INSTITUTION OF NEW ACOLYTES AND LECTORS
What makes this day so special is that, the installations of the ministries of Lectors and Acolytes are given to some temporary professed members of the society. The installations on both ministries started at 5:30 pm, on Dec. 16, 2015, incorporated in the Eucharistic Celebration. The Eucharistic Celebration was presided by Fr. Agustin Van Baelen, SDS, the General Mission Secretary, and concelebrated by some Salvatorian priests, (Fr. Hubert Kranz, SDS, Fr. Zhou Fei, SDS, Fr. Gregory Coulthard, SDS, Fr. Wilson Catabay, SDS, Fr. Vinoy Joseph, SDS, Fr. Adam Janus, SDS and Fr. Milton Zonta, SDS, the General Superior), those participants of the East Asian Mission Vicariate Chapter, and Fr. Simon Jia Zhilu was also present. The said celebration was also assisted by Rev. Dominic Dung, SDS, held in New Manila Community, Quezon City.
During the homily of the main celebrant; Fr. Agustin, SDS was reminding the brothers that “every ministry is a commitment”. The society is called to present the Savior of the world to the people of God. He, then, told the gathered community especially to those who are going to be installed to be committed to their ministry. For it is also in these ministries that the brothers be able to exercise the mission of the society to present Christ to the people of God. As he was giving emphasis to each ministry; for instance, in the ministry of Lectors, he told them that reading the Word of God is an honor and a blessing, that is why, every Lector has to read the Word of God with faithfulness and commitment, so that the Word of Salvation will be communicated properly to the hearers, and thus, Christ will be presented to the faithful people. For the ministry of Acolytes, he expressed his thoughts by simply saying that, those who are going to be in this ministry is also an honor and a blessing, for they are preparing the necessary things for the celebration of the Eucharist in order again to present Christ to the gathered community. Hence, commitment and faithfulness are the essential elements for these ministries, as Christ is always committed and faithful to the mission given by His Father, and therefore, we are called likewise. And at the end of his homily, he shared also his joys and happiness with the brothers, for the General Superior is present for their installations on both ministries.
After the homily, the Rite of Institution of Lectors and Acolytes was carried out. It was started by “Calling the Names of the Candidates” for each ministry by the Rector of the House Fr. Vinoy Joseph, SDS. The installation of the Lectors was done first, and followed by the Acolytes’. The brothers who were installed for the ministry of Lectors are: Cl. Paul Duong, Cl. Paul Tin, Cl. Dominic Linh, Cl. Dominic Khanh, Cl. Joseph Cuu, Cl. Andrew Thai, Cl. Adrew Ren, Cl. Jenno Dolor, Cl. James Jimenes, and Cl. Joselito Fernandez. For the ministry of Acolytes: Cl. Florencio Ompad Jr, Cl. Joseph Chinh, and Cl. Paul Ngoc. However, there are also brothers who received both ministries, namely: Cl. Peter Thien, Cl. Peter Hoang, and Cl. Paul Vincent Galgo. Afterwards, the Mass continued as usual.
Before the final blessings, the Superior General left a message to the newly installed ministers to continue serving the Lord especially through the ministries being installed and reminded them about the “Year of Mercy”, and thus in lieu with this, he gave a key chain from Rome as a gift to each member of the community.
After that significant celebration, a simple but meaningful and remarkable dinner was set on the table prepared by the assigned cooks.
The evening did not end up by that meaningful dinner, for another special event of this month was set on that day and that was the Community’s Christmas Party. An early Christmas Party of the community was decided by the rector of the house in order to grab the opportunity of the presence of the participants of the Chapter. The party was composed of contests namely; the Cultural Dance and Christmas Carol Remix Contests, and with various individual and group dynamics. In fact, the brothers had invited Fr. Milton, SDS, Fr. Agustin, SDS and Fr. Adam, SDS to be the judges of the said contests. The program lasted for two hours. The program had finished by singing some Christmas songs and finally, by the blessings of the General Superior but he thanked first the community for that wonderful experience of being together as one family. The community had thanked too the participants of the Chapter especially the General Superior for their presence and active participation in the party. Consequently, how wonderful it is when the community celebrates together with joys and happiness while the aura of unity is deeply felt. Surely, Jesus is present in their midst.
