When I was ordained a deacon at the end of June, I thought I was going to be crying the whole ceremony. I didn’t cry at all. I was ecstatic to be ordained but the emotions weren’t as overwhelming as I expected.
In the few days after, I had a few experiences I would like to share.
My parents wanted to see Italy, so we travelled around a few days. We went to mass in a few different places. I assisted as a deacon. Each time I would make sure we were there 10 minutes early and go into the sacristy to introduce myself; then I found one odd thing: most of the time, they didn’t even ask me my name.
At first I thought it was a little strange. Mentioning it to mom, she wondered how they would prevent someone from faking it.
But then I thought about it. What mattered to these priests was not that I was Matthew P. Schneider but that I was a deacon on my way to becoming a priest. I felt a great union with these priests in the priesthood even though we never knew each others’ names.
It’s hard to describe since in most circumstances where two people are close they know each others’ names. (We even say they’re on a “first-name basis.”) The closest analogy I can think of is two soldiers who end up on the same battlefield defending each other and fighting off an enemy in a long firefight. All priests are configured with Christ and this forms a very close union between us.
I also began to think about the movement and the Legion. At times I have felt something similar when meeting another Legionary or member of Regnum Christi – we are united in spirit before we introduce ourselves. (Everyone in the movement who I felt such union with eventually introduced themselves unlike the priests.) This spiritual union can be a great source of strength for us in the movement and for priests.
