Until you really know and comprehend who you are, in the ultimate sense, you cannot at all understand what you are to do!

Rather, I mean something objective, a free gift from God that comes through the sacrament of Holy Orders. In other words, priestly identity comes from priestly character, the unique configuration to the person of Jesus given to each of us unworthy recipients as a grace for us and, through us, the whole Church.

Are we not living in an age known more for emotion than reason, for tolerance than truth, for endless seeking than solid answers?

As a priest, the notion of who Jesus is has to be central in my life of prayer and service. If I am to be, by my ordination, an alter Christus (another Christ), I must strive to understand who Jesus is. Only then can I serve in Jesus’ name as his priest.

I am convinced that good theology leads to holiness of life, and holiness of life leads to a fruitful pastoral life of ministry and evangelization.

Whatever is taken up is not just redeemed, but becomes an instrument of the Spirit for enlightening and renewing the world.3

When certain categories of reason and the sciences are taken up into the proclamation of the message, these categories then become tools of evangelization; water is changed into wine.