Those passing by St. Matthias the Apostle Parish on West Sprague Road in Parma earlier this month likely got a good chuckle out of the message on the parish sign, which read: “Mothers are great. The bishop is, too. Jesus ascended and our pastor is new.”
It summed up what happened there on May 12, which was Mother’s Day, the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and the installation of Father Michael Denk as the fifth pastor of St. Matthias Parish. He was assigned as parish administrator on Aug. 14, 2022, when the previous pastor, Father Raymond Sutter retired after serving as pastor for a decade. St. Matthias was established in 1980.
(Click here to view a photo gallery from the event.)
Presiding at the installation Mass was Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries, OSB, a longtime friend of the new pastor. During Father Denk’s childhood, Bishop Gries provided pastoral assistance at his parish, Holy Family in Parma. He ordained Father Denk to the transitional diaconate on Nov. 5, 2006.
Concelebrating were Father Sutter, pastor emeritus (St. Matthias’ fourth pastor), and Father Vince Hawk, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Avon and administrator of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, also in Avon. Father Hawk is Father Denk’s second cousin; Father Hawk’s mother and Father Denk’s father are cousins.
The church was filled to capacity for the liturgy, during which Father Denk took an oath pledging fidelity to Bishop Edward Malesic and promising to follow and uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church. He also signed the official diocesan documents for his new office. In addition, he was greeted by and pledged to seek and follow the counsel of the parish staff and the finance and pastoral councils.
“On this feast of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven and on the 17th anniversary of his priestly ordination, I commend to you your new pastor, Father Michael J. Denk,” Bishop Gries told parishioners, who applauded loudly. “I hope that’s not the last time you applaud for him,” the bishop quipped. He noted that as a bishop, he could delegate Father Denk to deliver the homily, which he did. He also advised the new pastor to greet his parents, Dee and Bob Denk, who are responsible for helping him to become the man he is, the bishop added.
In his homily, Father Denk said at the Ascension, the disciples were looking at the sky as Jesus ascended into heaven. He couldn’t help but think about the recent solar eclipse and northern lights, both rare occurrences that took place within the past month. The solar eclipse was more easily seen than the northern lights, also called aurora borealis. Sometimes a camera was needed to help viewers see the northern lights, Father Denk said, noting how excited he was to see the phenomenon and he wanted to share it with others.
“The Eucharist is like that. He’s (God) here, but sometimes we can only see him with eyes of faith,” he said, drawing a comparison to the northern lights. A solar wind – akin to the Holy Spirit -- stirred up the atmosphere and caused changes resulting in different types of light and color being emitted. “Seeing these different lights and colors reminded me that we light up the world,” Father Denk said.
In the second reading, St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “… grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ …” Father Denk asked the faithful to pray that he might be “a good, holy, compassionate pastor to you ‘to equip’ you in your work of ministry as we build up the body of Christ here at St. Matthias. I hope I’m equipped to fulfill my role (as pastor).”
Part of his role as pastor is to help people to see the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist and to help them realize they are called to be saints.
“As a pastor, I would love to have a parish full of saints,” he said. “God has given every one of you a ministry. My hope is that I can get you to discover it and to go out into the world and share it.”
Father Denk recalled the words of St. John Chrysostom who said that the Eucharist creates a wave of grace. Like the light trails of the northern lights, that grace extends far and wide in the world when people receive the Eucharist. “When this happens, we build up the body of Christ in a world so dark that it needs the light. They see something beautiful,” he added.
He also quoted St. Catherine of Siena, “Be who you are. Be who you are called to be and you will set the world on fire. That is our call – to be who God created us to be and to set this world on fire.”
At the Mass, Bishop Gries used a new chalice and paten designed by Father Denk and crafted by local jeweler Don Basch.
After Mass, the clergy and Denk family posed for photos before heading outdoors where large tents were set up to continue the celebration.