Fr. James’s First Mass
Today we were blessed to attend the first Mass of Thanksgiving of newly ordained Fr. James Misko! Fr. Jamie was ordained yesterday morning along with two others from our diocese.
I fondly remember the first time I started going to daily Mass at St. Louis–and ever since then–we would always pray for vocations to the priesthood and especially for James Misko. And as I think of it now, St. Louis is the only local parish we’ve ever gone to that specifically prayed for its seminarians by name. That close connection filled the church this morning.
The Mass was incredible as it should be for the feast of Corpus Christi. For St. Louis it was the equivalent of a Christmas Mass or Easter Vigil–full choir, organ and trumpets. It was beautiful.
The opening hymn was “O God Beyond All Praising.” It’s one of our favorite hymns. In particular it has always been a source of strength in my vocation perhaps because we also used it in our wedding Mass. But it has always seemed fitting to me as a beautiful song to use as one enters into a new state in life whether it be a change in vocation, bearing the sufferings or joys of your vocation, or entering into eternal life with our Lord. The words say it all:
O God beyond all praising we worship You today.
We sing a love amazing that words cannot repay.
For we can only wonder at every gift You send,
At blessings without number and mercies without end.
We raise our hearts before You and wait upon Your word.
We honor and adore You our great and mighty Lord.
Then hear O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring
That we who know Your favor may serve You as our King.
And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,
We’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless You still.
We marvel at Your beauty and wonder in Your ways
We make our joyful duty this sacrifice of praise!