“It is of course most fitting for the ordination to the priesthood to occur within the context of the holy sacrifice of the Mass because this is the thing we associate the priesthood with and rightly so,” said Collins during his homily at the May 9 ordination ceremony at St. Michael’s Cathedral that saw Fr. David Twaddle, a native of Unionville, Ont., and Jamaican-born, Toronto-raised Fr. Ricardo Davis welcomed into the priestly fraternity.
“It is the Holy Eucharist that is our central point as disciples of Jesus Christ and so our most sacred moments are inserted into the Holy Eucharist.”
And while these men may call themselves members of the brotherhood of priests, the cardinal reminded them to never forget that it is not their priesthood.
“It is not my priesthood, it is the priesthood of Jesus Christ,” he said. “(And) to be a priest of Jesus Christ is a sublime vocation.”
Twaddle said standing at the front of a packed cathedral for the first time as a priest brought with it a unique sensation.
“Words can’t describe it,” he said. “To feel the love and the prayers of everybody in this cathedral church, it is a bit surreal. It was fantastic.”
Twaddle will now serve in Mississauga, Ont., at St. Francis Xavier Church.
Fellow St. Augustine’s Seminary alumni Davis said the Ordination Mass felt like putting the final piece into a jigsaw puzzle, finally revealing the full picture.
“It feels like all of the pieces of the puzzle are connected for the first time,” he said. “It feels overwhelming in a really good way. It just feels like such a good fit, a comfortable fit, like this is what I am meant to do.”
He will be posted to St. Patrick’s parish in Markham, Ont.
More than a thousand family, friends and well-wishers were in attendance including many clergy. Fr. Scott Birchall was among those welcoming the archdiocese’s latest priests. Birchall became “close friends” with the pair during their time together as seminarians.
“It truly is fantastic getting to welcome Fr. Dave and Fr. Rick into the brotherhood of priests,” said Birchall, one of seven ordained at the cathedral last May. “It is great to have them as brother priests.”