Deacons told: Live for God

Four seminarians were ordained as deacons in time for the celebration of the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday morning.

Ruben Bajenting, Dante Carredo, Marlowe Patigdas, and Dindo Yosores were inducted into the diaconate, the last step towards priesthood, by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

“This is a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Every new deacon or priest is an expression of God’s love for his people. God sends shepherds to care for us,” Palma said in his homily.

At one point of the ordination, the deacons lay prostrate on the ground to signify their complete surrender to the Lord while the congregation sang the Litany of Saints asking for divine intercession to sanctify them.

Palma handed the Book of the Gospels to the new deacons as he reminded them to “believe what you read, preach what you believe, and practice what you preach.” The prelate laid his hands upon each deacon to invoke the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

“I would ask you to spend time for daily prayer, for more personal union with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament,” Palma told the deacons.

He exhorted them to entrust themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, “the mother of priests.”

“The gift you receive today should be for the glory of God,” Palma added.

Palma said there are over 400 seminarians in Cebu.  In other countries, few men want to become priests. He encouraged the new deacons to live up to the demands of the vocation.

“At the heart of the call of vocation is God’s concern to his people. We are called for the sake of the people. We share in the mission of the Lord to become shepherds. We need to teach, sanctify, and serve,” Palma said.

A diaconate ordination is the first of three parts of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Deacons will later become priests while some priests will eventually become bishops.