SAN DIEGO — “Father.”
That’s how you can address Brian Frulla, Anthony Jimenez and Jesse Lopez from now on.
Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano ordained the three men to the priesthood during a Mass on June 14 at St. Thérèse of Carmel Church.
On July 1, the newly ordained will begin their first assignments as associate pastors.
Father Frulla, 28, will serve at St. Therese Parish in Del Cerro, while Father Jimenez, 43, has been assigned to St. John of the Cross Parish in Lemon Grove, and Father Lopez, 44, to St. Mark Parish in San Marcos.
Bishop Bejarano began his homily with a lighthearted anecdote.
“Several years ago, while I was greeting the people after Mass, a 2-year-old child ran toward me and hugged my legs,” the bishop said. “He looked at me and asked, ‘Are you God?’”
The bishop recalled his initial confusion, before the boy’s parents explained that they had told him that morning that they were going to church to see God. It was simply a case of mistaken identity.
“I’m not God, but I work for him,” Bishop Bejarano had told the child. Laughter rippled across the packed church as he recounted the situation..
To the three transitional deacons about to be ordained to the priesthood, and to their relatives and friends who had gathered to celebrate their big day, he offered a serious lesson drawn from that humorous encounter.
“Of course, priests are not God,” Bishop Bejarano acknowledged. “But, for the gift and ministry bestowed on them, they must be an image of our loving God to the world.”
Directly addressing the ordinandi, as candidates for ordination are called in Latin, he said, “Today, you are receiving and embracing the ministerial priesthood of Christ to shepherd, teach and sanctify the people entrusted to your care. You are ordained not for a few, but for the whole Church. In the words of Pope Francis, for ‘todos, todos, todos.’”
“You are ambassadors for Christ, bringing hope and reconciliation to the world,” he told them.
He asked them, “How do we do this?”
“By surrendering to the grace of the Holy Spirit and serving with joy and love. In the Gospel, we hear how the heart of Jesus was moved with pity seeing the crowds. Your heart must be moved in the same way every time you see another human person, no matter his race, his social status, background, personal upbringing, or way of life.
“Jesus always encountered others where they were. He touched the leper; spoke to the Samaritan woman; met with Nicodemus in secret; sat at the dinner table with Matthew, the tax collector; allowed a woman with a bad reputation to anoint his feet; and he did not throw a stone (at) the adulterous woman.
“Be with the sheep and do not be afraid to smell like them,” he continued, referencing another quote from the late Pope Francis.
Bishop Bejarano offered insight into what the future might hold for Fathers Frulla, Jimenez and Lopez, and he gave them some advice based on his own experience.
“In your priestly life, there will be disappointing times, experiences of loneliness, or feeling exhausted or troubled,” he said. “Always remember to look at Jesus. Sometimes, just calling the name of Jesus can be a powerful prayer.”
He shared that he has a crucifix hanging from his car’s rear-view mirror and, whenever, it turns away from him, he turns it back and says, “Jesus, don’t look that way. I need you to look at me.”
The bishop also emphasized the importance of “fraternity,” reminding the three men that they share “a common spirit and ministry with your brother priests.”
He also encouraged a relationship with the Blessed Mother.
“Be close to Mary, mother of priests,” he said. “She is our model of discipleship. By personal experience, I can tell you that she will keep you protected in the heart of her Son, Jesus.”
After the Mass, the new priests moved into the parish hall, where relatives and friends lined up to receive one of the very first blessings each of them would give over their years of service.
Father Michael J. Sinor was the spiritual director of the three over the last five years as they prepared for their vocations at the St. Francis Center for Priestly Formation. After the ordination Mass, he reflected on the occasion and his journey with each of the men.
“This was a beautiful, beautiful thing for me on so many levels,” he said.
Father Sinor said the men “bring a lot of gifts. These guys have a lot of passion and a lot of goodness in them; they radiate Jesus.
“I was blessed to be able to walk with them as they made a decision to give away their life to God and to the People of God,” he continued.
He marveled at the number of people who had squeezed into every seat in the pews for the Mass and had stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the back walls – “this whole mix of people all coming together as one, being in the same heart for this particular service.”
Father Sinor is retiring after 37 years as a priest. He was ordained in 1988 and, two years later, was assigned to the diocese’s seminary, where he worked as a spiritual director for five years. Then he worked at several parishes across the diocese before returning to the seminary, where he served the last seven years as spiritual director.
He said simply of his last assignment, “I really enjoyed the work.”
Aida Bustos contributed to this article.
