In my life I have had the good fortune to attend several ordinations in Rome, but none has been as special as the one that took place on November 22. On that day, together with seventeen companions from twelve different countries, I was ordained a deacon. The ceremony was a visible manifestation of the catholicity of the Church and an indelible lesson on the core of our new mission.
In the preceding months, the theological and spiritual formation insists on a central idea: the deacon identifies himself with Christ the Servant. We speak of the service of the altar, of the Word and of charity towards all. It is a profound truth that is assimilated with the head, but that day I learned in a new way: through the senses.
In the moments immediately preceding and during the liturgy, I was able to experience firsthand the beauty of the hidden service. It was a lesson in humility to receive the care of so many hands: the people who delicately prepared the sacred vestments to facilitate the task for the nervous ordinands; those who composed the floral decorations that gave light to the presbytery; or the choir, whose voices lifted up the prayer of all. The whole ordination was sustained by a hidden, discreet and effective service, which is the source of true life.
But that perception is only the beginning of a broader view. Looking back, one discovers that one's vocation is sustained by the silent service of so many others. Parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, companions..., who, perhaps without knowing it, have been teachers of service and instruments of God to mold, despite our obvious limitations, those whom He has chosen.
In view of this, we can only be grateful and ask for prayers that we may be faithful to what we have received, and that the Lord of the harvest may continue to send workers ready to serve.
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