Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
Thursday, 10 June 2010 17:24
LIMA—Many parishioners from Father Matthew Rader’s home parish in Lima traveled to Toledo to witness and celebrate his May 29 ordination to the priesthood at Toledo Rosary Cathedral.
For Sarah Dee, interim principal of Lima St. Charles Borromeo School, seeing one of her former students ordained a priest was the “highlight” of a teaching career that has spanned more than 40 years.
Click the play button to view a slideshow of photographs from Fr. Rader's ordination.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to sit there and watch and to see everything transpire as it did, and to know that you taught him — it was a privilege, for me, and I’ll just always remember that,” says Mrs. Dee, who also attended the Mass of Thanksgiving Fr. Rader celebrated at his home parish the following day.
As a parishioner of St. Charles, Mrs. Dee says she has known the Rader family for years. She taught Fr. Rader’s seventh- and eighth-grade religion classes at the elementary school, and recalls he was “always asking questions” as they studied the New Testament and church history.
“It was very important to him. He was very interested in it,” relates Mrs. Dee, who says she was not surprised to learn of Fr. Rader’s vocation to the priesthood.
Fr. Rader visited his alma mater last fall to speak with students about his vocation, and he also returned to distribute the Eucharist at the school’s closing liturgy the day before his ordination. “That was very important and meaningful for the kids on their last day of school,” says Mrs. Dee.
Though Fr. Rader is the first of her students to become a priest, she notes a few other young men from St. Charles are now studying for priesthood.
Also attending the ordination liturgy were members of Lima Life Teen, the Catholic youth group Fr. Rader belonged to during his high school years, and its director, Angie Soules.
“I totally started crying and had chills when he was vested,” says Ms. Soules, who came to know Fr. Rader as he was discerning his vocation in high school.
The two have remained close throughout Fr. Rader’s formation over the past nine years.
“I’m just really proud of Matt for having the courage to really discern what God has called him to be and do, and I just pray that all young people have the courage to listen to what God has for them and what he’s called them to be,” says Ms. Soules.
Fr. Rader was among the first group of students to become involved with Lima Life Teen when it began in 1998.
The priest recalls one of the initial experiences that spoke to him of his calling took place at a Catholic youth conference he attended with Lima Life Teen the summer before his sophomore year.
“I can remember being under this big tent down at the University of Steubenville, kneeling in the grass as the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament exposed was being processed around the crowd,” says Fr. Rader. He recalls having a “boxing match of sorts with God” in his mind about whether or not he was truly called to priesthood, but said by the end of the night he had concluded he needed to talk with someone about his feelings.
The person he approached for advice was the new director of Life Teen, Ms. Soules. Though he barely knew her at the time, Fr. Rader said he was surprised to find she seemed to understand exactly what was on his mind.
That experience launched his discernment process, and Fr. Rader became more engaged in a life of prayer as he continued through high school. By his senior year, he says, he knew God was calling him to the priesthood.
“What really drew me to an understanding of my vocation was a deep eucharistic devotion that I had felt during high school, through eucharistic adoration and going to Mass,” says Fr. Rader.
Ms. Soules believes the strength of the Life Teen program flows from the fact that it is Eucharist-centered. “As a result, our people are praying and listening to God, and know that they can hear the call to whatever vocation they have, and fill that vocation with passion,” she explains.
“I think if we get back to being a eucharistic-centered people, in all our programming, you’re automatically going to see more priests,” adds Ms. Soules.
During the week before Fr. Rader’s ordination, the faithful were invited to pray for increased vocations to the priesthood and religious life as a traveling monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II toured the Catholic institutions of Lima. The monstrance serves as a symbol of the connection between eucharistic adoration and religious vocations, and its visit was sponsored by the Serra Club of Lima and the Diocese of Toledo’s Office of Vocations.
Members of the St. Charles community also had the opportunity to congratulate Fr. Rader at receptions held after the ordination liturgy and his first Mass at St. Charles the following day.
“Those that knew Matt and had waited so long and prayed for vocations to come from Lima, just were so elated,” says Ms. Soules. “They were excited and they were proud of Matt and just thrilled to be a part of his journey.”
