Pope Leo ordained eleven men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rome on May 31. In his homily at the Mass, he had some beautiful and insightful thoughts on the Catholic priesthood. He remarked, “The Church is extroverted by nature, as were the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In every Eucharist, you will make his words your own: for you and for all.” He emphasized that priests are called to be “not masters, but guardians of the truth, because the mission belongs to Jesus.” Priests, Pope Leo said, are to keep in mind “that a priest’s identify is rooted in union with Christ, the eternal and high priest.”
As I read these words I reflected on my pilgrimage to Poland in May. I accompanied the four-man choral Floriani who sang at the National Eucharistic Congress last July in Indianapolis. They use their incredible talent to sing magnificent sacred music from the rich patrimony of the Church. The eight days we spent travelling around southern Poland in places like Krakow, the great Marian shrines of Czestochowa and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Wadowice the birthplace of Pope St. John II, and the Talmas Mountains, they sang at our daily Masses and concerts. For them, their singing is not simply a performance. Rather, it is a sacrifice of praise and prayer coming for the heart.
There was another special grace for me in this pilgrimage. I was able to reconnect with my dear priest friend of 36 years, Father Leszek Harasz. He and I first met on Monday of Holy Week in 1989. As a seminarian studying in Rome, I travelled to Poland for the first time to fulfill a dream I long desired. I arrived in Krakow with little money and no place to stay. I went to the seminary, knocked on the door asking for a room and in short order met the seminarians. Leszek was one of those seminarians and we became fast friends. Through the years we have kept in touch by letter, then email, and then by text and phone. We visited one another. I visited Poland many times. Father Leszek came to visit me in a parish in the Diocese of Harrisburg in 1997 and for my episcopal consecration here in Pittsburgh. We have shared many things through the years, our ordinations, feast days, death of loved ones and most of all constant prayers for one another.
Father Leszek exemplifies profoundly the message of Pope Leo about priesthood. He has always gone out for himself to welcome me into his life, his family, his circle of friends and his priestly work. I came to know his parents intimately and to call his friends my own. All that he does finds its origin in the Paschal Mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
In the Masses that Father Leszek and I offered together through the years, I saw his deep and unshakable faith in the Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist as we took the words of Jesus to be our own as we pronounced the words of consecration.
I have witnessed in his life that his identity as a priest rests on the firm foundation of his beautiful relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, as he took me throughout Poland to the many shrines and churches dedicated to Our Lady and the saints, I shared his deep love for the Mother of God, who is our Mother. Each time I speak with him by phone, he always reminds me “your Mother waits for you” referring to our visit to her shrine at Czestochowa. He has taught me love for the priesthood, the Church, and God’s holy people. From his visits to hundreds of homes for the Epiphany Blessing each year in January to his dedicated work with youth, his witness to pastoral charity has never ceased to inspire me.
Father Leszek has always embraced me in fraternal charity and shared our priestly bond in a generous and warm manner. He lives the marvelous admonition of Jesus, “Greater love than this has no man that a man lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13).
I believe that it was no coincidence that I knocked on the door of the seminary in Krakow during Holy Week of 1989. It was in God’s Providence that a door to Poland and a most wonderful and fulfilling friendship would open for me. I pray that there will be many more years of brotherly sharing for me and Father Leszek.
As he and I spent several days together just a week ago, I reflected on what this friendship with a fellow priest has meant to me. We shared joys and sorrows, challenges, and victories. On days when I felt very alone, rejected and ignored, I would think of a humble, Christ-centered Polish priest who remembers me every day at Mass and lifts me up as his rosary beads pass through his fingers. There I know that I am cared for, respected, and remembered. He has been a tangible reminder of God’s love for me. Then, supported and loved by my long-distance brother, I can go on as I pray for him and thank the Great High Priest for such a gift in my life.
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh