Priesthood is essential to the life of the Church. Without priesthood, the sacraments cannot be celebrated. Hence, we thank God whom with his great love and mercy continually calls people to serve in His Sacred Altar. We do thank the two neo-ordained priests to the Sacred Order for their generosity in responding to God’s call to this sacred ministry. Vocation to the priesthood is actually a meeting of God’s call and the generosity of man in answering the call.
The priest is identified with Christ in the mind and hearts of the faithful. He has an overwhelming responsibility- to act as the person of Jesus Christ on earth. He is ordained to share in the priesthood of Christ. This is why we call a priest an “Alter Christus.”
The ordain prelate expanded his homily on the challenge of a priest and encouraged the newly ordained priests to follow Jesus’s footsteps wholeheartedly.
Further, the homilist expanded his homily into three characteristics of the mission: the Joy, Cross and Prayer. These three characteristics of the mission will always unfold the life of a priest in his entire life.
The priest performs miracle every day in in transforming bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharistic Celebration. He has a noble task to impart God’s blessings to the people and raises the aspiration of the people to God.
Among those were present in the Eucharist Celebration; together with the Salesian Family of Portugal there were Fr. Apolinario Neto,SDB (the Provincial of TLS Vice-Province), Fr. João Boavida,SDB (Currently studying in Rome), Fr. Domingos Caetano,SDB (Currently studying in Portugal), Fr. Salvador Mauhuno José, SDB (Currently working in the Salesian mission of Portugal)Dc. Cirílio de Deus,SDB (Timorese Missionary in Belgium), Timorese Salesian Clerics who are currently studying in Portugal. There were also some Timorese who were present in the ceremony.
The Newly ordained priests have just finished their theological studies in Portugal. The two have been scheduled to celebrate their first Mass in Timor-Leste in the near future.
Fr. Gregorio and Fr. Rafael is the third generation of the cooperation between Timor-Leste and Portugal. These two newly ordained priests are the first batch to be ordained in Portugal while the first and the second batch were ordained in Timor-Leste.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the Salesian Province of Portugal for accompanying our New and Young Salesian for their Practical Training and their Theological Studies. It is truly a real cooperation that needs to be strengthened.
Wishing you all a Fruitful Apostolate in God!
