The Vietnam Jesuit Province recently celebrated the profession of final vows of Br Vincent Phạm Đức Tuấn SJ and the ordination to the diaconate of four Jesuits.
Br Vincent pronounced his final vows on January 18 in the chapel of Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Saigon, Vietnam. He entered the Society of Jesus on September 9, 1997 and will be celebrating his 20th year as a Jesuit this year. At the end of the ceremony, Br Vincent asked those present to pray for him. “Pray that God grant me a lot of love and grace to live my vocation as a Jesuit filled with happiness.”
Then on January 20, four Vietnamese Jesuits were ordained to the diaconate in the chapel of Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate by Bishop Joseph Đặng Đức Ngân of the Đà Nẵng Diocese. The new deacons are Thomas Aquinas Nguyễn Khánh Duy SJ (Đà Lạt Diocese), Joseph Nguyễn Hải Đăng SJ (Vinh Diocese), Peter Trần Vinh Danh SJ (Vinh Diocese) and Anthony Nguyễn Hữu Khanh SJ (Hưng Hóa Diocese).
In his homily, Bishop Joseph recalled the mission of the deacon, which is to serve. He outlined three areas where deacons serve: as ministers of the sacred mysteries, as ministers of the Word of God and as ministers of charity.
To become ministers of the sacred mysteries, the new deacons have to be deeply rooted in God and draw from His grace, said Bishop Joseph. They must also be men of the Church, obedient and willing to be sent on mission by their superiors. As ministers of the Word, they must first experience the Word of God before they can preach it to others. Finally, he gave them the image of Jesus bent down to wash the feet of his disciples as an example of what it means to be ministers of charity.
“Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and do what you teach,” Bishop Joseph said. More than once, he invited them to let go of their own desires and be obedient to their superiors in the service of the Church. “In this way you can become ministers of the sacred mysteries, ministers of the Word of God and ministers of charity.”
Among those present at the ordination were Vietnam Provincial Fr Vincent Phạm Văn Mấm SJ, several of the Jesuits in Vietnam, other priests and parishioners.
Three of the new deacons, Nguyễn Khánh Duy, Nguyễn Hải Đăng and Trần Vinh Danh, are in their fourth year of Theology at the Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate, while Nguyễn Hữu Khanh recently completed his Theological studies at Heythrop School of Theology, London, England.
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