Fr. Paul Magnano 50th Anniversary of Ordination

Father Magnano, I want to express the affection and appreciation of everyone here today for you and your ministry on the occasion of your 50 ^th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination.  Those gathered here today represent so many others who were not able to attend. In particular, I wish to extend the personal greetings and salutations of Archbishop Sartain and Bishop Elizondo.  Archbishop Sartain sent the following note which he asked that I read on today’s occasion:

Fr. Magnano, in preparation for today’s celebration, I requested a listing of the various ministries you have served in during these past 50 years.  It was my hope that I might find one or two common threads among the various assignments around which I would create homily.  What I received was a 2 page listing of 52 assignments you have served in since you were ordained on December 21, 1967 by Bishop Reh in St. Peter’s Basilica.  There weren’t many common threads as I read through that list!  And if I tried to weave them all together we would be here for hours!  You have served the Church through a long and distinguished vocation in priestly ministry that stretches from the Chancery to College campuses.  From parishes to personnel, from Parochial vicar to Vicar General.  You have served the Church on islands and in the inner city.  Whether it be a remote community on the Olympic peninsula or an urban community of volunteer teachers with PACE, you have reached out to both. 

Much has happened since you first entered St. Edward seminary in Kenmore in 1960.  And now we are here with you more than 55 years later in Christ our Hope Parish – which you founded.  How appropriate it is that we are here because the one thread that stands out most clearly in your ministry as a priest is that of Hope.  I can relate to that.  Sometimes people ask me what I enjoy most about being a priest and I readily answered by saying, “I most enjoy giving people hope.”  You have given people hope both through your ministry and through his parish in particular.  A hope that is not based on human accomplishments but a hope that points to the power and presence of Christ.  A hope that you have studied and a hope that you have lived.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the disciples out on mission and as he does so, he is very clear about the purpose of their mission.  They, too, must be clear about their purpose lest they begin to seek their pursuits rather than those of the Lord. In short, Jesus sends them to give people hope.

We are specifically told that Jesus sent them to every town and place that he Himself was about to visit.  That’s a very important statement.  You see, it tells us that the mission of the first disciples is to prepare people to meet Jesus – that’s hope.  And that continues to be the mission of the Church today – to prepare the way of the Lord and prepare people to meet Jesus by recognizing, receiving, and responding to the presence of God in our lives.  That is your ministry as a priest Fr. Magnano – preparing People to meet Jesus – not just at the end of their lives but especially in the course of their lives.

Jesus is very specific about how this ministry of hopeful preparation is to be carried out.  It is to be composed of two things in particular:  First, the disciples are to alleviate human suffering.  Second, the disciples are to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  They will alleviate human suffering by ministering to those who are sick.  They will also alleviate human suffering by welcoming the stranger, the outcast, the immigrant, the poor, the blind, the crippled and the lame, the saint and the sinner.  They are to prepare people to meet Jesus by being ministers of his mercy in a wounded and imperfect world.  In doing so, people will desire to meet Jesus who is the source of that mercy and love for he alone can heal the deepest wounds of the human heart.  And secondly, the disciples are sent as witnesses of the Kingdom of God.  Every work of healing they accomplish is clearly a sign of God’s presence already permeating people’s lives.  It is that proclamation of God’s Kingdom that will fill the people with hope – the hope that God who comes to them in Jesus will restore their brokenness in all its forms; will set them free from every oppression of sin and addiction; will change the hearts of those who despise and disregard them; will love them as his very own brother and sister.  That is the power of hope – it allows us to live now in the joy of that world where every human longing will be fulfilled even though we currently remain in the daily struggles of an imperfect and sinful situation. 

But for the disciples’ ministry to be effective, Jesus gives them further instruction.  He tells them that people will find the message credible only when they find the messenger credible.  That is why our Lord commands them to bring only 1 tunic, to carry no money bag, and to not change houses but to eat what is set before them.  Each of these three commands are meant to directly affect the disciples’ lives and help them to be credible messengers of the Gospel. 

The command to bring only one tunic is a very powerful statement.  You see, in the time of Jesus, a person’s clothing was a symbol of their identity.  Sometimes people can have different identities, can’t they?  They can have one identity when they are praying in Church on Sunday morning… and another identity when they are in the office on Monday morning!  That duplicity of character causes a loss of credibility, doesn’t it?  Do you believe what someone says when they don’t live it?  Jesus didn’t want his disciples to have a divided heart or duplicity of character and so he tells them to bring only 1 tunic.  That integrity and sincerity is what makes the messenger credible so that people will believe the message.

The command to not carry a money bag is to distinguish Jesus’ disciples from other miracle healers and teachers of his time who charged for their services.  Our Lord wanted his disciples to be known as authentic by their generosity of spirit and their sacrificial service of others, not their self-seeking and self-gain.  As Jesus teaches in Mt 10:8, “The gift you have received, you are to give as a gift”.  And so the disciples must avoid every appearance of self-gain so that people can be gained for Christ alone. For that reason, they are to carry no money bag.

And finally, the command to stay in one house and eat what is put before you is to prevent disciples from giving into the human temptation to seek ever greater personal comfort and social prominence.  Rather than competing for better and better accommodations, Jesus tells them to not participate in the game of social competition.  Rather than being known for having the best and the fanciest, the biggest and most expensive, they are to be known for their simplicity and unassuming, even undemanding, character.  That, Jesus says, will give people hope that the meaning of life is not found in what we accumulate for ourselves in this life; rather, the meaning of life is found in what we give to God and to others for the sake of Christ.  That selfless detachment from comfort and control bears authentic witness to the reality of God’s Kingdom already present in a disciple’s life and attracts others to want that life for themselves.

Fr. Magnano, I mention these elements of our Lord’s teaching – both his instruction on the fundamental mission of the disciples as well as their personal characteristics of life – because they are the threads that have been consistently woven in your 50 years of priesthood.  Your ministry would not have been fruitful unless your personal life was an authentic witness of dedicated discipleship selflessly committed to Christ.

I recently asked someone why people choose to drive from all over the Seattle metro area to attend Christ our Hope Parish.  They said there are three primary reasons people come here: 

1. The Parish of Christ our Hope is welcoming
2. The homilies make sense – hopefully this one counts
3. The Parish of Christ our Hope lives their faith

Fr. Magnano, you have fostered each of those qualities in this parish.  You are preparing your parishioners to recognize, receive, and respond to Jesus present in their lives through your open embrace, welcoming spirit, and ministry of hospitality to all God’s children.  You proclaim the Kingdom of God in your preaching as you make the Gospel intelligible and relevant for people’s lives each day.  And you have led this parish to witness their faith in action so that they can be credible and authentic witnesses who are people of integrity, selflessness, and singleness of heart attracting others to their way of life in Christ.

It is truly exceptional to have spent oneself tirelessly for 50 years of very active ministry and yet to be filled with enthusiasm, creativity, and persistence.  But that is who you are, Fr. Magnano.  Rather than being wearied by decades of service, you are energized and ever more prepared, even inspired, for the future.  And for that, we thank God … and you. 

Well done, good and faithful servant.  As you celebrate this, your 50^th anniversary, know that I pray for you that you will always know the impact you are having in the lives of the people entrusted to your care.   And that you will offer to the Lord praise and thanksgiving for the honor and privilege of preparing others to meet him. 

In closing, I ask everyone here to make a personal commitment to pray for three things as part of today’s celebration.

First, Pray for Fr. Magnano both in Thanksgiving for his ministry and for God’s blessing on his continued ministry.

Second, Pray for all priests, deacons and religious especially in the Archdiocese of Seattle that we may always be faithful and generous disciples who tirelessly bring hope by preparing people to meet Jesus through our ministries and witness.

Third, Pray that God will call more young men to be priests in the Archdiocese of Seattle to carry on the many great works of the Gospel which have already begun.  And along with your prayer for God to call more young men to be priests, please also pray that they will hear and respond to that call with the generosity, freedom, faithfulness, and integrity and has been witnessed in the life and ministry of Fr. Magnano.

Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg