This is unusual: I got an email from a priest in Germany (!) wanting me to know about ordinations of permanent deacons in Trinidad and Tobago (!).
As the Archdiocese of Port of Spain celebrated the ordination of 15 candidates to the permanent diaconate Saturday, January 22, Archbishop Jason Gordon thanked his predecessor Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Harris CSSp for the courage and foresight in calling forth new deacons to the Archdiocese and “doing what’s necessary to put the program in place”.
“He sowed the seed; I get to reap,” the Archbishop said to applause from the congregation at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Port of Spain.
In his homily, Archbishop Gordon reminded the deacons that the call to pastoral ministry is a call to martyrdom—it’s a call to give one’s life in ways never imagined before.
“To be a deacon is to be called to serve. And these are not nice, esoteric words we say and go and live a different reality,” he told the deacons.
Archbishop Gordon commented that in the New Testament, the order of the deacons precedes the order of the presbyterate. The presbyterate, he said, comes for another prudential reason.
“But the deacons are called forward for the work of charity and to be around the table. Their primary call is for the work of charity, to ensure those in need in the community are receiving what they need, but they also sit at the table of God ensuring people receive what they need.”
Congratulations and welcome, brothers! Ad multos annos!
