Joy overflowing: Four new priests ordained to serve God's Church in Detroit

Priesthood comes with both trials and great blessings, Archbishop Weisenburger tells Frs. Barba, Finkbeiner, Musgrave, Whalen

DETROIT — It was a blustery, rainy morning outside on Woodward Avenue, but inside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the warmth, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit illuminated the sanctuary as Fathers Lizandro Barba, Karl Finkbeiner, James Musgrave III and Daniel Whalen received the sacrament of ordination to the priesthood. 

See the new assignments for Frs. Barba, Finkbeiner, Musgrave and Whalen

The cathedral was overflowing May 23 with priests, bishops, religious, and the family and friends of the ordinands, who all came to witness the four men become the newest priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit, in addition to more than 5,000 others who joined via livestream. 

Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger expressed his “tremendous joy” at the occasion, acknowledging the years of “careful and honest discernment” that led to it, as well as education, formation and spiritual growth.

“Lizandro, James, Daniel, Karl: I feel the need to begin with a word of thanks to each of you,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “There are few occasions that renew the original joy in the heart of a priest from his own ordination day, than in participating in the ordination of one joining our ranks."

Gifts of humility and sacrifice

After beginning the ordination rite with the election of the candidates, Archbishop Weisenburger reflected upon the homily from Luke’s Gospel, a recounting of the Last Supper, “that great gift that grounds us as Jesus’ disciples forever,” he said.

“Our God is encountered uniquely in the celebration of the Eucharist, and of course, we have God’s true presence in the form of bread and wine flowing from that celebration,” the archbishop said.

However, as glorious a mystery as the Eucharist is, the archbishop encouraged the ordinands and all in attendance to consider two important points Jesus links together with the institution of the sacrament — and thus, with the priesthood itself.

The first must be viewed in the context of the final moments before Jesus’ passion began — his last moments spent forming his apostles, Archbishop Weisenburger explained.

“It seems that the Eucharist was given by Our Lord to his apostles in the midst of their ‘jockeying for position' and ‘desire for honors,’” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “With all the time they spent with Our Lord, one would think they would have gotten the message by this point.” 

And yet, it was in those final moments before his passion that Jesus imparted a “profound truth” linked to the gift of the Eucharist, the archbishop said.

“And that truth is simply that leadership and authority in the Church, especially as it is embodied in the life of one who presides over the Eucharistic celebration, must always be one of humble service,” he said. 

In the life of a priest, the temptations to “honors, prestige and admiration” — a form clericalism — carry spiritual dangers that can dwarf even a failure in celibacy or obedience, the archbishop said.

A priest’s witness of servant leadership, grounded in humility, reveals divine reality to Christ’s faithful in a powerful way, he said.

“Fathers, there will be a host of temptations throughout your priesthood. Some will be obvious, even if powerful and challenging to overcome,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “But among the most insidious is the lack of humility. This humility is a reflection of our God Himself — a God who, in some ways, mysteriously emptied Himself of His Divinity and took on our human flesh — like us in all things, but sin.”

A second point Jesus raises in connection with the Eucharist is his acknowledgement to his apostles that, “It is you who have stood by me in my trials,” Archbishop Weisenburger continued.

Jesus was no stranger to trials, the archbishop said, and, after the Last Supper, he would face his greatest trial of all. 

“But take note: Jesus does not address the apostles as having endured ‘their own’ trials, but rather, he uses the specific expression, ‘my trials,’” the archbishop said. “And that phrase, ‘my trials,’ cannot be limited to the historical life of Jesus of Nazareth. Rather, these words most assuredly refer to his messianic trials — the trials of the kingdom throughout all ages.”

To stand with Christ in his trials means that we must make his trials our own, Archbishop Weisenburger added. 

“It means that each of us must stand with him in Gaza, or Ukraine, or Lebanon, or Nigeria, or with the migrant, or the hungry, or the unborn, or the sick, because these trials being endured are his,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “We must make the trials of our great city’s poor, our community’s hidden and voiceless, along with the chronically lonely and unloved, our own, because, again, their trials are his. And it was precisely into the hands of those who shared in ‘his’ trials, that he placed his greatest gift: the Eucharist.”

However, Archbishop Weisenburger assured the soon-to-be priests that while their calling entails profound obligations and trials, it also entails the “great joy” of presiding over the Eucharist that Christ gave.

“In so great a calling, may humility be that Christ-like characteristic that most defines your ministry. And in bringing him to the faithful, be committed to standing with him always, in his blessings, in his joys, and of course, most especially, in his trials,” the archbishop concluded. “For I suspect it is only from that privileged and sacred vantage point that we will recognize him truly, fully, wonderfully present to us, in the humble form of bread and wine.” 

Ordained to serve God’s people

Following the homily, the four men knelt before Archbishop Weisenburger, who placed his hands upon each man’s head, ordaining him. Afterward, priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit did the same, before the four new priests joined in the celebration of the Eucharist for the first time.

After offering the Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful of the archdiocese, starting with their own family and friends, the four took time to reflect on the gift they had received.

Speaking on behalf of his ordination classmates, Fr. Barba addressed the archbishop, fellow clergy, and the faithful, offering words of gratitude.

“I have the honor of giving the thanks at this ordination, so we will see what ChatGPT came up with,” Fr. Barba quipped. 

Growing serious, Fr. Barba noted that as Christians, “our attitude should always be one of gratitude at the work of God in our lives,” and that “today, we are blessed to see the fidelity of God to his people.”

“We see how four unworthy men were ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ — a great gift that requires an unconditional surrender to God’s will, thanks be to God,” Fr. Barba said.

On behalf of Frs. Finkbeiner, Musgrave and Whalen, Fr. Barba personally thanked Archbishop Weisenburger and his predecessors, Cardinal Adam J. Maida and Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, fellow bishops, priests and deacons, and offered words of gratitude to the faculty, staff and students at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, particularly outgoing rector Fr. Stephen Burr and incoming rector Fr. Kevin Creagh, CM.

He also thanked the ordinands’ family and friends, and noted the example of Pope Leo XIV, as well as the saints.

“We would like to thank our Blessed Mother, who has wrapped us in her heavenly mantle and guided each and every one of us closer to her son Jesus,” Fr. Barba continued. “May we also give an unconditional ‘yes’ to the Lord, even if it means going to the cross. We would also like to thank St. Joseph, who taught us in a special way an authentic masculinity and taught us the sanctification of daily work as a priest.”

Fr. Barba also offered kind words for each of his ordination classmates.

“Karl, who is such a man of prayer, devoted and a great zeal for evangelization; Jim, who is a man set on mission and bringing souls to Christ; and Dan, who is not afraid of challenges and doing what is necessary to bring souls to Christ,” Fr. Barba said. 

Fr. Barba encouraged his fellow seminarians who are still in formation to “strive for holiness,” noting that “each and every one of us is called to be holy, to be consecrated completely to the Lord” no matter their stage in life.

In his conclusion, Fr. Barba spoke in Spanish, paying tribute to the bravery and faith of the religious and clergy who died during the Cristero War in Mexico exactly one century ago. 

The example and sacrifice of the Cristero martyrs still resonates today, he said, and can serve as an example to priests and religious in today’s tumultuous world.

“As many of you know, it was a time of persecution for the Church — many religious and clergy were exiled or killed, and many lay faithful gave their life for Christ,” Fr. Barba recounted. “When they would persecute (the clergy), they would often tell them, ‘Renounce your faith, and you will be free.’  But we know there is no true freedom if it is not in Christ. And so they died. They gave their life for Christ, and their last words were ‘Long live Christ the King’ — ‘Viva Cristo Rey.’

“In the midst of everything that is happening today, no matter what happens, Jesus Christ is still king,” he said, “because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Family and friends express pride and joy

In the midst of the joyful celebration, friends and family members of the newly ordained spoke with Detroit Catholic about their loved ones’ gifts.

Two of Fr. Finkbeiner’s four siblings said they were excited for their brother, adding his priestly ministry would be a blessing not only for their family, but for the entire Church.

“(My prayer for him) is that he's able to turn as many people to the Catholic faith as he can, and be a guide for young Catholics,” Cecilia Finkbeiner said. 

Fr. Whalen’s father, also named Daniel Whalen, said his son’s vocation was predicted by his paternal grandmother shortly before she passed away. 

“One thing that I always remember is my mother, a month before she passed away, she came up and said, ‘Dan, he's got a calling,’” Whalen explained. “It was amazing. God opens doors, and it’s your choice if you want to walk through them.”

Sitting in the front row with the rest of the Barba family, Fr. Barba’s younger sister, Mercedes, wiped away tears. 

“He's been waiting for this his whole life, and this was something he was meant to do,” Mercedes told Detroit Catholic. 

The Barbas feel blessed to have their “first priest in the family,” Mercedes said, adding she looks forward to going to Mexico in June, where Fr. Barba will celebrate his second Mass of Thanksgiving in his parents’ hometown. Mercedes said that they expect around 800 people to attend. 

The night before the ordination, Mercedes said her brother came over to the family’s home, still a deacon.

“I was just giving him a hug goodbye, and (I said), ‘The next time you come in, you're gonna be a priest,’” Mercedes said.