{"id":10768,"date":"2015-05-28T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/what-does-four-decades-as-a-priest-look-like-one-bishop-shares-his-story-17924\/"},"modified":"2015-05-28T09:50:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T09:50:00","slug":"what-does-four-decades-as-a-priest-look-like-one-bishop-shares-his-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/05\/what-does-four-decades-as-a-priest-look-like-one-bishop-shares-his-story\/","title":{"rendered":"What does four decades as a priest look like? One bishop shares his story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Bismarck, N.D., May 28, 2015 \/ 03:50 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- On his 40th anniversary as a priest, Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck says he has a deeper understanding of his own vocation than when he was first ordained.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMy vocation is who I am and it is not just what I do at times. I think I understand much better now that I am a priest forever,\u201d he told CNA in a recent interview. \u201cThis is a tremendous grace which gives me much consolation every day, but it is the daily challenge to me to be who I have been called to be in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHis comments came after priests from the Diocese of Bismarck gathered along with loved ones on May 20 to mark jubilee anniversaries ranging from 10 to 60 years with Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

\tFor Bishop Kagan, the strongest memory in 40 years of priesthood remains his ordination day in 1975, which came with an \u201cexhortation to become what I celebrate at the altar of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI don\u2019t think I am there yet, but by God\u2019s mercy and grace I keep trying,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\tHe says the best part of being a priest \u201chas always been celebrating our Church\u2019s liturgies, especially the liturgies of the Most Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHaving served as Bishop of Bismarck since 2011, he said his favorite part of that role is two-fold: ordaining priests and administering the Sacrament of Confirmation.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThese give me such great hope and my own faith is always renewed at these times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn the time since his ordination, he\u2019s seen many changes in the Church but \u201cperhaps the most dramatic\u201d was the introduction of face-to-face confession and the wide availability of the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism to the laity. Even now, he says he is \u201cseeing and experiencing the good fruits of these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFor the young men preparing for the priesthood in the seminaries, Bishop Kagan advised them not to \u201csecond guess God\u2019s choice of you\u201d but to \u201c(h)umbly accept it and enter completely into priestly formation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt does not end with Ordination, your priestly formation goes with you into the priesthood.\u00a0 Enjoy it now and keep it fresh and vital as it will stand you in good stead as a priest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tFr. John Paul Gardner, a priest celebrating his 10th anniversary in the diocese, had similar advice for seminarians.<\/p>\n

\tEchoing Bishop Kagan, Fr. Gardner encouraged them to \u201cspend every single day praying for the grace necessary to fulfill the call of Christ\u201d and to ask the Blessed Mother for her help.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf we hesitate in that, (that\u2019s where) the devil is lurking,\u201d he warned, \u201cand that\u2019s where scandal\u2019s going to occur, so it\u2019s really essential to say \u2018yes\u2019 to Jesus wholeheartedly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBorn nine months after John Paul II\u2019s election and ordained just two months after the pope\u2019s death, Fr. Gardner said the saint has always been \u201cone of my heroes.\u201d The strongest memory he has as a priest is being in St. Peter\u2019s Square when his namesake was declared a saint April 27, 2014.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEver since I was a little kid I wanted to be like him,\u201d Fr. Gardner said, \u201cso just to be there when there were so many people \u2013 that was a pretty big highlight of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOne thing Fr. Gardner has learned in his time as a priest is just how indispensable the family is in the life of the Church. The committed love of a husband and wife and their children is \u201cso essential,\u201d he reflected.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf there\u2019s no family, it\u2019s so difficult, I would say maybe impossible in my experience, for the Church to exist,\u201d he said. \u201cFamilies are the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFr. Gardner said his parents\u2019 example in raising their nine children helped him discover his vocation to the priesthood.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI had a mom and a dad who worked through all their difficulties with prayer, with a sense of humor. All of us kids in some way \u2013 in some deep way \u2013 benefitted from that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tLike Bishop Kagan, Fr. Gardner said \u201cby far\u201d his favorite part of being a priest is the privilege of celebrating the Holy Mass.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cRaising the host and chalice to the Heavenly Father, offering him our Lord Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit \u2013 there\u2019s no doubt that\u2019s what I live and breathe for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe other priests celebrating special anniversaries in the diocese were Monsignor Gerald Walsh (60 years); Fr. Stephen Kranz (60 years); Fr. John Pfiefer (50 years); Fr. George Pruys (40 years); Fr. John Gurthie (25 years); Fr. Johnson Kuriappilly (25 years); Fr. Boniface Muggli (25 years); Fr. Manuel Silva Cely (10 years); and Fr. Paul Eberle (10 years).
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bismarck, N.D., May 28, 2015 \/ 03:50 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On his 40th anniversary as a priest, Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck says he has a deeper understanding of his own vocation than when he was first ordained.<\/p>\n

\t“My vocation is who I am and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat does four decades as a priest look like? 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