Moved by their deep desire to serve in the vineyard of the Lord, six young men from the Chinese Jesuit Province were ordained as priests and deacons in four separate celebrations in Rome, Hong Kong, Ottawa, and Taipei.
D Xu SJ was one of 20 Jesuits from 15 countries ordained in Rome on 27 June by Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ. He was ordained as a deacon with 17 other young men, while two were ordained as priests. The ordination Mass was held in the Church of the Gesú with almost 150 people in attendance, mostly Jesuits but also some religious women, as Italy comes out of the Covid-19 lockdown. It was also Cardinal Czerny’s first ordination since Pope Francis ordained him bishop in 2019.
In his homily, Cardinal Czerny reminded all candidates that they are encouraged to choose the uphill path of the “new” rather than the downhill path of the “safe” by the whole Church, their family, and friends. He told them: “I cannot imagine Jesus waiting in an upper room or a sacristy; he would urge us to join him in the margins of the margins, where the courage of life and hope is most needed.”
In his reflection, Deacon Xu shared, “Yes, we are encouraged to move out of our comfort zones to face the challenging world. We are sent to serve, to encourage, to accompany, and also to weep with the people. Whether we feel ready or not, the Holy Spirit will build readiness in us.”
He said that during his ordination, he fervently prayed for the people suffering in the world, the Church in China, the Chinese Province, and his family and friends who have asked for his prayers.
“Although my family and most of my friends were not able to participate, I was united with them in prayer and spirit. Covid-19 requires us to remain physically distant, but this will never prevent us from being united with each other in God,” he said, adding: “I am so grateful for God’s wonderful deeds. The more I feel that I am not worthy, the more I feel God’s abundant love; the more I feel His love, the more I would like to follow Him for the rest of my life.”
On the same day in Hong Kong, Philip Shi SJ was ordained as a deacon in St Ignatius Chapel by Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.
The new deacon reflected on his ordination by sharing two stories of Jesuit discernment. One of which involves his experience as a young child growing up in Shanghai where the municipal government required families to declare their religion. This left the Catholic families with a real dilemma: whether to declare their religious belief and risk consequences beyond imagination or to “deny” Jesus Christ. It was a Jesuit priest who helped the Catholic families discern what to do. Deacon Philip shares the details in his reflection here. He hopes that more and more young men would have the “creative” spirit to join the Society of Jesus and be witnesses to Christ.
Two days later and 7,000 miles away, Lodewicus Barnard SJ was ordained as a priest at Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa, Canada on 29 June. Fr Lodewicus is a member of the South African Region but applied to the Chinese Province. He was supposed to be ordained in Taipei, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ordination was moved to Ottawa, where he is completing a Licentiate in Canon Law at Saint Paul’s University. Family, friends, and Jesuits attended virtually via live feed at 9am in Ottawa, 3pm in South Africa and 9pm in Taiwan. Jesuit Archbishop of Ottawa Terrence Prendergast SJ was the ordaining prelate, and the newly appointed Redemptorist Bishop of Pembroke Guy Desrochers CSsR was in attendance as well.
Canadian Jesuit Provincial Fr Erik Oland SJ presented Lodewicus for ordination to the priesthood on behalf of Chinese Provincial Fr Stephen Chow SJ and South African Regional Superior Fr David Rowan SJ. The Ogilvie Jesuit Community of Ottawa concelebrated in the Sanctuary, while other priests and lay faithful maintained physical distancing in the pews.
While the celebration was mostly in English, the second reading from 2 Timothy was read in Mandarin by Permanent Deacon Peter Fan. In his homily, Archbishop Prendergast spoke about Fr Lodewicus’ desire to serve the Chinese people and learn from them. After the Mass, Fr Lodewicus delighted everybody by making his vote of thanks in his native Afrikaans and in Mandarin, addressing his family and friends online.
The following day the new priest joyfully celebrated his first Mass in the chapel of the Ottawa community and on Sunday, 5 July, he celebrated Mass at the Chinese Catholic Sheng Shen Parish in Ottawa.
Back in Asia, Joseph Jia SJ, Gu Min De SJ, and Mu Ya Hong, a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Taipei, were ordained as deacons, while Joseph Dang Do Nhan SJ was ordained as a priest by Rev John B Shan-Chuan Hung SVD, Archbishop of Taipei.
The solemn ceremony held on 4 July at the Holy Family Church in Taipei, Taiwan started at 2pm with a grand entry procession of about 60 priests. A good number of people attended the ordination Mass despite the threat of Covid-19. In compliance with safety measures, everyone entered their names and phone numbers besides having their body temperature checked. However, because of transportation restrictions, the family members and relatives of the ordinands were not able to attend the celebration in person but were able to follow the live broadcast of the Mass online.
During the ordination Archbishop Hung thanked God for choosing these four men to serve His people. He also encouraged the newly ordained priest and deacons to “fully serve God’s will and serve others with joy in the same way as serving God. At the same time, they must also build the family of God – the church with good words and deeds.”
Deacon Gu Min De SJ, who is from Germany, is presently studying Chinese in Taipei. The biblical passage he chose for his diaconate ordination is from Psalm 63:3: “For your love is better than life.” He shared that God’s love is above all things. Trusting in God’s love, which is better than life, he chose to offer himself to God.
Deacon Joseph Jia SJ did his theology at St Robert Bellarmine Theologate in Taipei. The Bible quotation he chose is from Luke 10:2: “The harvest is abundant but labourers are few, so ask the Master of the harvest to send out labourers for His harvest.” For him, this passage reflects how he feels about his ordination. Seeing the need for more labourers as the harvest is large and abundant, he is offering himself to be a labourer in the harvest field of the Lord.
Fr Joseph Dang Do Nhan SJ, originally from the Vietnamese Province but applied to the Chinese Province, is pursuing his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Manila, Philippines. He entered the Society of Jesus in 2007. After 13 long years in formation, he has finally offered himself totally to God to be a shepherd among His people. Quoting Psalm 23:1, he says: “The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall lack.” [With reports from Fr Matthew Livingstone SJ (CAN) and Scholastic John Pamei SJ (KHM)]
Watch highlights of the ordination in Taipei: