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The Lord continues to call: ‘You shall be My witnesses’ by Fr. Paul Arinze, director of vocations
MADISON — With praise and thanksgiving to God, our Father, the Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, announces with joy the ordination to the priesthood of Jesus Christ of Rev. Mr. Jorge Antonio Miramontes-Medina and Rev. Mr. Timothy John Renz.
The ordination will take place on Friday, May 6, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison.
St. Maria Goretti Church is wheelchair accessible. There will be assistive-listening devices for the hard-of-hearing and a sign language interpreter for the deaf. Large-print leaflets will be available.
Rev. Mr. Jorge Antonio Miramontes-Medina: Reflections on Ordination
Deacon Jorge Antonio Miramontes-Medina
Parents: Maria and Jorge Miramontes
Home parish: Holy Redeemer Parish, Madison
Educational background:
- Grade school: Mexico City.
- High school: Robert F. Kennedy and Instituto Oriente, both in Mexico City.
- College/degree: MATC Truax/Associate Degree in Graphic Design
- Seminary/degrees: Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Mich./Bachelor in Philosophy, Master of Divinity, and Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.)
Intern experiences: Summer intern at St. Aloysius Parish, Sauk City; St. John Vianney Parish, Janesville; St. Patrick Parish, Lodi, and St. Michael Parish, Dane.
Deacon placement: St. James and St. Joseph Parishes, Madison; St. Linus Parish, Dearborn Heights, Mich.
Clinical experience: Marywood Nursing Home and Angela Hospice, Livonia, Mich.
First Mass of Thanksgiving: Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Church, Madison
“And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ…” (Eph. 4:11-13).
One day long ago, I attended a workshop on deliverance from evil spirits. During a moment of prayer for deliverance I “heard” repeatedly in my heart with every beat of it the word “priest.” Almost immediately I asked the Lord for a reason as to why he was calling me. The Lord answered me with the Scripture passage cited above.
St. Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians when he was in captivity in Rome. A purpose for the letter was to encourage unity in the Church through love expressed in the complete surrender of the self to God and others.
We are in captivity in this world ruled by the devil. However, the Lord came to deliver and save us from Satan and to install his kingdom. The Lord needs our help to build his kingdom. It is only through spiritual warfare and many years of preparation and trials that we can become mature enough men and women to the extent of being transformed into Christ himself for the building up of his kingdom. This is what my discernment process and my seminary years have been: preparation, purification, spiritual warfare, and enough maturation in him not only for my benefit but to help the Lord unite his Church into the beautiful, mature mystical body he meant it to be through the complete surrender of myself for love.
After the Pauline event I had just experienced, I sat down on a stairwell near the entrance of the school where the workshop was taking place to reflect on the event. I looked up and right there across from me was an image of a smiling John Paul II painted on the wall. Through grace I immediately realized that it had been his fault. He had always prayed for more workers for the vineyard and that they would not be afraid to follow the Lord. He had prayed for me and I felt loved by God through his vicar on earth. I have no doubt I can call myself a John Paul II vocation. For all this I am very happy that my ordination (May 6) will be so close to the date when JPII will be beatified (May 1).
Finally, I encourage you to invite those men in our domestic church, your homes, to discern the will of God for their lives. Seminary formation began at home for me through the faithful Christian witness of my grandmother Marie, my mother Maria, through the love and support of my father Jorge, and the patience and encouragement of my brothers.
Please pray for Deacon Tim and me this week that with the help of God we may become the holy, trustworthy priests the Lord meant us to be.
I will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Church in downtown Madison. Please join me in any way you can in giving thanks to God through Mary and the saints for the gift of a new life in Christ for the building of his body on earth.
Rev. Mr. Timothy John Renz: Reflections on Ordination
Deacon Timothy John Renz
Parents: Jane and John Renz, Jefferson
Home parish: St. John the Baptist, Jefferson
Educational background:
- Grade school: St. John the Baptist School, Jefferson (kindergarten); East Elementary School, Jefferson (grades one to six); Jefferson Middle School, Jefferson (grades seven to eight)
- High school: Jefferson High School, Jefferson
- College/degree: University of Wisconsin-Madison/Bachelor of Science degree in management and human resources
- Seminary/degrees: Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Mich./Bachelor in Philosophy, Master of Divinity, and Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.)
Intern experiences: Summer intern at St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison; St. Mary Parish, Pine Bluff; and St. Aloysius Parish, Sauk City.
Deacon placement: St. Mary Parish, Platteville, and St. Peter Parish, Madison; Immaculate Conception Parish, Lapeer, Mich.
Clinical experience: St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Marywood Nursing Home, and Angela Hospice, all in Livonia, Mich.
First Mass of Thanksgiving: Sunday, May 8, at 1 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, Jefferson
As I reflect on my upcoming ordination, I recall a warm spring day in Jefferson as I was standing on the lawn of the St. Lawrence rectory looking across the highway at the church.
I was living with my parents because I was recently transferred from a paint store in Madison to one in Waukesha. We were living in the rectory because we had a house fire and Fr. Tom Coyle and the St. Lawrence Parish were gracious enough to let us live there.
I did a lot of discernment on that lawn, but this day I made up my mind that seminary would have to wait. I would go back to school to be certified to teach and if the Lord wanted me to be a priest, he would make it clear. Little did I know that the Lord would make it clear that evening.
I had been meeting with Bishop Bullock for about six weeks as he helped me discern whether I should go to seminary. He had asked me a couple weeks previously if I would like to go to the ordination of the soon to be Frs. Eric Sternberg and Michael Radowicz. I had agreed and figured it was too late to back out. I would go to the ordination and tell the bishop emeritus later of my new plans.
At the ordination I met many priests and seminarians and when they would hear that I was discerning the priesthood, they would tell me something about their discernment process. Every comment that was made struck a chord within me. It was like they were telling me about my own journey of discernment.
On top of this, the beauty of the ordination liturgy was inspirational. After the bishop had dropped me off at my car and I was driving home, I went over all the conversations that I had that night. I was deeply moved by how the Lord was showing me that He was calling me to be a priest. I truly felt that God was communicating with me. It took a couple years of further discernment to confirm this calling, but the proximate decision was made; I was going to apply to be a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison.
Six years later I recognize that the Lord was asking me to give up some of the freedoms I had living in the world in order to be truly free to hear Him speak and free to say “yes” to Him. The Lord has given me the grace to complete six years of formation with peace and joy.
As my nerves start acting up as ordination approaches, I know from experience that I can trust in the Lord; I know that He cannot be outdone in generosity and that He will give me the grace to do His will as long as I stay close to Him.
Please pray for Deacon Jorge and me as we make this transition into priestly ministry. I pray that all of you may know the love our Lord has for each one of you and that you may know His peace and joy in this life and the next.