24 Marian Helper • Spring 2022 • marian.org On a crisp December morning, on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, Fr. Matthew Tomeny, MIC, was ordained to the priesthood for the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. The Most Rev. F. Richard Van Handel Spencer, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, was the main celebrant and ordaining bishop. Father Matthew is a lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a chaplain candidate. He will be called to active duty as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy after three years of priestly ministry. Joining a large group of Marian priests, brothers, and seminarians were Fr. Matthew’s parents, Dr. Patrick and Nelly Tomeny, along with eight of his nine siblings, assorted relatives, and friends. “Today you are to be configured as Christ, the Eternal Priest,” Bishop Spencer said in his homily. “Let your teachings be nourishment for the People of God. Let your holiness of life be a pleasing fragrance for Christ’s faithful, so that you may build up by word and example the House which is the Church of God. Keep always before you the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served but to serve, and who came to seek and to save what was lost.” Father Matthew celebrated his first Mass the following day, Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Father Chris Alar, MIC, director of the Association of Marian Helpers, was the homilist. In thanking Dr. Patrick and Nelly Tomeny for the gift of their son, Fr. Chris also paid tribute to Marian Helpers for their prayers and support of vocations, sparking a genuine renewal of the priesthood. “This is what it’s all about,” he said. “This is why you support the Marian Fathers. This is why you are part of the Marian family. “Jesus told St. Faustina, ‘To priests who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak’ (Diary, 1521),” Fr. Chris concluded. “We need priests to proclaim the Divine Mercy of Jesus, and that is the priest I know you will be, Fr. Matthew.” Father Matthew, who is currently serving at our Marian parishes in Illinois, St. Mary’s in Plano and St. Patrick’s inYorkville, credits his parents for setting a good example, gathering their 10 children every night to pray the Rosary before the Divine Mercy image. “What Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC, said is absolutely true: ‘The family that prays together, stays together,’” he said. Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, is ordained! Provincial Superior, Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, congratulates the newest Marian priest. During the Ordination Mass, Deacon Matthew prostrates himself, a sign of overwhelming humility before the call to priesthood. Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, is ordained. Father Matthew’s first Mass.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==