By CBCP News
September 3, 2019
Davao City
Parents play a pivotal role in the discovery and promotion of religious vocations, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said.
Speaking at a diaconate ordination Sept. 2, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao said that family is the first school of discipleship or the “seedbed of vocations”.
“God’s calling is easier to hear when it is made or heard in the context of a family that has faith,” Archbishop Valles said in his homily.
While promoting vocations in parishes or schools are helpful, he stressed that nothing beats the role of families as the “basic venue” to encourage vocations.
“Faith in the community is also very important. It makes easier for people especially today to appreciate the whispering of the holy spirit,” he said.
In a ceremony at the San Pedro Cathedral, Archbishop Valles ordained 3 new deacons for the archdiocese.
With friends and family at the cathedral, he welcomed Michael Ondras, Jr., Ruperto Jamili III, and Alfredo Bustamente, Jr., who have completed theological formation.
As deacons, he told them that they are called to be servants and “a kind of serving that requires us to be the last”.
“That is the orientation of the kind of service to be a deacon but this is just transitory to become a priest later,” the archbishop added.
“We will accompany the journey of our people to the kingdom fo God. That is the signpost of the Church, the ministry of the servants of the Church,” he also said.
Also present during the ordination were Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla of Davao, Bishop Abel Apigo of Mati, and dozens other priests.
In recent weeks, Archbishop Valles had also ordained three men to the priesthood for the archdiocese. CBCPNEWS
