Three Short Years - My Ordination Anniversary

Three Short Years
Homily for February 2, 2016    Feast of the Presentation of the LORD
Third Anniversary Ordination to Diaconate
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi

February 2^nd is a day well-known to most people, made famous by Punxsutawney Phil and immortalized by Bill Murray. It’s Groundhog Day, and it is one of the few dates most people remember that doesn’t have a day off from work associated with it, or which isn’t associated with a Christian anniversary of sorts.

But the date IS special to the Church, for it is also the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – the day that the infant Jesus is brought to the Temple and presented before God.  It isn’t a holy day of obligation, but it is an important feast day, and it will forever be special to me, for I celebrate the 3^rd anniversary of my ordination as a deacon. 

When I think back over the last three years, I am somewhat amazed at how fast they have gone by. It seems like only yesterday that I was presented to the Bishop at the Cathedral for ordination as a deacon.

And in thinking about it, I realized that in the same amount of time, Jesus, through His ministry, forever changed the world.  Think about that.  We tend to gloss over the amount of time Jesus spent in ministry, preparing his disciples – the Apostles – to continue his mission when he left. But it was only THREE YEARS.  The same amount of time I have been ordained.

I have to ask myself, am I being effective in my ministry?  Am I helping others to draw closer to Jesus – to God – and am I helping them to continue Jesus’ ministry when I am gone?

Yes – and no.  No, but I am not Jesus.  I don’t have that single-minded focus on the will of my Father in heaven that Jesus had.  No, because I have a tendency to veer off of the path to which I am called, and I sometimes have to stumble in the brush to find my way back.

But, yes, I do believe that I’m fulfilling God’s will for me.  With His help and His mercy, I have received glimpses of God’s work in others through me, and I continue to experience the joy of serving God even when I’m tired or distracted or have wandered a bit off course.  God draws me back, like a parent with a wayward child.  I am not Jesus, but I am a Child of God.

Think back over your own last three years.  Some of you have been with St. Vincent de Paul for more than three years; some less.  But all you have to do is look at your annual summary of service to know that together you are continuing to carry out Jesus’ mission. 

You continue to carry out Jesus’ mission of mercy every time you share His love with one of your clients.  You continue to carry out Jesus’ mission of Love whenever you show mercy to your clients – and to each other.

Three years into my ministry. Three short years.  But I don’t think God is done with me yet, nor is He done with you.  As you reflect on your own ministries, may you find the grace to continue bring mercy to others.  And may you re-present yourself tomorrow to the Lord, and may He continue to bless you in your ministry.