“The priest is a mysterious man with two aspects, the great and the weak.” That was the opening line for the homily of Archbishop Joseph (Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang) when presiding at Mass for the Ordination of priests and deacons of the Priests of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Thien Phuoc Benedictine Monastery, at 9 AM on Thursday, December 29, 2022 at Tan Dinh Church, Archdiocese of Saigon. Concelebrating with him were Father Francis Xavier Tran Duc Thai, Regional Superior, SCJ, Abbot of Thien Phuoc Benedictine, priests from the General Council from Rome, the Philippines, Indonesia and about 60 other Priests.
Attending the Mass in addition to the presence of priests, men and women religious, there were also great-grandparents, relatives and benefactors of the priests and a large number of communities in attendance. In his homily, Archbishop Joseph explained, “The priest is a mysterious man with two aspects, greatness and weakness. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah felt unworthy, did not dare to speak, but the Lord said to him, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you, and before you came out of your mother’s womb, I knew you. I have sanctified you, I have made you a prophet to the nations.” In the second reading, Hebrew letters, the Deacon is chosen by God from among weak mortals to offer atonement. These are the people called to offer Mass on behalf of the community. From there we have a couple of reflections: Called, consecrated and sent from place to place by God, the religious priest must be convinced of his vocation. Through his ordination, Jesus remained visibly present. Let’s do our best to let God live in us and shine His light on the world and the community. The Gospel says that we are those who are put first but must humble ourselves deeply to serve God’s people. Be a priest as God desires.”
Archbishop Joseph summed it up: “Thanks be to God for the graces He has given. We wish the community to pray for our ordained and brother bishops and priests. May the Lord allow shepherds to become the embodiment of Jesus in the midst of the world.”
At the end of the homily, Archbishop Joseph held the rite of ordination to Priest and Deacon consisting of three parts: Introduction, interrogation; Ordination of Deacon and Interpretation; Priestly Ordination and Interpretation.
At the end of the Mass, District Superior, Father Francis Xavier thanked Archbishop Joseph, Benedictine Abbot, Pastor of Tan Dinh Parish and other agencies and organizations for their contributions to the ceremony. He promised to practice communion and cooperation as the Archbishop reminded. Concluding, Fr. Superior wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with God’s grace.
In response, Archbishop Joseph congratulated and thanked the two Superiors, the new priests and deacons, the great-grandparents and relatives. “Saigon has many religious orders and vocations thanks to the family and parish environment,” he said. Please continue to make the environment holy and virtuous for more vocations. And please continue to pray for the new ordinations to lead a dedicated and fruitful consecrated life.” Mass ended at 11:15, the Archbishop and concelebrant priests took souvenir photos with the newly ordained.
LIST OF NEW PRIESTS:
John Dinh The Hung, SCJ, Paul Le Hai Linh, SCJ, Paul Doan Nhon An Phuc, SCJ, Francis Xavier Pham Van Dung ( Thien Phuoc Benedictine Monastery)
LIST OF NEW DEACONS:
Paul Pham Duy Huan, SCJ, Vinh Son Do Van Thoan, SCJ
