Bishop Alberto Rojas, Bishop Emeritus Gerald R. Barnes, priests, deacons, friends and family gathered at Holy Family Church, Hesperia on August 26 to celebrate the Ordination of 11 men to the Permanent Diaconate.
The new permanent deacons (with home parish indicated) are: Hector Aguirre (Sacred Heart, Rancho Cucamonga), Armando Berumen (Holy Family Catholic Church, Hesperia), Hernan Calderon (Saint George, Ontario), Cesar Chavez (St. James the Less, Perris), Héctor Ramón García (Immaculate Conception, Colton), Thomas Imbruglia (St. Peter & St. Paul, Alta Loma), Carl Jones (St. Anthony, San Bernardino), Andres Raul Lozada (Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Rancho Cucamonga), Alfonso Pastrana (St. Martha, Murrieta), Jose Ramirez (St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish, Desert Hot Springs) and Manuel Vides (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Ontario)
The 11 men processed into Holy Family Church alongside their wives, ready to make a commitment and assume the responsibilities of a permanent deacon.
“Dear friends today we are filled with a lot of joy, a lot of gratitude, we are grateful to God for the gift of these brothers who have responded to the invitation from our Lord Jesus Christ to be official servants of the altar, servants of the word, and servants of charity with a special focus on the poor,” Bishop Rojas said. “The Diocese of San Bernardino is blessed in accepting you into the number of those who preach the Good News.”
Bishop Rojas asked if the 11 men present were worthy to enter the Diaconate and after testifying that they were worthy Bishop Rojas announced, “We choose these brothers for the Diaconate.”
“Strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, they will help the bishop and his priests in the ministries of the Word, of the altar and of charity, showing themselves to be servants to all,” Bishop Rojas said.
During the Rite of Ordination of Deacons, the men knelt, one-by-one, before Bishop Rojas and pledged obedience to him. During this Rite, Bishop Rojas placed his hands over the men’s hands and asked them, “do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?” Then the men replied saying “I do.” Bishop Rojas then said, “may God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.”
Just before the Laying of Hands, the men lay prostrate on the floor as the choir sung the Litany of Saints, calling upon the holy men and women of the Church to pray for the men as they prepared to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Then it was time for the Laying of Hands. The men knelt before Bishop Rojas and he took the time to place his hands on each of the men’s heads, said a prayer and, thus, made the men deacons. They were given the stole and dalmatic, vestments of a deacon, and given a Book of the Gospels to signify their role of proclaiming the Word.
The new deacons then returned to kneeling before Bishop Rojas. One-by-one the new deacons laid their hands on the gospel book and listened to Bishop Rojas as he said, “receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”
Celebration broke out with applause and cheering when the men turned to face the congregation as new permanent deacons of the Diocese of San Bernardino. The clergy then lined up to perform the Kiss of Peace to the new deacons. Bishop Rojas, Bishop Emeritus Barnes, clergy and congregation lined up to hug and congratulate each new deacon. Then the Mass proceeded as usual, with some of the new deacons assisting Bishop Rojas in distributing the Body of Christ to the congregation.
Before Mass ended, Bishop Rojas presented each of the new deacons’ wives with a bouquet of flowers as a token of appreciation. Newly ordained deacons Carl Jones and Manuel Vides then took the podium to give some remarks on behalf of all the new deacons. The two men thanked all those who helped and guided them during their formation journey. Deacon Jones also proclaimed the newly ordained deacons’ readiness to serve saying, “Our hearts are ready to serve with the strength provided by our Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel that will open hearts.”
Bishop Rojas then added a few words to thank the many who had made the Ordination service so beautiful and for Holy Family parish for their hospitality. He then announced the assignments for the permanent deacons, Hernan Calderon is assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes, Montclair and the other 10 deacons are assigned to their home parishes for now.
Elena Macias is the Managing Editor of the Inland Catholic BYTE.