On Saturday 20th June, 2015, Joseph Attard from Zebbug Parish, Massimo Buttigieg from The Cathedral Parish and Mario Curmi from Xaghra Parish were ordained deacons by Mgr Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo. The Ordination Ceremony was held at the Gozo Cathedral. Relatives, friends and a number of priests took part in the celebration.
In his homily, the Bishop shared with the three deacons his vision of a proactive diaconate. The homily was based on the Gospel of the day that narrates the episode of Christ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The Bishop said that Christ was eager to cross over to the other bank towards Gerasa, the place that was associated with a pagan community. It was to this pagan community that Christ wanted to preach. Pope Francis’ call to us to be a Church that sails out of port to evangelize the suburbs of society is reminiscent of Christ’s eagerness to reach Gerasa. We too need to cross over to Gerasa and to overcome the “complex of Jonah”, who tried to ignore God’s will to preach repentance to the pagan sinners.
Like the disciples, we too are afraid to embark on this evangelical adventure, since we are too taken in by modern commodities and are afraid of landing in a storm. The Bishop urged the deacons not to “search for tables which are already laid” since the deacon’s mission is to serve the community. He urged them also not to raise storms in the community and to let Christ work in them.
As preparation for the ordination, the Gozo diocese invited the community to join the ordinands for an evening of prayer at the Seminary on Friday, 19th June. This evening of prayer, transmitted live on Radju Marija, included two particular moments. The first was the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word. The Seminary Rector explained the readings in his homily. The second was the exposition of the Holy Eucharist. After the Sacramental Blessing, the Holy Host was taken to the chapel where it was exposed for the night. The Bishop ended the evening with a messagg to the congregation.
