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Fr. Gerald E. Murray: Forty Blessed Years a Priest – Brown Pelican Society of Lousiana

Fr. Gerald E. Murray: Forty Blessed Years a Priest

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December 1, 1984: Father Murray is ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal O’Connor. SOURCE: By Fr. Gerald E. Murray, The Catholic Thing, December 5, 2024

By Fr. Gerald E. Murray, The Catholic Thing, December 5, 2024

The Rev. Gerald E. Murray, J.C.D. is a canon lawyer and the pastor of Holy Family Church in New York City. His new book (with Diane Montagna), Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society, is now available.

Note: Our colleague Fr. Gerald Murray tells a story today that we hear all too rarely: the decades of satisfaction and enjoyment that priests, religious, and laypeople experience by living lives  faithful to Catholic truth. There are many challenges to such lives today, both outside and inside the Church. But it’s by persisting in the hope of better days that we will keep the Faith alive in our time – and beyond. At The Catholic Thing, we’re committed to staying in that fight and not growing weary despite the struggles. I’m quite sure that you, our readers, come here regularly because you share that perspective. Which is why I feel confident in asking you to show that commitment by supporting our work. The harvest could be great if the workers can stay in the field. Please, don’t delay. Support The Catholic Thing today. – Robert Royal  

 

I was ordained a priest on December 1, 1984, by the late Archbishop John J. O’Connor at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Forty years later, I am moved to thank God for all that He has done for me in my life. I entered the seminary with a desire to serve as a Catholic priest, and that was granted to me. I had excellent teachers at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, NY. In Rome, Pope John Paul II was leading the Church in the path of true renewal in fidelity to Catholic doctrine amidst the various crises that had arisen in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. That effort would continue under one of the greatest theologians ever to become pope, Benedict XVI.

No newly ordained priest knows what the future holds for him beyond his first assignment. I was sent to serve at St. Athanasius Church in the Bronx under a holy pastor, Monsignor Raul del Valle, a Cuban priest exiled by Fidel Castro. It was a short but instructive assignment. I then served in three other city parishes before being sent to Rome to study canon law. My gratitude to Cardinal O’Connor for this assignment is heartfelt: knowing canon law has proven immensely useful in my analyzing and commenting upon what is happening in the Church – on television, radio, and at The Catholic Thing. …