The Catholic Business League is grateful to Andrew Ketch, a seminarian from the Diocese of Nashville, for sharing his experiences and insights with us during this morning’s Breakfast Meeting!
Ketch is one of more than 40 seminarians in the Diocese — making Nashville one of the largest dioceses in that regard — with several more seminarians set to join next year. During his time in the seminary, he has been exploring one central question: Why did God institute the priesthood? One signal, he explained, comes from the end of the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” From the sacred heart of Jesus and his concern for the people comes the indication of why He named the apostles, and later bishops and priests. And then from that sacred heart He gave those apostles the power to dispense the sacraments to those people.
Then, Ketch asked, from the opposite perspective: Why do men become diocesan priests? He explained that the fundamental motive, just as Matthew 9 reads, is concern for the people. Whereas monks aim to sanctify themselves and then pray for the rest of the world, Jesus’ call to the apostles to evangelize is the symbol of a diocesan priest.
That desire to evangelize, Ketch said, was clearly present for him as well. During his first confession upon his conversion to Catholicism, he felt a new life in his heart, and then he had the desire to do the same for others.
In addition to dispensing the sacraments, a priest’s fundamental purpose is to celebrate the Mass, Ketch added. Through the Mass, priests communicate the blessings which Jesus shared with His apostles, sharing those blessings in recompense for His own sins and those of the whole world. Ketch recalled a recent discussion with Carmelite priest Father Iain Matthew of England, who noted: “Just offering Mass is worthy of a man’s life.”
So what can we do? Ketch encouraged all of us to pray, fundamentally, for the priests, for seminarians, and for the continuation of vocations to the ministry. Encourage children and family members to practice the faith, offer your time and energy to support the priests in your parish – as priests have ideas on what to do but don’t always have the time or support to execute them.
Thank you, Andrew, for your thoughtful reflections! We would also like to thank CBL board member Deb Varallo (below, left) of Varallo Public Relations for sponsoring the meeting, as well as Dwayne Keller (right) for announcing the start of application window for the upcoming class of Leadership Catholic! We look forward to seeing all of you next month when we welcome Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding, J.C.L., Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville, for our next meeting on August 13!
