While Stephen Jones laid prostrate at Saint Peter’s Basilica atop the ornate rug gifted to the Church by Napolean Bonapart, he pictured the image Saint Paul described to Timothy of pouring out his offering as a sacrifice for the Lord.
June 29, nine months after his diaconate ordination in Rome, Deacon Jones will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City at 10 a.m. at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
“As I approach priestly ordination, I have been grateful to God for every gift in my life thus far,” he said. “This isn’t a life I planned, but I’m just amazed that the Lord had it in mind for me the whole time. It’s better than anything I could have come up with on my own.
“The invitation of God to speak and minister in his name; to be an instrument of healing; to celebrate Mass and hear confessions; these things are the fulfillment of how I was made to love.”
Jones will be ordained by Archbishop Coakley with many diocesan priests and deacons in attendance. The ordination is open to the public and will be live-streamed at archokc.org/live.
Deacon Jones’s mom Karen Jones, dad Dewayne Jones, his stepmom Brenda, younger brother Chris and sister Kira, who all joined him in Rome, will be present along with additional family and friends.
“We are so excited about Stephen’s upcoming ordination. It will be a wonderful, joyful day for us.” Karen Jones said.
Deacon Jones grew up in Edmond, graduating from Edmond Memorial High School before attending Oklahoma State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. After being accepted to the seminarian program, he entered Kenrick-Glennon Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., in 2018 to study pre-theology and then the Pontifical North American College in Rome in 2020 to study theology.
He will graduate in 2025 with a degree in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
“Stephen truly embodies the heart of a shepherd, caring deeply for those entrusted to his care,” said Father Brian Buettner, former Director of Vocations for the archdiocese. “I am excited to witness him in his new role as a priest.”
Jones, who turns 30 in July, said he began to consider a priestly vocation his junior year at OSU.
“FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) had a huge impact on my life at that point by introducing me to good, Catholic fraternity and by helping me develop a prayer life,” he said. “After I graduated from college, I started teaching middle school at Saint Charles Borromeo. I met Father John Paul Lewis, who – as a young, newly ordained priest – made the priesthood look like something I could actually do.
“The joy he had in being a priest was palpable, and I wanted that.”
For other young men discerning their vocation, Jones recommended they focus on developing and strengthening their relationship with Jesus and the rest will come.
“Jesus desires friendship with you, first and foremost,” he said. “The fear of ‘What if I’m wrong on discernment?’ is powerful, but Jesus desires to cast out fear and provide freedom of heart in discernment. The priesthood is ultimately a life radically defined by love, both of God and of his people. He will not leave us as orphans; he is with you.”
After Jones has been ordained and vested, Archbishop Coakley will anoint his hands with chrism. This ritual is a sign that shows how closely the man has been configured to Christ to make him present in the world.
“My anointed hands will be the ones to hold the host and the chalice at Mass,” Jones said. “They will anoint sick men and women, baptize people, be outstretched in the confessional as a sign of the forgiveness of sins, among many other things.
“I am excited to be an instrument of the healing that the Lord desires to pour out into the hearts of his faithful people. However the Lord wants to use me to accomplish this healing, I want to be open.”
On the day after his diaconate ordination, Deacon Jones preached his first Mass at San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura (Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls) in Rome. His first Mass as a priest will be at 10 a.m., June 30, at Saint Monica Catholic Church in Edmond, his home parish.
He will be the third young man from Saint Monica since 2017 to be ordained to the priesthood.
“Since his First Solemn Mass will be at one of our regular Sunday Masses, it will be a wonderful opportunity for the whole parish to celebrate a new priest,” said Father Stephen Hamilton, pastor of Saint Monica.
“Many years ago, as a much younger priest, I gave Stephen his First Holy Communion. For me personally, seeing him arrive at ordination to the priesthood is an added grace and causes me to think of the mysterious ways God is active as a young man grows and is formed in the faith, and ultimately hears a call to follow after the Lord and after the different priests who have received the gift of the priesthood, which will now be handed on to him.
“I know the entire parish is grateful to God to witness this blessing for Stephen and for the Church.”
Jones asked the faithful to pray for perseverance for him and all priests, that they may be faithful to their vocation.
Diane Clay is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo: (Top) Karen Jones, Stephen Jones, Archbishop Coakley and Dewayne Jones on Sept. 28, 2023, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome after Stephen Jones was ordained a transitional deacon by Archbishop Coakley. Photo Diane Clay/Sooner Catholic.