New priests feel ‘joy,’ ‘blessed,’ ‘at peace’ following June 6 ordination in the archdiocese

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson prays the eucharistic prayer with newly ordained Father Khaing Thu, left, Father Samuel Hansen and Father Timothy Khuishing during their ordination Mass on June 6 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

Transitional Deacon Timothy Khuishing admitted he had felt “a little bit nervous” when he awoke on June 6, and transitional deacons Sam Hansen and Deacon Khaing Thu hadn’t slept well.

But by about noon, there were no nerves or yawns. Instead, Father Hansen said he felt “great joy and anticipation,” Father Khuishing felt “very, very excited and very blessed,” and Father Thu felt “at peace”—wonderful words to hear from three men who had just been ordained as priests for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Roughly 1,100 people filled SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis for the Mass in which Archbishop Charles C. Thompson ordained the new priests. About 110 priests from throughout the archdiocese and beyond concelebrated with him. (See a photo gallery from the Mass)

At the start of the rite of ordination, the archbishop began his homily by addressing the congregation.

“These men, their families, their parishes, those entrusted with their formation, our own vocation team—we have every good reason to be grateful today,” he said. “No one gets to this point on his own.”

From that point, Archbishop Thompson directly addressed the three men about to be ordained.

‘Sent to serve rather than be served’

He first noted the identity of a priest is lived out “within the context of the people he serves,” the archbishop said. “Being set apart does not mean that the priest is to live in isolation, but to realize the uniqueness of his life and ministry among the people of God … .”

Archbishop Thompson quoted several lines from Pope Leo XIV’s homily during last year’s priestly ordination Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Among them was this statement, also addressing isolation:

“Like Jesus, you meet real people whom the Father places on your path. Consecrate yourselves to them without separating, isolating or turning the gifts you receive into a privilege.”

Archbishop Thompson then spoke about the rituals that would soon take place.

“May the gesture of laying on of hands with which Jesus welcomed children and healed the sick renew the liberating power of his messianic ministry within you,” he told the three men. “As we are reminded by the rite of ordination, those ordained are sent to serve rather than be served.”

As men “reflecting the order of Melchizedek,” priests “belong to something greater than ourselves,” Archbishop Thompson noted. “All that we are and do, as instructed by Jesus in the Gospel [reading from John 15], must be grounded in love that finds an expression in keeping the commandments and striving for communion with God as well as one another.”

He advised the three men to “keep in mind that our best is not so much realized in any human merit or personal gift and talent … but more fully, in the grace of holy orders, that enables us to lead others to a personal encounter with the saving power of Jesus Christ.

“As a member of a wounded Church, Pope Leo reminds, the priest is not perfect but must stand among the people as a credible witness. Only by the grace of God can this be so, and so it is, for those being ordained today.

“We thank you for your witness. We assure you of our prayers.”

‘It’s just such a joyful occasion’

Priestly ordinations at the cathedral are always a feast for the senses—the swelling of sacred music, incense rising to the ceiling.

But the June 6 ordination was particularly striking. Many in the congregation wore clothes in the vivid colors and patterns of their native Myanmar (formerly Burma), the same country Father Khuishing and Father Thu fled with their families as refugees in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The first reading was proclaimed in Burmese. And to honor these native sons, a Burmese choir sang during the Communion meditation. In it were members from the three Indianapolis parishes with Burmese communities: St. Barnabas, St. Pius X and St. Mark the Evangelist—the home parish of Father Khuishing, Father Thu and their families.

With his uncle Ki Shing from Dallas translating before the Mass began, Father Khuishing’s dad Augustine Thangtam said he felt “very, very happy and proud,” and his mother Mary Khova felt “blessed to offer her son and any of her children to God’s service.”

More than words, the couple’s beaming smiles and bright eyes expressed the fullness in their hearts.

The same was true for Father Thu’s parents.

“We feel very happy,” said Victor Luizi Kolo. “I cannot explain how much it is, but we feel very much here,” he said, touching his heart. Father Thu’s mother Judith Yee Yee Win was “happy and excited” and felt “very blessed.”

“Happy” was a theme for Joseph Hansen and his wife Gina as well.

“It’s such a joyful occasion for us, for Sam, for St. Roch,” the Hansen family’s and Father Hansen’s home parish in Indianapolis, said Joseph. “He’s at peace and he’s extremely happy, and that makes us happy.”

Gina admitted she had moments of worry “in the past weeks. But today, I’m just super excited. … It’s just a wonderful moment for all of us.”

One person expressed pride in all three young men.

“We could not be more proud of Khaing, Timothy and Sam,” Chuck Weisenbach, president of Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, said of the three Roncalli alumni. (Related story: New priests begin ministry with a deep root of friendship)

“Many members of our faculty and staff have been lifting up the three of them in prayer throughout their time of formation,” he noted. “And our school included each of them in our prayers of petition at each all-school liturgy.”

Father Thu said those prayers and the prayers of many others were of paramount importance to him.

‘You will be a priest forever’

In an interview after the Mass, Father Thu said his favorite part of the Rite of Ordination was the Litany of Supplication, when those to be ordained lie prostrate on the floor in the sanctuary as all in heaven are called upon to pray for them.

“I was just lying there, helpless and open to the prayers of the communion of saints,” he said. He also felt the prayers of those in the cathedral, in Myanmar “and my relatives who came before me,” said Father Thu. He felt their presence, “knowing that they are with me, united to me, one way or another. …

“I may have my weaknesses, my flaws,” he added. “But the prayers—and God through this sacrament of the priesthood—are going to sustain and assist me in carrying out my priestly duties faithfully, diligently, with devotion, love and joy.”

Father Thu will begin his assignment as parochial vicar of St. Michael Parish in Greenfield and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Fortville on July 1.

That same day, Father Khuishing will start as parochial vicar of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg.

Reflecting on the Mass, he was struck by the recurrence of a certain verse: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4).

“This whole week, I’ve been praying and preparing with those words,” said Father Khuishing. “Just like, ‘I will be a priest forever, part of the priesthood forever, of Christ forever.’ ”

So, he was “overwhelmed” when the words appeared in the second reading from Hebrews chapter 5, in the archbishop’s homily and in the singing of words from Psalm 110 during the rite of ordination.

Now that he was ordained, the priest said he was filled with “joy and peace.”

Father Hansen also shared his thoughts before crossing the street to the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center to join his two new brother priests at a reception there.

“Whenever I’ve heard Archbishop Thompson talk about the community of the presbyterate, that always gets me,” he said. “I just am happy to part of that brotherhood, and just to think about the priesthood for the sake of humility.

“It’s like the archbishop said in the homily, that priests are called to serve. Seeing this [vocation] not as a status but as my path to heaven, that’s what’s most important to me,” said Father Hansen.

He will start as a parochial vicar at St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis on July 1. But he already performed his first act of his call to serve on June 6.

“I offered the [ordination] Mass for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis,” said Father Hansen. “I’m very thankful to be where I am.”

(For more photos from the June 6 ordination Mass, visit CriterionOnline.com. For more information about a vocation to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, visit HearGodsCall.com.) †

 

Related: See more photos that appeared in The Criterion's printed edition