Homily for the First Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving of Fr. Anthony M. Infanti

Fr. Anthony M. Infanti.

Ordained a Priest June 16, 2018
First Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving, St. Agnes Church, Blackwood, NJ, June 17, 2018  

It is said that you don’t really get to know a person until you live with him.  I know that is true with Fr. Anthony and me.  Although, at that time, I was pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Somers Point, and he was a—how should I put this?—a wanna be (once again) seminarian.  In other words, Anthony really wanted to return to the seminary to be a priest.

In case you don’t know our precise history:  Bishop Sullivan asked me to take Anthony for the fall of 2014—until Christmas.  This subsequently turned into “Can he remain with you until the Spring?” which then morphed into “Can you keep him there for the summer months until he re-enters the seminary?”  Like the guest who comes for a short visit and then doesn’t know when to leave, I had Anthony for the year.  What was it that Ben Franklin said?  Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.  Although, I must say, Fr. Anthony, I never noted any glaring problems with your personal hygiene.

Once he re-entered the seminary, Anthony would return to the parish on various occasions.  I affectionately referred to him as our feral seminarian.  You know—like a feral cat who shows up at the back door of the house wanting to be fed.  Admittedly, out of compassion, I, in a moment of reoccurring weakness, fed him and took him in.

I was charged with evaluating Anthony and his suitability to return to the seminary to become a priest.  And this I did.  What I found was the following when I asked myself some questions:

·       Was he a man of PRAYER?  In the rectory we had a small oratory/chapel.  I would often see him praying there.  He asked me if I would like to pray Evening Prayer with him.  I noted his love for the Blessed Sacrament.  I checked off yes in answer to this question.

·       Did he have REVERENCE for the sacred?  I looked at his disposition at Mass. I saw reverence toward sacred things in his actions.  He exuded a reverence and respect at the altar as a seminarian, deacon and now as a priest.  Another check mark in the yes column.

·       How was his INTELLECT?  I think it would be fair to say that Anthony struggled a bit with his studies.  Things did not always come easily for him.  But he was willing to learn.  He would ask me questions and advice.  And I realized that Jesus chose fishermen and a tax collector who were not always the best or the brightest.  My intuition was that Anthony would be okay, with the proper guidance.

 

·       Did he have a big EGO?  It didn’t seem that Anthony took himself too seriously.  Nor did he suffer from a cult of personality wanting only to be liked all the time.  We need only to look at Jesus on the cross to see that He was not liked by all and that there would be some people in opposition to His message.  I didn’t see Anthony’s ego getting in the way of him being a good priest, but rather a sense of humility.  Another check in the yes column.

·       Would he be a good SHEPHERD?  I noted how Anthony was attentive to his Communion Calls and took care of the needs of the sick and homebound.  He would remind me when one of them wanted to go to confession or needed to be anointed.  He went over to the parish school to teach the children.  He was received well by the parishioners, in general.  We are reminded in Sacred Scripture:  A Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).  I thought of the example of St. Maximilian Kolbe to whom we both have a devotion.  He gave his life as a priest for a family man in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Another check.

·       Did he have a sense of THANKFULNESS?  One only needs to have received one of Anthony’s “thank you” notes to realize that he had a profound sense of gratitude for what is done for him.  Check.

Take all the above qualities, Prayer, Reverence, Intellect, (a diminished) Ego, Shepherd and Thankfulness, put them into the blender and there seems to be many of the necessary ingredients needed to be a P-R-I-E-S-T.

My evaluation was one evaluation among many others to come—from the seminary, from his parish assignments, from the vocations office and the Bishop himself.

 

It all culminated in the formal “call” to priesthood and ordination by Bishop Sullivan yesterday.

As I was riding in my car one day listening to music on the radio, I heard a song that made me think immediately about your journey to the priesthood.  Although you will probably kill me for mentioning the artist—Miley Cyrus—at your First Mass, Fr. Anthony this is your song.  It describes your journey, your climb.  Here are some of the words:

The Climb

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it . . .

My faith is shaking but I
Gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high . . .

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most . . .

Now it’s time to get to work—Jesus’ work continues.

Yesterday was a priesthood ordination, not a canonization.  Fr. Anthony, your work as a priest is just beginning.  May I remind you and all of us of the concluding words from today’s second reading:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Cor. 5:10)

Priesthood is not about you or me or any of the priests here today.  It is about Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest.

Like St. John the Baptist, He (Jesus) must increase, and I (we) must decrease.  (See John 3:30)

Learn a couple valuable lessons from today’s gospel.  The planting of seeds will be like your preaching and words—Christ’s words—that will go out to the people. May they take root in them.  Then there is the parable of the mustard seed.  It is the story of the Church that started with twelve apostles and grew into over two billion Christians—1.2 billion of them Catholics.  It is the story of St. Teresa of Calcutta who began by ministering to the first dying person in the streets of Calcutta with no plan, no budget.  This ministry grew into the Missionaries of Charity all over the world.  It is the story of St. Francis of Assisi who divested himself of his family’s business after hearing the call from the Lord to Rebuild My Church.  People today as then probably thought he was crazy. Today there are so many different types of Franciscans throughout the world following his spirituality.  It is the story of two newly ordained priests for the Diocese of Camden who, with the Grace of God, will do great things for the People of God.

  

Please remember the example that Jesus gave His disciples in the mandatum or washing of feet at the Last Supper.  According to a commentary that I once read in preparation for a homily, no Jewish slave could be compelled to wash someone’s feet:

At the Last Supper, Jesus would have been the “host” and the apostles the “guests.” Washing the feet of weary travelers would have been a job delegated to a gentile slave by the host.  Not even a Jewish slave would be expected to wash feet. The host of a meal would certainly not lower himself to performing this vile task himself.

Yet we see in the Gospel how Jesus humbles himself to wash the feet of His disciples.  The God of Heaven and Earth who is responsible for us--His creatures—being here in the first place, not only became one of us (a human being) in Jesus, but He stooped to do something that not even a Jewish slave would do.  This washing of feet is an example of how Jesus poured Himself out for us—how He extended Himself for the sake of others.  It was a profound act of humility.  No wonder Peter would object to such an action!

Today is Father’s Day and I know it is bittersweet because of the recent passing of your father Michael. Our hope, as Christians, is that he be in heaven with God looking down on us and spiritually present with us now.  Now, you as a priest, you carry the title Father as a spiritual father to your people.

While your own mother, Patti is here to support you, do not forget to pray continually for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is your spiritual mother. She is the mother of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, and is mother of all priests.

As a former high school principal, I would frequently express the following sentiment to my graduating seniors:  Go out and Make me proud.   I say the same to you Fr. Anthony:  Make me proud.  Make your mother and father and family proud.  Make your Bishop proud.  Make your parishioners proud.  Make us all proud.  No pressure!

Ad multos annos.