“Go where no one wants to go, serve with joy”: Catholic Bishop to Newly Ordained Priests, Deacon in Angola

“You must love one another, encourage one another and go out to towns and villages as Christ did, teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom with great availability and generosity,” the Local Ordinary of Benguela said.

Bishop Jaca told the Seminarian and Deacons that working in God’s vineyard “is very demanding and requires one to be a radical follower of Christ.”

Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

“It is certainly not a life of ease, luxury, honors, social well-being, or fame. Priestly life is not about applause all day long, it's about service,” he added.

The Local Ordinary of Benguela Diocese, who also serves as the President of the Episcopal Commission for Culture and Social Communications of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) invited those whom he was about to ordain to be faithful to the commitments they had made before the Lord. 

Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

“From now on you are the Lord's property,” he said, and added, “Your life belongs to the Lord, even though we are fragile and mortal creatures, God, in his goodness, has entrusted us with this great Mission, to be His visible presence in this world, a treasure that we continually carry with us in our daily lives, but a treasure and a commitment to be renewed every day in the Eucharist, in the prayer of the liturgy of the hours, in meditation, all of which you know and must apply in your daily lives.” 

Bishop Jaca reminded the 14 to always rely on God’s providence, saying, “Be docile to the Holy Spirit of God and do not be afraid. You will lack nothing. Christ never abandons those he calls, those he sends. He precedes us on our mission, prepares the way, and strengthens us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

He encouraged those he was about to ordain to be ready to fight against injustice. “Always go out in defense of the poor and the marginalized, the voiceless, the homeless, as Christ did,” Bishop Jaca said.

The Angolan member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) noted that even with the ordination of the 14 deacons to the priesthood, the laborers in God’s vineyard are still very few.

“We might think that with 14 new Priests, we have solved the problem of our Diocese. But we know that's not the case. You know that the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. This is the availability that must take you on the road to meet the faithful,”  he said.

Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

To the Seminarian he was about to ordain Deacon, Bishop Jaca said, “In your capacity as a minister of Jesus Christ, whom he presented as a servant among his disciples, seek with all your heart to do the will of God, and by serving the Lord, you also serve men.”

“Since no one can serve two masters, consider all impurity that leads to money as servitude and idolatry. Be a man of good testimony to the Holy Spirit, and full of wisdom,” he added.

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Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

The Catholic Church leader told the Seminarian to present himself  “blameless and pure before God and men, as befits a minister of Christ and a dispenser of ministries.”

“Do not turn away from the hope of the Gospel, of which you must be the minister and not just the hearer,” he said, and added, “Keep the mystery of faith in a pure conscience, show in your works the Word of God, which you preach with your lips. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and live what you teach.”

Credit: Catholic Diocese of Benguela

The 14 Deacons ordained Priests include Alberto Soma Capitango, Antonio Kahendo Kapaya Katabi, Elson Paulo Assoni, Gabriel Domingos Antonio, Graciano Mwalimba Doininguenga, Graciano Nguya Katchindele, Henrique Graciano Vinombili, Higino Satwala Kassinda, João Quintino Tchipala Tiago, Luciano Kangala Tchitumba, Marcelino Pedro Kambungue, Martinho Kavipa Canivete, Pedro Kanuela Calondo, and Pedro Tchindamba Praia 

Seminarian Vasco Mário Joaquim da Silva was ordained a Deacon.