Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2010 / Thank you for your vocation
Thank you for your vocation
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 16, 2010
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
A group of seminarians preparing for ordination, most of whom accepted chalices from the Knights of Columbus, gather in the seminary chapel after they received the chalices last weekend. |
DETROIT — Nine men to be ordained priests received a special gift to be used throughout their priestly ministry from the Knights of Columbus.
A group of fourth-degree Knights presented chalices to nine men studying at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, after last Saturday's morning Mass at the seminary. Knight Frank Pawelak, a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Plymouth, and former Master Knight of the Michigan District, explained that each Knight who dies can have a chalice donated in his honor to a priest in need of one, and considering this year is the Year for Priests, they organized an effort to offer chalices to local future priests, first. Pawelak said the highest demand for chalices comes from India, Africa and the Philippines, but can come from all over the world.
Chalices can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. "It helps them get started," Pawelak said of the gift. "We feel honored to be able to give them a chalice."
Seven other men studying at Sacred Heart are to be ordained priests later this year, but will be provided with chalices from their family, their home parish or another source. All men who attended a short after-Mass ceremony received thank-you notes from the Knights, for their responding to God's call to the priesthood.
Names of the Fourth Degree Knights, in whose honor the chalices were given, were engraved in the chalices, for the men to pray for the deceased Knight during his priesthood.
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Fr. Michael Byrnes, Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s vice-rector and dean of students, blesses the chalices before they are distributed to the seminarians. |
Pawelak told the ordinandi during the ceremony that all Knights are defenders of the faith and of priests, and the chalice is a memory of that Knight's time on Earth. Although chalices may be given to priests who are local, out of state, international, "What's important is the chalices are used in the holy celebration of Mass," he said.
At breakfast with the Knights and seminarians after the ceremony, Deacon Bernardo Cruz, from Mexico but who will be ordained for Detroit next month, said he's received much support from the Knights of Columbus during his nine years at the seminary. "Every time I lift it up I will remember them in my prayers," he said.
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Knight Walter Winkle gives Deacon Benedict Bikoyogue Ehinack his chalice at a brief ceremony at the seminary last weekend. |
Deacon Thomas Wasilewski, who will be ordained for Lansing, said he was grateful, happy and surprised by the gift. "It's a beautiful reminder of what the priesthood is going to be about," he said.
For Deacon Andrew Vogel, who will be ordained for Winona, Minn., receiving such a gift from the Knights to use at the center of his priesthood is both a gift and an honor, he said. "The presentation of the Eucharist is the pinnacle of the sacrament, and to be able to have a sacred vessel worthy of the Body and Blood of Christ is so important," he said. "To have a gift from the Knights to help facilitate the celebration of the death and resurrection of our Savior is such a blessing."
Although not intentional, the event nearly coincided with World Day of Prayer for Vocations, April 24-25. Fr. Tim Birney, director of the archdiocesan Office of Priestly Vocations, said some parishes celebrate with special Masses and dinners, with invitations to young men who may be discerning a call to the priesthood.
"As important as those invitations is the need for prayer," he said. "And that's why this day is an important day for everyone in the archdiocese, to spend some time in prayer."
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