By Louis Rodrigues –
Belagavi: Three young deacons from the Diocese of Belagavi were ordained to priesthood on Wednesday at a modest religious ceremony that was held at Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral here.
Bishop Derek Fernandes who presided over the liturgical celebrations conferred the priestly ordination three deacons Clifford D’souza (Kakkeri), Agnel Baretto (Alnavar) and Edward Santosh (Hubli).
Strict social distancing measures were observed during the entire ceremony where use of mask was mandatory while the participating priests also used hand gloves barring a few religious moments.
In his sermon Bishop Fernandes reminded the young priests of the commitments of the priestly life. “We do not choose to be priests but God chooses us to be priests. He does not choose those who are worthy but picks up unworthy people and makes them worthy,” Bishop Fernandes ascertained.
Task of every priest is to proclaim the message of Christ of Love; so love God, love neighbours and love your enemies, Bishop Fernandes advised.
Many priests sacrificed their lives while serving people during COVID-19, Bishop Derek Louis Rodrigues
He also highlighted about the sacrifices by priests while serving during the pandemic. “During COVID-19 pandemic this love of neighbour among the priests has come out excellently in a sense that all over the world as many priests have died while serving the people and were infected by COVID-19; this is the sacrifice required of us a priests,” Bishop Fernandes said.
A limited number of priests including the parents of the ordained priests were permitted to take part in the entire Eucharistic celebrations.