Diaconal Candidates Celebrate Spirit-Filled Milestone

By DEACON LORIS SINANIAN, Special To The Bulletin

Published: October 16, 2003

RIVERDALE—The spirit of Pentecost was in the air at Our Lady of Vietnam Church on Oct. 8, as many in the diaconal formation community gathered to witness Archbishop John F. Donoghue institute the formation class of 2006 as readers and acolytes.

The readings, the music, the Mass intentions and portions of the Mass were heard in Spanish, Vietnamese and English. With this special Mass, the group celebrated a major step in the formation of 17 men from 15 parishes around the archdiocese as future permanent deacons.

After the diaconal candidates were presented by Deacon Loris Sinanian, director of formation, Archbishop Donoghue instructed the men on their new responsibilities. “These ministries, as preparation for the holy order of deacon,” he said, “take on intensified meaning for this service to the Church. It will be a good thing to remind them, and all who approach this rite with faith and hope, of what these ministries entail.”

The archbishop made it clear to all that they have an awesome responsibility to be “the solemnly appointed guardians of God’s word” and that the newly instituted readers “now use the richness of this ministry” given them.

Immediately following was the institution of acolyte, in which Archbishop Donoghue emphasized “that the acolyte is appointed to aid the deacon and to minister to the priest…to attend to the service of the altar, especially at Mass.”

“All who serve at the altar—priests, deacons and acolytes—use the great wealth of the ‘General Instruction of the Roman Missal’ as your guide to understanding the meaning of the Mass,” said the archbishop.

He also noted, “The ‘General Instruction’ is not a compilation of suggestions—it is the particular law of the Church for conducting the public worship of the Church…(it) exists to help protect the integrity of worship, and our own integrity as servants at the altar.”

The archbishop concluded his homily by reminding the newly instituted men to possess “a firm will to give faithful service, because that is what it requires of those who give themselves to the ministries we instituted tonight, and that we must be, as St. Paul has said, ‘an Amen that we utter through Jesus Christ, to the glory of God.’”

Eleven priests concelebrated the Mass with the archbishop, showing their support for the men in formation and sharing in their joy.

Following Mass, Msgr. Francis Pham Van Phuong, pastor of Our Lady of Vietnam Church, invited everyone to a reception provided by the Ladies Council. The vibrancy and cohesiveness of the Vietnamese community was truly present in the parish hall as the newly instituted were recognized for their achievement. All in attendance enjoyed this parish’s highly reputed hospitality and the abundant traditional homemade Vietnamese food and music.