Pirita Abbey, Tallinn, Estonia
May 29, 2021
Dear Eliasz family members who you came here from faraway Poland,
honorary Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, and dear brothers and sisters,
Today is a very extraordinary day in your life, dear Eliasz, a day that has arrived after years of studies and preparation. But what makes this day very special is that after this day there is no return.
Because your life is changing, because your life is dedicated and sacrificed to God.
I remember when I became a Deacon or even before that I had a visit to the head of my seminary and I told him that it had not been hard at all to become a priest. I had assumed it to be much more difficult but all had gone smoothly and I was ready for the job. The head of the seminary responded to me with a question - do not you know that bulls should be fatten before being taken to the slaughterhouse. It was that slightly cruel reaction but it helped me to better understand my calling in becoming a deacon.
Really, dear Eliasz, the easy era in your path to become a clergy is over now. and hard times start now. The time when you have to serve others and this is even in the title you are called now. You are serving and not the one who is served, you are serving all those who come to you, with no exception. And the time when the only person for whom you were responsible was you is over now and now you are like head of family, someone who has a big family, all church, all humankind and you should be in line with the expectations, to serve and never to feel ashamed to be serving. On the contrary - serving is our pride and joy, we do not want to be served and we do not want to have privileges. This is also what the Pope has said several times - priests and deacons are to serve and not to be served. Deacon is not a state official fulfilling some administrative tasks, and also not a social worker. No, instead deacon is a Christ and this is what is most important - he is Christ and lives in Christ.
Dear Eliasz, it is the first task that church hands you today, to be first of all like a Christ, attempt to live like a Christ. Do not be worried whether all you will say is correct or whether you do everything correctly, because when you live in Christ I can assure you your words will always be correct.
I remember once reading a story about former Anglican Priest John Henry Newman who became Catholic and is a Saint by now. He was still Anglican Priest and very respected Priest in Anglican Church but had already been long convinced that Catholic Church is the real Christian church but he had not taken the step to become a Catholic. The reason as he said was that he had not felt Catholic Church in England to be holy enough. And then one day he met Catholic Priest from Italy. That Priest told him he had dreamed all his life to become Cathoilic Priest in England, he had made attempts to learn English but his dream had failed because he was not successful enough to learn the language well enough. Sometimes God puts this kind of obstacles. So he met the Anglican Priest Newman and thanks to this conversation Newman felt he had found that missing holinnes in that Catholic Priest and because of that Newmn realised it was time to join Catholic Church that he did and by now, as I already noted he is Saint.
Dear Eliasz, this is why when you live with Christ you do not need to worry. Of course, you still need to learn more but you can be certain that your life will bear fruit. Try to feel the emotions of Christ in your heart, try to look at people around you through the eyes of Christ, both those who need you and who come to you and those who do not want to come to you. Always look at them like Christ could do. We do not know exactly how Christ spoke but most important is for you to try to speak like Christ is speaking through you. Let your homilies be like real conversations with Christ, a prayer, instead of being some hard structured talks trying to make some point to someone.
Try to keep your heart always like a heart of Christ, we should have big hearts where all have a place, those whom we like and those whom we perhaps do not feel that close, but to all we have to be a Father.
Heart of the Priest should be like the heart of Christ.
After becoming a Priest I spent some months in Spain and also worked there as much as I could. I remember a Priest there telling me that now that I was a Priest I should not take sides on whether I am for Real Madrid or Barcelona. That dilemma remained slightly hard to understand for me but in Spain it's real.
Priest can not be part of the problem, but has to be part of the solution and for the sake of that also abandon his own preferences and interests, in order to be one real Father to everyone.
People are very different. What is a big problem for one might not be a problem for another.
But you should always seek unity. Priests and a Deacon should be those who unite. Deacons are called to be very open to others, deacons are those who serve.
Pope Benedict XVI has liked to say that love is an eye and to love is to see others.
You should have an eye that sees when you are needed. When there is love you see all who need you, to love means to see those who are poor, both in terms of being poor in materialistic terms and poor spiritually, go to them.
When you have love in your heart you have eyes. Priests and deacons should be the kind of persons who see the needs of people.
I am sure that you are skilled to be like that very well, both with those who live with you in seminary and with all others.
Love this nation and this culture where God has called you.
Dear Eliasz, this is what you should be.
To get adapted with all. to understand everyone. To become weak is sometimes a sign of strength, to make itself weak to win over those who are weak.
It does not mean Priest should be weak, Priest is strong to make himself weak if needed, for love of others.
For the conclusion we trust you to Virgin Mary. Estonia is the land of Mary, Maarjamaa. Most of all those who have gathered here before the 16th century knew that Estonia is land of Mary, land of Holy Virgin Mary. I do not know whether anyone has been made a deacon here on Mass before at this Pirita Abbey but in any case you have the privilege to turn to Virgin Mary for blessing, to ask her to guard you, to help you when you serve her land. We by ourselves do not have the might to do anything, but with the help of God we can do a lot. Nobody can lead others before serving others first like you are doing it from now on.
Amen.