“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.†These were the words the ordaining Bishop said to each one of our five Brothers being ordained deacons while presenting to them the Book of the Gospels. This moment had been preceded by the laying on of hands on them and a prayer of consecration.
The ordination ceremony took place in the evening of 7 October, 2014, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, in a cozy church of Tsimshatsui, in the heart of the tourist belt of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Our brother Deacons were Peter (Vietnamese), Matthew and Alfonso (Burmese), Antonio (Korean), and John Vianney (Chinese). The ordaining Bishop was the Most Rev. Joseph Ha, Chi-Shing, OFM, Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong.
Witnessing the solemn occasion were a crowd of about 200 persons, among them 40 concelebrants and a significant number of our young Dominicans in formation (students, novices, postulants) from our three communities in Hong Kong and Macau. The Dominican laity of Hong Kong and representatives of our communities in Korea, Japan and Mainland were also present. The Apostolic Delegate in Hong Kong graced the occasion also with his presence.
It was an intense moment of gratitude to God for the increasing number of vocations that He is giving us. It was a marvelous opportunity to give thanks also to Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, as expressed in the canticle of the Magnificat and in the concluding song, the Salve Regina.
A festive agape in the adjacent parish hall crowned the occasion. As we share this news with all the members of the Province let us pray for the newly ordained brothers, heralds of the Gospel, so that they may indeed believe what they read, teach what they believe and practice what they teach.
Fray Fernando Muñoz, OP
Secretay of the Province