The cool interior of the Cathedral of St. Andrew offered welcome relief from the heat as family and friends gathered there for the ordination Mass of Father Andrew Hart July 21.
With the church packed to overflowing, a crowd of parishioners from Christ the King Church in Little Rock, well-wishers and family members looked for a good vantage point to witness this long-awaited celebration.
Present for the event, Francie Ross and her husband, Tom, have known the Hart family — parents Robert and Evelyn, sister Rosemary, and brother Stephen — for more than two decades as members of Christ the King Church.
"Our parish has held Father Andrew in our hearts and prayers for many years. So many of us have known him all these years and watched him grow from a young seminarian to a priest," she said. "I believe our entire parish is so thankful that our prayers are answered in the ordination of Father Andrew."
Father Hart is the first "homegrown" parishioner to become a priest in the parish's 46-year history. The parish currently has five seminarians, including Father Hart's brother.
As quiet settled over the people, musicians and the cathedral choir performed Bach's "Cantata 140: Zion Hears the Watchmen Singing" as a prelude to the Mass while the participants in the entrance procession — seminarians, deacons, priests and Bishop Anthony B. Taylor — assembled to start the ordination Mass.
The musical compositions of Bach, Goudimel, Tallis, Palestrina and Mozart were chosen by Father Hart especially for the Mass. Participating as lectors were his siblings.
After the opening prayers of the Mass and Scripture readings, the rite of ordination took place. The first step in this rite was the election of the candidate.
It was at this point that the candidate was presented by a priest charged with his formation and who speaks to the candidate's worthiness as a priest. Msgr. Scott Friend, vocations director, assumed that role in the presentation and was followed by the bishop's statement of acceptance and applause from those in attendance.
In his homily, Bishop Taylor encouraged people to see the reading in John 15:9-17 in terms of selflessness, especially for the elect entering the priesthood through ordination.
"The priest is another Christ offering the Eucharist. Christ was the sacrifice and the priest simulates Christ to act as an oblation for our redemption and expiation of our sins," Bishop Taylor said. "You did not choose to be a priest. Christ called you to be a priest and you responded to the call with courage. May God bless you and may God bless us through you for many years to come."
The rite of ordination also included the Promise of the Elect, the Litany of Supplication where the elect prostrates himself before the altar and the laying of hands. The newly ordained priest was clothed in the stole and the chasuble by his former pastor, Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert of Albuquerque, N.M.
Father Hart's mother, Evelyn, said Msgr. Hebert also baptized Father Hart as an infant. "This was such a gift to Andrew," she said.
With the sign of peace, the bishop and other priests shared the fraternal sign of peace with Father Hart, welcoming him as a member of the presbyterate.
The following morning Father Hart celebrated his first Mass at Christ the King Church to a standing-room only crowd.
"For my Mass of Thanksgiving at Christ the King, taking the bread and the chalice in my hands for the first time and pronouncing the words of consecration was something I'll never forget," he said.
In his first assignment as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception in Fort Smith, Father Hart said he is looking forward to learning about his new parish and the parishioners "and serving them in any way I can."
"I know they will have a lot to teach me and I am excited to get started," he said.
