Orders of Latin rite
“He became a deacon for all of us”
On Saturday May 30, 2020, 6 seminarians from different parts of the world received the diaconal ordination from the hands of Bishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute of the Vatican Secretary of State for General Affairs, in the chapel of the Pontifical International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae .
The seminarians to receive the ordination were Emmanuel Chigozie Oguekemma and Charles Ekene Aniekwe from the diocese of Onitsha, Nigeria, Jesús Antonio Rosillo Reyes from the diocese of Cabimas, Venezuela, Marbin José Mejía Funes from the diocese of San Salvador, El Salvador, Orneil Niver Lengue Kentuim and Vetam Alfred Lienyuy from the diocese of Mamfe, Cameroon.
The bishop Mons Edgar in his homily reiterated the meaning of being a deacon. First of all, he emphasized that, for Christ, these new deacons are not only servants, but they are also friends because Christ made him participate in his communion with the Father. Then he reflected on three words: being chosen, availability and unity. The diaconate is chosen but he also chooses. A choice that must be renewed every day with our freedom. Freedom that also means transparency before God and before men, especially before formators and superiors. The second part is availability, being available to the Church. When it’s easy, it doesn’t cost. However, true availability can be seen when it is painful, when opinion and feelings are in conflict. The promise of obedience is, therefore, the most difficult to fulfill, is to renounce to ourselves. Being good and faithful is seen in availability. As it is the most difficult, it also bears many fruits. Finally, he spoke of unity, the unity of God’s people as the first 7 deacons of the Church did. At the end of his homily, Bishop Edgar told us that the Holy Father Francis gave his blessing to these new deacons. Then he launched the desire to become friends of the deacon and martyr Saint Lawrence, a servant here in the city of Rome. He asked us to dare to be his friend as a deacon. Finally, he wanted to underline the fact that it was Christ who was the first deacon in the history of the Church and, therefore, the call to imitate Christ, to be close to him, especially in prayer to learn from Him. The memory of our Mother of the Church could not miss; It is She who educated Christ, it is She who educated these new deacons. Bishop Edgar asked us to entrust ourselves to her, that Mary is always by our side, that she will always walk with us on this path.
Holy Mass became an time of great joy for the ordination of these new deacons at the service of the Church. Many people were able to connect to the network to watch the broadcast of the ceremony. Thanks to this, the families of our dear new deacons were present with us on this day of thanksgiving to the Lord.
In the following links you can find a video message from each of these seminarians about their vocation:
Emmanuel: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/701569560608319/
Charles: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/564175134495086/
Jesús: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/541029213229555/
Marbin: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/247350506355151/
Orneil: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/714889922596516/
Vetam: https://www.facebook.com/169251943153433/videos/299896884356401/
Deo Gratias!