Note: This is Part 3 on my miniseries on how I ended up in Rome, the Eternal City. Check out the introduction and my stop in California.

June 2023 in my life revolved around the preparation and effects of my priestly ordination on June 16, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After a quick stop at home, I went on retreat at St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, N.J. I had already recounted my 2022 retreat there. The second time was just as peaceful and grace-filled as that one. But I noticed a few differences:

• Smoke anyone? A few days within the retreat, smoke from Canadian wildfires was blown into the region. It was surreal to look up at orange skies. That scene was very familiar to me in 2008 when Northern California burned for months and the skies turned orange in Redding, Calif. That memory proved a big help in my retreat.
• A bit chilly: I had forgotten to pack a sweater or a jacket. The smoky and sometimes rainy days kept me inside. But that allowed me to pray more.

After the retreat was a week of preparation for the ordination. Here are some quick insights from that time:

• Stress: I have heard stories of ordinandi being stressed out at the time. But Jesus gave me the grace to have little stress. My friend Fr. James Kuroly and Fr. Alonzo Cox, MC for the ordination Mass, played a big role in logistics and liturgy. My sisters Liza and Anna helped with my mother in organizing the receptions after ordination and the First Mass.
• Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn: The ordaining bishop and I had lunch in Brooklyn a few days before the ordination. We went to a diner, which is classic Americana in my heart. We had a wonderful chat. Bishop Brennan weaved my answers about Fr. Lanteri and my life into his homily.
• First, snow and then rain: When I was ordained a deacon in January 2022, Boston was buried in snow. A few hours before my ordination, the sky poured rain. That hampered the livestream since Harris, then the OMV videographer, was using a cellphone. Everyone who heard of the rain suggested that graces were being poured on me.
• Same and different: That was my response when anyone asked me how it feels to be a priest. Yes, I look the same. Yet, it feels different because of the ontological change to be configured to Christ the Priest. People can notice a shift in my homilies although the structure remains the same.
• Full circle: My favorite photo from that ordination day was recapturing my Baptism photo. The grace of Baptism grows and blossoms into the grace of priestly ordination. My father and godfather Tito Abing (Canuto Encarnation) have passed away so I added my Tito Willy to the picture.

Here are my videos from my priestly ordination and First Mass.

My return to California for the last third of the month was living my priesthood in a parish. I celebrated Masses, anointed someone, gave first blessings and heard many Confessions. My amazement continued to grow at how the Lord brought the people that I needed to see. The Lord revealed then how much an impact I made (I mentioned this in the previous entry.)

Here is the Facebook video from my Mass of Thanksgiving at the noon Mass on Sunday, June 25 2023, at St. Peter Chanel in Hawaiian Gardens.

At the end of June, I packed up the last of my things and flew out of California. Thus, my third bounce begins.

(The last in the series: Rome).

God bless.