Ordination update: 7 new deacons for Fort Worth

From the North Texas Catholic:

The first seven men ordained in the early Church as deacons were chosen for their faith, wisdom, and dedication to the Christian community.

Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch were ordained by the Apostles (Acts 6:1–7) for the special vocation of assisting widows and the poor.

Two millenniums later, seven men in the Diocese of Fort Worth, who embody the same qualities of prayerfulness, compassion, and willingness to serve have followed in their footsteps as permanent deacons.

Kendall Robert Coffey, Weldon Alan Franklin, Wilfried Axel Lampka, Jose Rafael Mateo, Peter Thang Cao Nguyen, Hilario Hoang Huy Trinh, and Michael Hugh Waldon received the sacrament of holy orders from Bishop Michael Olson during an ordination Mass on Aug. 8 in St. Mark Church. Celebrated on the Memorial of St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers, the evening liturgy in Argyle brought together more than 1,000 people from across the diocese.

Addressing the congregation, the bishop described St. Dominic as a mendicant priest who lived a life of poverty as he preached the Good News of Jesus Christ.

“He is certainly an example and friend for our new deacons who today are ordained as ministers of the Word, ministers of the altar, and ministers of charity,” he said in his homily.

Like the first seven deacons named in the Acts of the Apostles, the diocesan candidates for ordination will use their new ministry to spread Christ’s Word and sacraments.

“To be the conduit of what Christ offers His people, these ordinands must be formed, informed, and transformed by the Word — as He comes to us in sacred Scripture and sacred tradition,” the bishop continued.

Advising the soon-to-be ordained men, he added, “My brothers, welcome the Word, worship the Word, proclaim the Word, and witness to the Word with deeds of justice, mercy, and charity. This is how we follow Christ, lose our life with Him, and preserve it for eternity.”