Rome: Eight students from Beda College ordained deacon

Bishop Davies with the 'Beda Eight'

Eight third years students from the Pontifical Beda College were ordained deacon on Wednesday, 15th June, in the Basilica of St Paul's outside the Walls in Rome, by Bishop Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury.

The new deacons are: ( in alphabetical order) Andrew Bishop from the Archdiocese of Southwark, Sean Henry from Shrewsbury, Shaun Doherty from Derry, Robert McMahon from Down and Conner, Gerard Moore from Killala, Paul Moores from Leeds, Wladimir Siwecki from Stockholm and Patrick van der Vorst from Westminster. (who writes the Gospel in Art which we publish each day on ICN.)

In his homily, Bishop Davies reminded the new deacons that their ordination called them to "a new intimacy with the Mystery of the Eucharist... For it is the light of this Sacrifice and Sacrament that we must learn to imitate Him who '….. came not to be served but to serve'" ..... He said: "As Saint John Paul II often reminded us, our vocation is found in the light of the Eucharist. And by returning to the Altar every day, we find the inexhaustible source of our life and ministry." …. "By striving to give ourselves more and more - and this is the secret - we know a joy which never fades, a joy which grows greater with every passing year."

Bishop Davies concluded: "Let us finally ask Our Lady then, in the consecration of her Immaculate Heart, to help us have a heart more and more like her Son's, so in the words of the Prayer of Ordination you will always remain at the Altar "strong and steadfast in Christ."

The Mass was attended by family and friends of the new deacons who travelled to Rome for the celebrations from several countries. After the service, a reception took place in the gardens of the college, under a glorious blue sky.

The new deacons now have one more year of study at the Beda, before they return to their home dioceses where they will be ordained to the priesthood.

Congratulations to all the new deacons and thanks to everyone who made this such a special day! Ad Multos Annos!

Read the full text of Bishops Mark Davies homily here:

Ordination calls you to the Altar, and at the Altar, we might say, you will always remain. In a striking image, the Second Vatican Council declared, ordination binds us more closely to the Altar bringing us into a new intimacy with the Mystery of the Eucharist. For it is the light of this Sacrifice and Sacrament that we must learn to imitate Him who "… came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many". The totality of Christ's self-giving in the Eucharist is the measure of the service to which we are called. As Saint John Paul II often reminded us, our vocation is found in the light of the Eucharist. And by returning to the Altar every day, we find the inexhaustible source of our life and ministry.

By the grace of ordination, our lives become an offering in the availability of obedience and in the total consecration of our hearts in celibacy. A consecration renewed every day in the celebration and adoration of the Eucharist. Over four decades, I have worked alongside many priests - some of whom made this commitment back in the 1930's - and I witnessed their striving to the end with ever-renewed generosity in the calling which today is yours. By striving to give ourselves more and more - and this is the secret - we know a joy which never fades, a joy which grows greater with every passing year

A bishop some 15 centuries before us, Saint John Chrysostom, reflected on the generous self-giving of the Apostle Paul, at whose tomb we celebrate your ordination. In a homily read in the Liturgy of Hours he describes Saint Paul's ministry with these memorable words: "It was not that he looked for more, he looked for much more." The great Bishop of Constantinople recounted the lengths Saint Paul went to along the roads he travelled; the people he reached; the hardships and persecutions he suffered and finally the martyrdom he here endured. Yet, all these struggles simply expressed the desire of his heart to give himself more and more.

Today, the 'Beda Eight' may not be called to imitate Saint Paul's heroic ventures, yet you are certainly called to imitate his generosity as the Holy Spirit configures you to Christ the Deacon and Servant of all. This generosity is not found in an over-active diary, rather in the disposition of your hearts, a contemplative disposition renewed every day in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and before the tabernacle of His Presence. It is expressed in concern for every soul for whom Christ gave Himself on the Cross: the one Sacrifice perpetuated in the offering of the Mass. Saint John Vianney had glimpsed this from his youth, in the clandestine Masses celebrated by the martyred priests of the French Revolution. The young John Vianney concluded that the call to ordination means being ready to give our lives in order to win many souls for God.

This ministry can never be about us, rather about Him who Saint Paul declared 'loved us and gave Himself for us'. For you will offer the world not your own life experience or your most considered opinions, rather His saving Gospel which today is entrusted to you as herald and messenger. In this service you are called to put aside personal preferences, as the prayer of ordination reminds us, bearing only Christ's preferential love for the sick, the poor and the little ones of this earth. Especially, those found in great spiritual sickness and poverty today. In this ministry you set out to offer no merely human remedy for what ails humanity, rather the Divine remedy of the grace of the Sacraments. For Christ's Precious Blood - the price of our Redemption - is from this day placed into your hands at the Altar. For in the Eucharist is found the world's salvation and every day the source of this life and ministry of ours. The Cure of Ars reflected that whatever goes wrong in this life of service, goes wrong because we were inattentive to the Eucharist. Let us finally ask Our Lady then, in the consecration of her Immaculate Heart, to help us have a heart more and more like her Son's, so in the words of the Prayer of Ordination you will always remain at the Altar "strong and steadfast in Christ."

More photos from the day can be seen on the Pontifical Beda College website: www.flickr.com/photos/137459279@N08/sets/72177720299825944/