILVER CREEK, NY 14136-9726, USA or email her at mozogie@yahoo.com