A priest forever<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A priest forever\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Labyrinthine Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-09T15:24:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-06-10T20:16:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/2016\/06\/cross.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html\",\"name\":\"A priest forever\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-09T15:24:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-06-10T20:16:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\"},\"description\":\"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A priest forever\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/\",\"name\":\"Labyrinthine Mind\",\"description\":\"Seeking God in the labyrinth\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\",\"name\":\"Father Pablo Migone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Father Pablo Migone\"},\"description\":\"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A priest forever","description":"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A priest forever","og_description":"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html","og_site_name":"Labyrinthine Mind","article_published_time":"2016-06-09T15:24:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-06-10T20:16:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":576,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/2016\/06\/cross.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Father Pablo Migone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Father Pablo Migone","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html","name":"A priest forever","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-06-09T15:24:34+00:00","dateModified":"2016-06-10T20:16:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b"},"description":"A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A priest forever"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/","name":"Labyrinthine Mind","description":"Seeking God in the labyrinth","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b","name":"Father Pablo Migone","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Father Pablo Migone"},"description":"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He currently serves as Vicar for Mission Advancement of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia and Pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and Corpus Christi Parish in the Savannah, Georgia area. The views expressed in this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/author\/pmigone"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":1844,"date":"2016-06-09T10:24:34","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T15:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2016-06-10T15:16:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T20:16:40","slug":"a-priest-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2016\/06\/a-priest-forever.html","title":{"rendered":"A priest forever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"cross\"$ <\/a>A few months after being ordained, I was asked to write a brief article for the diocesan vocation newsletter.\u00a0\u00a0 I was asked to reflect on my experience as a newly ordained priest.\u00a0 For the first time since ordination, this project gave me the opportunity to sit back and reflect on how quickly and radically my life had changed from being a seminarian to being a parochial vicar who was called \u201cFather\u201d just like every other priest.<\/p>\n

There had been very little transition.\u00a0 I had walked into the cathedral and suddenly I was \u201cFather,\u201d expected to know all the answers and solve all the problems.\u00a0 I was terrified the first time I sat to hear confessions, but for that old man kneeling in front of me, I was \u201cFather\u201d and I could do for him what countless priests had done for him before, grant him absolution.\u00a0 It did not matter I had been ordained the day before.\u00a0 My life had changed forever, and despite seven years of seminary formation, the change arrived suddenly.<\/p>\n

Last Saturday Father Brian O\u2019Shaughnessy and Father John Wright were ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah.\u00a0 They entered the same cathedral I did seven years ago and left it as priests forever in the line of Melchizedek.\u00a0 Their souls were sealed with a special mark which configured them to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 It appeared that nothing changed, they looked the same as when they entered the cathedral, but everything had changed because God had marked the depths of their souls to be priests forever.<\/p>\n

Saint Gregory of Nyssa drew a spectacular parallel in the fourth century between the consecration of bread and wine in the Eucharist and the ordination of a man to the priesthood.\u00a0 Just as after the consecration the bread still looks like bread and the wine like wine, and we know that the Body and Blood of Christ are present on the altar, in the same manner, after a priest is ordained, he looks the same, but we know that his soul has been changed forever.\u00a0 Saint Gregory wrote that \u201cwhile but yesterday [the priest] was one of the mass, one of the people, he is suddenly rendered a guide\u2026 a teacher of righteousness, an instructor in hidden mysteries; and this he does without being at all changed in body or in form; but, while continuing to be in all appearance the man he was before.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, both in the Eucharist and at an ordination nothing appears to change, but everything does change, and it does so radically.<\/p>\n

Just as the baptized remain children of God regardless of their choices, a priest remains a priest forever because he has been marked for the service of the Body of Christ.\u00a0 May the ministry of the newly ordained be fruitful, and may it greatly enrich our Diocese of Savannah.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"