My dear Sisters, It is a profound joy to celebrate the Eucharist with you in this chapel on such a beautiful Solemnity. Thank you for inviti...
My dear Sisters,
It is a profound joy to celebrate the Eucharist with you in this chapel on such a beautiful Solemnity. Thank you for inviting me. The Immaculate Conception is often called the "feast of the beginning," reminding us that God’s plan for salvation started long before we drew our first breath.
For me, this day holds a double layer of gratitude. As I look at our Blessed Mother, the first tabernacle of the Lord, I cannot help but look back at my own priesthood. Today, by God’s infinite mercy, I celebrate my 13th anniversary of ordination. Thirteen years of trying to follow the Good Shepherd.
In this intimacy of your community life, I invite you to reflect with me on this mystery of being chosen—both Mary’s, yours as religious sisters, and mine as a priest. Let us return to those three words starting with the letter "F": Favor, Fiat, and Fulfillment.
FAVOR. The first word is Favor. The Angel Gabriel’s greeting echoes through this chapel today: "Hail, full of grace!"—the highly favored one.
My dear Sisters, you know better than anyone that to find "favor" with God does not mean a life of ease, comfort, or worldly prestige. For Mary, this favor meant being preserved from original sin, not for her own glory, but for a mission: to be the pure vessel for the Son of God. Her privilege was her purpose.
When I look back on 13 years of priesthood, and when you look back on the years since you first wore the habit, we realize a humbling truth: We were not chosen because we are the most capable, the strongest, or the holiest. Like Mary, we are favored simply because of "whose" we are.
This "Favor" is the grace of our vocation. It is the mystery that God looked at us—with all our imperfections—and said, "I want you." For you, dear Sisters, this favor is the grace to live the evangelical counsels in a world that often rejects them. It is the favor of being set apart, like Mary, to bring Jesus to others—whether in the classroom, the hospital, or the quiet service of this house.
FIAT. The second word is Fiat. "Let it be done to me according to your word."
Eve grasped at control; Mary surrendered it. In our world, and even in ministry, we are often tempted to be aggressive, to manage outcomes, to ensure success. But the Immaculate Conception teaches us the power of surrender.
For a religious, and for a priest, our Fiat is not a one-time event. I said "I do" at my ordination thirteen years ago, and you said "I do" at your profession. But the real Fiat happens in the silence of the ordinary days.
It is the Fiat you whisper when community life is challenging.
It is the Fiat when you are sent to a mission you didn't choose.
It is the Fiat of trusting God when the body grows weak or the work seems overwhelming.
Mary did not understand everything the Angel said. "How can this be?" she asked. But she trusted the Speaker more than she understood the speech. That is the heart of your vow of Obedience. It is the daily decision to let God birth something beautiful through your life, even when the path is unclear.
FULFILLMENT. The third word is Fulfillment.
In the First Reading, we heard the Protoevangelium—the first promise that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head. In Mary, the long wait of history finds its fulfillment. She is the proof that God keeps His word.
As I stand here marking 13 years at the altar, I can testify to this: God is faithful. He finishes what He starts. The journey of the priesthood, much like the journey of religious life, has its seasons of winter. But because of the Immaculate Conception, we know the victory has already been won.
Mary is the "image of the Church to be." My dear Sisters, what she is now—sinless, radiant, in total union with God—is what you are striving to be, and what we are all destined for in Heaven. Your life as Sisters of St. Paul is an eschatological sign; your very presence points us toward that ultimate fulfillment.
So today, let us renew our devotion to our Mama Mary.
I ask for your prayers for me, that I may be a faithful priest, continuing to strive for the holiness to which I was called 13 years ago. And I pray for you, that you may always recognize God’s Favor in your vocation, have the courage to repeat your Fiat every morning, and trust in the ultimate Fulfillment of His love for you.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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