A former Vice Provincial Superior of the SVD Ghana-Liberia Province, Rev. Fr. Andrews Obeng, SVD, has reminded newly ordained priests that while there are joyful moments in ministry, priesthood is not a funfair but a serious vocation.
Preaching at the first Thanksgiving Mass of Fr. Blaise Ofoe Mankwa and Fr. Gilbert Tika, two Ghanaians among 32 men ordained by Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Basilica on Friday, Fr. Obeng touched on the nature of the priestly vocation.
“There are fun moments in a vocation, but it is not a funfair. It is a serious matter,” he said, warning against romanticising the priesthood. Drawing from Scripture and the lives of saints, he explained the weight and grace of a priestly calling, which he described as “a divine invitation to participate in the Missio Dei—God’s mission.”
Fr. Obeng began by stressing that vocations are not self-made choices but divine appointments. “Frs. Blaise and Gilbert, you did not choose this moment. Destiny chose it for you,” he declared. “Your ordination in the Jubilee year and through the hands of no less a person than the vicar of Christ is God’s way of telling you that what you have embraced is a vocation and not a career.”
Quoting the famous phrase, “La strada di Dio è misteriosa” (God’s ways are mysterious), he reminded the new priests that just like Peter in the Gospels, who did not choose to be the rock upon which the Church was built, the new priests have been chosen by God for this mission.
The homily was structured around what Fr. Obeng called the four Cs of every vocation: Call, Cross, Consolation, and Crown.
“It begins with a stirring of grace inside the soul,” he explained. “It draws you to a way of life that feels like the very reason for your existence.” Citing St. Augustine, he said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.” He added, “A call is like water. It boils whenever it is placed on the fire of prayer.”
Fr. Obeng warned that the priesthood comes with suffering. “Inherent in every vocation is a cross… When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,” he said, referencing theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Using Paul’s prison epistles and the original Greek text, he unpacked the meaning of “Be patient in tribulation”: “‘Hupomeno’ means to abide under pressure without crumbling. ‘Thlipsis’ means crushing weight.”
“Amid your many crosses, you will experience divine actions to bring you inner relief,” he said, citing Paul’s words: “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.” He also referenced Peter’s miraculous release from prison as a moment when “an iron gate opened of its own accord.”
The final reward, he explained, is not given for starting well but finishing faithfully. Fr. Obeng recalled the story of John Stephen Akhwari, the Tanzanian marathoner who, despite injury, finished the race at the 1968 Olympics. “My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race; they sent me… to finish the race,” the runner had said.
“The eternal crown of righteousness is given to those who cross the finish line. Even if you fall seven times, rise seven times and cross the finish line,” Fr. Obeng encouraged.
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