On Friday 24th June 2016, Feast of St John the Baptist, Mgr Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo, administered the Sacrament of Holy Orders in the grade of Deacons at the Gozo Cathedral. The two new Deacons are Michael Grima from Saint Laurence Parish and Carl Scerri from the Cathedral Parish. Relatives, friends and a number of priests took part in the celebration. The Ordination Mass was animated by the Youth Choir of the Diocese.
In his homily, Bishop Grech addressed the two new Deacons, telling them that it is his wish that they promote the culture of giving.
He referred to the episode of the birth of St John the Baptist, which is woven by the thread of the logic of giving. The Lord showed great mercy with Elizabeth, who in her old age, gave birth to a child. God was generous with Zachary and gave him not only the gift of speech but also the gift of trust in Him. Even the name given to the child, ‘His name will be John’, means that the child is a gift. John was really a gift of God to the Jewish people since he was the last prophet sent by God to help them welcome Christ, who is God’s greatest gift to us. The Bishop continued that God’s nature in itself is a giving. God is infinite love and He wants to share this love with others. So He is continually spreading grace to mankind.
To conclude, the Bishop urged Michael and Carl not to be mean. They should be generous in their service to man, especially to the poor. He stressed that they should neither work out any calculations nor let their ministry be conditioned by the law of the market.
