Newly ordained diocesan priest ready for a new journey with Christ

    “Then (Jacob) had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God’s angels were going up and down on it. . .When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this place and I did not know it!’. . .This is nothing else but the house of God, the gateway to heaven!” 
-    Genesis 28:12-17

    GARY – The image of a ladder leading up to heaven featured in a dream the biblical patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis was especially appropriate as Father Jacob John Paul William McDaniel was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Gary on June 6 at Cathedral of the Holy Angels.
    “This biblical image of the ladder of Jacob has a direct application to today because the priesthood is a bridge, a ladder, between heaven and earth,” said Bishop Robert J. McClory in his homily at the ordination Mass. “So in receiving this great gift, the sacrament of Holy Orders to the Priesthood, you’ll be not just a priest, but an image of Jacob’s ladder.”
    In the Gospel of John, explained the bishop, Jesus takes upon himself the image of Jacob’s ladder and “inserts himself as the one who fulfills this image ... and it is his priesthood that will be conferred upon you today.”
    Listening intently, then-Deacon McDaniel joined the congregation, limited by social distancing restrictions, in laughter as Bishop McClory, ordained to the episcopate on Feb. 11, noted that he has preached about Jacob’s ladder “at every Mass when I have ordained a priest.” 
    The bishop outlined the three roles of a priest for his first apostolic successor: to sanctify, “to make holy and administer the sacraments;” to teach, “to share God’s word;” and to shepherd, “to lead, to direct the flock so they will fulfill their mission and destiny as disciples of Jesus Christ.”
    Connecting the Scripture readings to those roles, the bishop reminded Father McDaniel that he is being anointed, “to bring Good News to the afflicted, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive, to announce a year of favor from the Lord, to comfort all who mourn, and to give them a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
     “As a shepherd, as we lead our flock ... it’s not simply that you’re pointing people to get to heaven, and we’re just running out the clock until that happens…rather it’s both leading people to heaven and, to the extent that we can in an imperfect world, bringing heaven down here, and as you shepherd your people, to be a vessel encouraging all of us, not just to await a destiny in the hereafter, but to bring more and more of heaven on earth so that the kingdom of God can be open to a world that needs to know Jesus,” explained the bishop.
    “Ever keep in mind the necessity of evangelization,” added the bishop. “We’re in mission territory now, more than we might even realize, because in an age of self-sheltering, in an age of those who might be tempted to have a bleak outlook on the world, we have a message of hope.”
    “You’re being given a great gift, what a beautiful gift,” said the bishop, thanking Father McDaniel’s family and formation team. “This is a day to celebrate, this is a day that we have been looking forward to. Thank you, Jacob, for your discernment, for your open heart, for saying ‘yes’ to the gift of the priesthood.”
    The formal rite of ordination began with the presentation of the candidate by Father David Kime, diocesan vocation director, attesting to his worthiness, followed by his formal Election by the Bishop and the Promises of the Elect for Ordination. 
    One of the most important rituals is the praying of the Litany of the Saints aloud by the congregation as the candidate lies prostrate in front of the altar. “I asked God to make me a good priest and prayed for my family, friends and all the people present,” Father McDaniel said of that experience.
    Bishop McClory, followed by the two dozen diocesan priests in attendance, then took turns laying hands on the elect’s head as they prayed for him.
    The investiture of the stole and chasuble by Father Declan McNicholas, chosen for that role by Father McDaniel just a year after his own ordination, was another highlight. “Father Jacob and I have been very close for the past six years, and it was a great honor,” said Father McNicholas. “We’re brother priests now.”
    The ceremonies continued with the Anointing of Hands with sacred chrism by the bishop, and the presentation to the bishop of the offertory bread, paten and wine by Father McDaniel’s parents, Mark and Sharon McDaniel. The bishop, in turn, presented the gifts to the newly ordained priest as a symbol of his ministry, followed by the Kiss of Peace embrace by Bishop McClory, Bishop Emeritus Dale J. Melczek - celebrating the 56th anniversary of his own priestly ordination - and each of priests.
    Concelebrating the rest of the Mass with the bishop, Father McDaniel gave his first priestly blessings to the bishops and his parents and family at the conclusion, then greeted guests with individual blessings after Mass. 
    For Sharon McDaniel, “The highlight of the ordination for me was seeing Jacob lying on the floor before the altar, giving himself to God.” 
    Mark McDaniel said he thought back during the Mass to his son’s premature birth 28 years ago, when the baby’s future was in doubt. “And this is what we have now; I am so proud,” said the father of three sons, Jacob, Nathan and Garrett.
    Deacon James Guarascio, one of four of Father Jacob’s classmates from Mundelein Seminary in attendance, said, “I felt blessed to be here and just be able to pray for Jacob and offer communion for him and all the people he will be able to bring to Christ.” Classmate Deacon Michael Groth who, like Deacon Guarascio, was ordained on June 20 for the Diocese of Joliet. Ill., called Father Jacob “a good storyteller, which will serve him well in writing homilies.” 
    Father Rick Nagel, chaplain at IUPUI, where Father McDaniel earned his undergraduate degree, recalls Father McDaniel discerning his vocation as a college student living in a formation house. “This is glorious,” he said. “He looks so happy, so like himself, and he’s so confident.”
    Deacon Bill Hathaway of St. Edward parish, Lowell, the Gospel reader, said, “I see Father Jacob as being very social and pleasant and pastoral, but also as having a very deep knowledge of his faith that will serve him very well.”
    Father Martin Dobrzynski, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel parish in Schererville, where Father McDaniel will serve as associate pastor starting July 1, said, “I hope, during his first assignment, that Father Jacob gets confident with being a priest and what that means – the blessings and all the demands on his time and patience. That’s my job, to show him the priestly experience.”
    Father McDaniel described his ordination as “incredible. I can’t wait to be able to serve, especially the people of St. Michael the Archangel. This is the conclusion of a long journey, and the beginning of a new one with Christ.”