2024 Vocations Awareness Supplement
Franciscan priest seeks to share life in abundance with Oldenburg Catholics
Franciscan Father John Barker poses in the friary at Holy Family Parish in Oldenburg, where he has served as pastor since being ordained a priest there on Aug. 24. (Submitted photo by Jennifer Lindberg)
By Jennifer Lindberg (Special to The Criterion)
OLDBENBURG—It may seem odd to sing a funeral hymn at an ordination, but when Father John Barker’s fellow Franciscans chanted the “Ultima” hymn over him, after he had just received the laying on of hands to become a priest, something eternal unfolded.
“When death’s hour is then upon us,
to your Son pray that he grant us
death both holy and serene,
Virgin Mary, Mother, Queen.”
This ancient hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary is valued so much by Father John’s Franciscan province that they sing it at all special occasions.
It is a hymn about death leading to new life. On Aug. 24, Father John did die to his old self and put on the new man of the priesthood.
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson, who ordained Father John, stated at the ordination Mass that the priesthood is a dying to self for the good of the people of God.
“It’s never about us,” the archbishop said at Holy Family Church in Oldenburg where the liturgy took place.
Father John says this dying to self is about showing the people of God how living the Catholic faith is about living a life of abundance.
“If I had a motto, it would be from John 10:10: ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,’ ” said Father John, who has served as pastor of Holy Family Parish since his ordination. “God wants us to be free and healed, and if we can frame everything in this verse, even in the most difficult circumstances, we can see everything as a gift for God.”
This new life in Christ that Father John embraced in abundance has brought a lot of firsts into his life. For instance, he is the first priest to be ordained at Holy Family in Oldenburg since 1958.
He’s also thought about his life anew after spending 24 years as a Franciscan brother before thinking about the path to priesthood again.
The first prompting to the priesthood began while attending Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston, S.C. He had thought about pursing a pre-med college degree—his father was a doctor—but was working in the restaurant industry at the time.
He also had a strong revival in his Catholic faith. So, when the cathedral’s rector asked him if he had ever considered being a priest, he was open to the idea.
After a period of discernment, he felt called to the religious life and not the diocesan priesthood. After sending inquiries to several religious communities, the Franciscans of St. John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati responded. It later merged with other provinces and is now part of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province based in Atlanta.
He professed temporary vows as a Franciscan brother in 2000 and solemn vows in 2004.
At first, Father John thought he would take the typical path to the priesthood, but he also had a deep desire to study Scripture and wanted to focus on it.
“I’m not a good multi-tasker,” Father John said.
Those early decisions led him to earn a master’s degree in theology and biblical studies. He continued his education at Boston College in Boston, earning a doctorate in Scripture in 2016 and teaching at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He also co-authored Living the Word: Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days (World Library Publications, 2019).
It was while teaching that Father John decided academia was not for him for the long term. Also, his favorite saint started showing up in prayer. On Aug. 4, 2020, the feast of St. John Vianney, Father John felt called to the priesthood once more.
And like St. John Vianney, he wants to bring the sacrament of reconciliation to the forefront of his parishioners’ lives. Father John believes so greatly in the graces and healing of the sacrament of reconciliation to help people live the abundant life in Christ that his first decision as pastor of Holy Family was to offer confession before every Mass. The joy he has as a priest to offer the sacrament of reconciliation for his people is poignant.
“It’s a celebration on both sides of the grate,” Father John said. “I know people stay away from the sacrament, so I want to make it as easy as possible for people to get back to it.”
While the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Catholic faith, people need to be in a state of grace to receive it—and for that, they need the sacrament of reconciliation.
Confession helps those struggling with certain sins to know that there is forgiveness and healing awaiting them, said Father John.
“You can see the power of Christ come into someone’s life in this sacrament,” he added. “There are times when you see people leave [the confessional] and they are so relieved.”
Another way Father John is helping live out his priesthood with the people entrusted to him is starting First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the second decision of his brief priesthood tenure, but one that he feels will bring people closer to Christ.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart fits well into what Father John is trying to communicate about God’s abundance. The devotion comes from messages from Christ to a 17th-century nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Those who keep the devotion—by going to the sacrament of reconciliation and receiving holy Communion—will receive peace in their homes, comfort in their afflictions, all the graces necessary for their state in life and much more.
His idea to start the devotion at Holy Family began when he found a large and beautiful monstrance in the safe of the friary in Oldenburg. While Holy Family Parish has adoration from 9 a.m. to
9 p.m. daily, Father John wanted to do something special in the church on First Fridays. That means adoration is moved for First Fridays into the main church with Benediction at 7 p.m.
In his brief time as a priest, Father John said offering a word of encouragement to his parishioners gives him a lot of joy in his ministry. Usually, at the end of a homily, he reminds people about the peace of God, ending with the encouragement of “be at peace.”
It seems Father John has found that peace in the order best known for preaching it: the Franciscans. He’s also learned that peace comes with God’s timeline and not his own.
“I think I trust more in that now,” he said.
(Jennifer Lindberg is a freelance writer and a member of St. Mary Parish in North Vernon. For more information about the Franciscans of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, visit friars.us.) †
