Today Mary Clare and I attended an ordination in Yendi, Ghana. It was so incredible!! I just wanted to share with you some of the really special parts... although having said that, it is the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the whole thing is special!
I have only attended one other ordination, that of my brother, Father Mark Noonan. On December 1, 2007, my brother became a priest in a beautiful and richly symbolic ceremony at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo, NY. It was a completely packed church, filled with family and friends, and it was so amazing to be a part of it.
Today, we were not a part of the ceremony. We really were ordination crashers, although we did get a last minute invitation from the Bishop, Most Rev. Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai, SVD, Bishop of Yendi.
There had to be at least 800 people there. Mary Clare and I were privileged to be able to sit with the priests on the side of the alter, so we were able to see everything.
There ceremony took place outside in the home parish of Fr. Abraham. It was a huge, massive plot of land with the alter at one end of a field, with the priests and religious, and then the guests were seated in a huge circle with lots of space in the center. The family of Father Abraham was directly across from the alter, across the field.
The African music was so energetic and captivating. The beats and the movement, all giving glory to God, so beautiful. I have to say that I love church songs. I am not a good singer, and I didn't always think singing was an essential part of the mass, but it really is, and we Buffalo Catholics can learn a lot from our African brothers and sisters in Christ. The music just filled me up, top to bottom, entered my soul and instead of being made to feel an outsider, I felt welcomed and encouraged to join in the joy.
After the opening blessing and then Deacon Abraham was called forward, a cantor was at the podium and sang the first verse of "Here I am, Lord" and Deacon Abraham was in his family's seating area, with his mom and dad on either side of him. Then he sang the refrain and the three of them stepped closer to the alter. They stopped for the second and third verses, then moved forward when Deacon Abraham sang the refrain. By the end of the song, they were at the alter. It was so beautiful.
The elements of a Catholic ordination were all there... the laying on the ground by the candidate for ordination, the blessing then congratulating of all the priests, etc., but it was "spiced up" with African traditional dances and music. After the second reading, a group of dancers brought up the lectionary from which the Gospel was read. Wow!! It was like being in a movie!!! It was all so tribal and authentic. And for the collection, the choir sang this amazing song, and literally everyone got out of their seats and danced to the center of the field to make their donation. It was like it was planned and everyone had the same dance instructor!! 800 people singing and dancing in a soulful, joyful rhythm... so amazing!!
Well, it was 4 hours long. It was a hot and steamy day with 100% sunshine (although we were under a canopy with the priests!!) But can I just say, from where I was sitting, I saw no one looking at his/her watch, and no one left before the final blessing. So awesome!
I was so happy to be able to attend such a blessed event. Father Abraham's card has a quote on it from Ecclesiastes 3:11..."God makes everything beautiful in His own time"
It is a quote I am going to recite to myself each day. God bless Fr. Abraham today, and all priests. We are so blessed to have strong, faithful men who live and share their faith with us, who challenge us to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ, and who do everything in their power to help us get to heaven. At the end of the day, that's the goal. Blessed be the Lord!! xoxo
