Bishop Kevin Farrell rocks!

As Old Oligarch noted, we had an opportunity to witness a deaconal ordination at the National Shrine on Saturday. It was the first time I have seen anything like that and I really enjoyed it. Five young men were ordained, 4 from the Dominicans (since Dominican House is right across the street) and one Franciscan. There were at least 40 priests in attendance, plus lots of monks and nuns. But the real treat was Bishop Farrell's homily. He informed the new deacons that they should above all, depend upon frequent reception of the Eucharist to provide them the graces they would need for their vocation. And that they should teach respect for Christ in the Eucharist, whether doing so made them "comfortable or uncomfortable." He spent at least 7 minutes emphasizing this aspect of their ministry. Fairly bold for a man who reports to Cardinal McCarrick.
Other good counsels he offered included frequent reading of the Bible to ensure that their decisions were informed by Christ's mentality rather than their own, and remembering that they are ordained not to be served but to serve.
I have written letters to Bishop Farrell, Bishop Aquila of Fargo, Archbishop Burke of St. Louis, and Archbishop Myers of Newark thanking them for their courage in defending the Eucharist. Hopefully I will need to write more in the coming weeks.