AUGUST 2018

A call to love and serve
Thousands witnessed two priestly ordinations at Mother of God Cathedral
BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO
This past June, thousands of people witnessed
Fadie Gorgies and John Bardeleon Jaddou
being ordained as priests at Mother of God
Cathedral in Southfield. More than 1,000 people
attended in person and thanks to technology, thousands
more watched it LIVE on Facebook through
ECRC’s Mar Toma Productions, directed by Fadi
Attisha. The two were the 3rd and 4th seminarians
to be ordained under His Excellency Bishop
Francis Kalabat.
Clergy from both the Chaldean Diocese and
Archdiocese of Detroit were present including
both Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim and Bishop Francis
as well as Vicar General Fr. Manuel Boji. Also participating
in the Holy Sacrament were Chaldean
Seminarians.
The ordination coincided with the Memorial
of St. Thomas the Apostle. It was Bishop Ibrahim
who wanted all Chaldean Priestly ordinations to
occur on this Saints Day as the Patron Saint of the
Chaldeans. “This is important,” said Bishop Francis
at the ordination. “The focus is the touch between
St. Thomas and Jesus.”
The Gospel during the ordination addressed
this encounter between St. Thomas and Jesus. “The
touch of Jesus on the rest of apostles is important
as we celebrate our sons becoming Fathers on the
Memorial of St. Thomas. Let’s search a bit deeper.
St. Thomas said, ‘I won’t believe until I see and
touch’ and the Lord revealed himself and he turned
and invited St. Thomas to see and touch and it
is a prayer from the Old Testaments in Psalms …
that ties into this Chaldean Church heritage. Look
at us Lord, Have Mercy on and forgive us, Lord of
all. This prayer we inherited from St. Thomas’ first
vision of seeing Jesus. Thomas touched Jesus on
the side with his finger and Jesus touches us with
his Heart. Our Lord and Our God. This is not just
about Thomas; it is about all of us.”
It is proclamation of faith and a way of life
Bishop Francis explained that these two newly ordained
priests are the apostles (Thomas) of today.
“This vision continues today more than 2,000 years
later. The Lord continues to touch and through
this ordination he makes his presence known,” said
Bishop Francis.
And Bishop Francis said to Frs. John and Fadie,
“Your hands have been touched and your being
has been touched and altered…do not betray the
touch because the touch can betray you …. You
are ultimately touching the people’s hearts through
the heart of Jesus…. people are going to see Jesus
in you.”
Bishop Francis said that Jesus opened a new
chapter in his book today, “Jesus’ book is not limited
to what he did but what he continues to do,”
continued Bishop Francis. “So, Dear brothers John
and Fadie and all brothers in priesthood and men
in ministry, you begin a new chapter in Jesus’ book.
His presence is among us through you … it is manifested
through you. It is His ministry through you.
How many healings will Jesus touch through you?
How many teachings will Jesus proclaim through
you? How will Jesus’s presence have made manifest
through you? The answer is your call. It is literally
up to you … The Lord is risen. He is amongst us.
He is truly alive and he makes his presence known.
He is alive through you and in you, through your
faith and through your struggle and through your
presence.”
The choir that day sang prayers and religious
songs before, during and in closing of the ordination.
Both Fr. John and Fr. Fadie addressed the audience.
“Praise God for indescribable gifts,” said
Fr. John to a crowd that erupted in cheers and
applause. “I didn’t know how to feel. I was torn
between my unworthiness and God’s graciousness
and his gift to us. The Lord said ‘just receive the
spirit like a child’ … God is blessing to me and to
Fr. Fadie and to each and every one of us.”
Fr. Fadie first spoke in Sourath (Aramiac) and
when switching to English he thanked the Sacred
Heart Seminary along with his spiritual directors.
“Thank you for guiding me these last eight years
and directing me,” he said.
As he explained on his ordination day, Fr.
John’s ministry is about love. “I wrote in my journal
a while ago that my deepest and truest desire is
to love and there is such a yearning in me for love
that the world can’t satisfy. St. Augustine said, ‘my
heart is restless until it rests in you’ and it is only
in receiving the divine love of God – God who is
love Father, Son and Spirt that my soul is satisfied.”
Fr. John delivered many messages of gratitude
to God, the Holy family and the religious leaders
among others who guided him on his journey.
“Thank you to my mom and dad for building me
up in virtue and supporting me,” he said “…You
allowed me to grow into a good man.”
Faris and Ban Jaddou’s oldest child, John has
two brothers Mazen, 28 and Loran, 26 and a sister
Mary, 20 who he also recognized at the ordination.
Fr. John, who just turned 30 last month, heard
the call from God to enter the seminary during a
Chaldeans Loving Christ (CLC) retreat at Saint
Thomas Church. “I was inspired by the leaders of
the youth group program to take my faith in Christ
seriously, and when I did, I felt the call to be a
priest,” he said. “My journey takes a turn because
although I felt the call to priesthood at an early
age, I ran as far away from it as possible.”
The Brother Rice student had other aspirations.
“At the time, as a 17-year-old kid, nothing
about priesthood looked attractive or desirable,” he
noted. “For seven years, and with incredible grace,
God slowly changed my heart and conformed me
closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Fr. John graduated from Michigan State Univer-
ORDINATION continued on page 30
28 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2018