Here are some great photographs capturing the solemnity and joy of Saturday’s ordination of four men to the priesthood – and two other ordinands to the diaconate – for the Diocese of Lansing at Saint Thomas Aquinas parish in East Lansing. They are Father Joshua Bauer; Father Jacob Derry; Father Ryan Ferrigan; Father Peter Randolph; Deacon James Bonar; and Deacon Paul Keenan. Congratulations to each and all of them. Deo gratias.
“Because we ordained ministers seek to feed the People of God with the Word and the Eucharist all for their salvation,” said Bishop Earl Boyea in his homily, “we must daily realize that the consumption of Jesus as Word and Eucharist must be intentional, deliberate, and focused, no matter whether in any given day it is sweet or bitter.”
Three of the four priestly ordinands – Fathers Bauer; Ferrigan, and Randolph – were educated at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit where Deacons Bonar and Keenan also study. Father Derry is the product of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
All four new priests will now serves as parochial vicars in parishes across the Diocese of Lansing: Father Bauer at Saint Francis of Assisi, Ann Arbor; Father Randolph at Saint Patrick, Brighton; Father at Saint Thomas the Apostle, Ann Arbor; and Father Derry at Saint Peter, Eaton Rapids, with continuing studies in Rome beginning fall, 2026, toward a licentiate in biblical theology. Meanwhile Deacon Bonar will serve at Saint Mary, Pinckney, while Deacon Keenan will serve at Saint John Vianney Parish, Flint, with Saint Mary Church, Flint.
“So, my sons and brothers, today as you are consecrated by the Church for a sacred ministry, consecrate yourselves to drink the cup which the Lord gives and to take in the Word which the Spirit is providing,” said Bishop Boyea.
“Then weak vessels that we are will not prevent us from following the calling we have received. You, as deacons, are conformed to Christ the Servant, and you, as priests, are conformed to Christ as Head and Shepherd.” Bishop Boyea's homily is reproduced in full below:
Homily by Bishop Earl Boyea
Priesthood and Transitional Diaconate Ordination Mass
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Thanks to: Fr. Gordon Riegle and the St. Thomas-St. John Staff for welcoming us here so warmly. We welcome Bishop Joseph Coffey of the Military Ordinariate, and the Reverends Timothy Laboe, Michael McDermott, and Cyril Whitaker of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Fr. Chris Donley of the North American College, and our own Fr. Daniel Westermann representing St. John Vianney Seminary and the many priests and fellow students from the various seminaries. Many thanks to Jeremy Priest and our MCs and serving team; Fr. Michael Cassar and Denise Dell-Acqua and all those involved in making our celebration possible, including our musicians. We salute parents and family members of those to be ordained—welcome and thank you for your support of their vocations; invite all the seminarians present to stand; invite all the deacons and priests to stand.
My dear sisters and brothers in this wonderful congregation and those watching us on this live-stream, we are all invited to consider carefully the nature of the orders to which these, our brothers, are to be ordained today whether it be the order of the priesthood or the order of the diaconate. God has made, as we know, his entire holy people a royal priesthood. However, Jesus also chose his apostles to be his sacramental presence for building up the Body of Christ in service to all of us. These apostles subsequently ordained clergy after them to be configured to Jesus. As a result, they are entrusted by the Church to carry on Christ’s ministry in our midst to this day. So, please, keep them in your prayers as they fulfill their sacred ministries.
And now I turn to you, my brothers. Moses was quite upset that God had given him so much work to do. Certainly, some of our own clergy may complain about this bishop’s demands on their time and energy! But the sharing of the spirit on those seventy elders was for the sake of the service of God’s people. Yes, this can be hard and demanding work for all those set apart to do God’s work.
In addition, we are all earthen and weak vessels and it would be easy for any of us to become discouraged. But Paul reminds us that we are still supposed to give Jesus to others, that his work of salvation needs each one of us. How will this be possible? Paul tells us that there is only one way for this to be accomplished. We need to cling to the belief that the light proclaimed by God has actually shone in our own hearts, that is, we must first know Jesus in order to share him with others.
Jesus prayed for the very same thing around that table on Holy Thursday evening. Before he could send and consecrate those followers of his, he asked the Father to consecrate them first in the truth, the very word which Jesus had been giving them these past three years. We need the conviction which only God can provide.
Yes, my sons and brothers, you certainly will be taxed with the great ministry of feeding the People of God with Word and Eucharist. The demands on you will be testing. How can you fare with such a task? In order to feed others and not become discouraged, you must feed often on Jesus himself, his Word and his Eucharist.
One of my favorite images in the Book of Revelation is when John receives the scroll from the angel: “I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.” Then John is told to prophesy. In Ezekiel (2:10) the scroll is described as containing lamentation, wailing, and woe, and, yet, the prophet found it sweet as honey. He too was told to speak to the people (3:3-4). Earlier, the prophet Jeremiah, in the midst of one of his louder complaints to God, said, “I found your words, I devoured them; your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart.” If only that had played out differently for Jeremiah.
Why do I cite these texts? Because, you have been spending years being with Jesus. He called you even as he called those 12 so many centuries ago. But he did not call them simply to sit around. No, at the end he said, “Go”! As Paul once wrote to the Romans: “But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15). Well, we are being sent and daily must we be prepared to preach.
Because we ordained ministers seek to feed the People of God with the Word and the Eucharist all for their salvation, we must daily realize that the consumption of Jesus as Word and Eucharist must be intentional, deliberate, and focused, no matter whether in any given day it is sweet or bitter. There is no other way that Jesus can feed his people except through us, as Paul reminded the Romans.
For us first to ingest that word and eucharist can be daunting, especially day in and day out. The great joy of all of this rests in the fact that we do not have to do the cooking ourselves. We do not have to come up with new words and new eucharists. This is always given to us. The challenge is for us to receive this free gift in such a way that it first changes our hearts and souls so that we can humbly and honestly feed the many out there in need of such nourishment. This is after all the food of heaven, that heaven for which all of us yearn.
So, my sons and brothers, today as you are consecrated by the Church for a sacred ministry, consecrate yourselves to drink the cup which the Lord gives and to take in the Word which the Spirit is providing. Then weak vessels that we are will not prevent us from following the calling we have received. You, as deacons, are conformed to Christ the Servant, and you, as priests, are conformed to Christ as Head and Shepherd. And all are called to serve as he served. He took in all that he received from the Father. Yes, it was bitter at times, but in the end there was the joy which he announced earlier in that supper. Just after our Gospel selection Jesus prayed: “I wish that where I am they also may be with me.” Now, allow me to be a weak and sinful example as I seek to be with Jesus and hand on what I have taken into myself. Allow me to serve you who are to be ordained priests and to wash your feet. God bless you all.
* Photography by Valerie Hendrickson and Grace Hendrickson
