“You will be a Gift
of all God’s P
Three SHMS Men Ordained in the Archdiocese of Detroit
Jamie Gualdoni
O
n Saturday, June 8, the Vigil of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was at work as three men of the Archdiocese
of Detroit were ordained to the Sacred Priesthood. Receiving the sacrament were three Sacred
Heart Major Seminary graduates, Fr. John McKenzie, Fr. Adam Nowak, and Fr. Derik Peterman.
During his homily, Archbishop Allen
H. Vigneron, the celebrant of the Mass, re-
flected on the words from the day’s Psalm,
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
“We recognize in this ordination, your
consecration today, that every part of who
you are and what you think and what’s in
your heart is consecrated to this service.
Everything is given over by your ordina-
tion and you are willingly accepting that
today,” said Archbishop Vigneron. “This
holy order of the priesthood is given to you
16
men so that you will be a gift of all God’s
people. All of the graces of the people you
will serve are needed in your great work to
unleash the Gospel. Your grace is to lead
the people, to inspire them, to instruct
them, to offer no catechesis or teaching
that is without being evangelizing.”
At the conclusion of the Mass, Fr. Pe-
terman spoke on behalf of the newly
ordained and thanked all of those who
helped to make the day possible.
“We can’t express how filled we are with
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Summer 2019
both gratitude and amazement,” Fr. Peter-
man said of the call to the priesthood. “It
is a ministry that we are not worthy to take
on. But, like so many priests before us, we
offer to God the little we have so that he
may multiply it and by remaining in him,
it might bear much fruit.”
In addition to the ordinations for the
Archdiocese of Detroit, five 2019 graduates
of Sacred Heart were ordained priests for
other dioceses and orders. This spring 11
men were ordained transitional deacons.