Florida Catholic | Two Men Join brotherhood of priests

Two men join brotherhood of priests

JENNIFER POWERS | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 06.06.08

VALETA ORLANDO | FC
Fathers Mark Richard Wajda, left, and Hector Antonio Vazquez Saad leave St. James Cathedral after their ordination May 31.

ORLANDO | St. James Cathedral brimmed with excitement and joy May 31 as family, friends and others gathered to witness the ordination of Deacon Mark Richard Wajda and Deacon Hector Antonio Vazquez Saad to the priesthood.

Father Miguel Gonzalez, director of vocations for the Diocese of Orlando, began the rite of ordination by attesting that both candidates had been properly prepared and found worthy of ordination, causing witnesses to break out into enthusiastic applause.

Bishop Thomas Wenski, in his bilingual homily, quoted Isaiah, Chapter 6, “Like Isaiah who heard the Lord’s voice asking, ‘Whom shall I send; who will go for us?’ you answered, ‘Here am I, send me.’ We thank you for accepting the call. Today, we share in your joy.”

VALETA ORLANDO | FC
Bishop Wenski prays while Father Mark Richard Wajda, right, and Father Hector Antonio Vazquez Saad lie prostrate at St. James Cathedral May 31.

Marking a solemn moment of the Mass, Bishop Wenski laid his hands on the head of each candidate, conferring the sacrament of holy orders. The 40 or more priests who attended joined in the laying on of hands as a symbol of welcome into the common priesthood of Christ. Deacons Wajda and Vazquez removed their deacon’s stoles and put on their priestly stoles and chasubles before being anointed with chrism oil in the sign of the cross on their hands. The newly ordained received bread and wine from the bishop, symbolizing and inaugurating their ordained ministry. Afterward, the bishop and all the priests shared the kiss of peace with Father Wajda and Father Vazquez.

About a dozen seminarians from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami attended the ordination. “Being present at the ordination gives me encouragement for my journey,” said sophomore Martin Nguyen. “The laying on of hands is something hard to express in words.”

“It reminds me of what we are called to,” said Jonathan Stephanz, also a sophomore at St. John Vianney, “The relationships built, the brotherhood of the priesthood, seen especially at the sign (kiss) of peace, makes me want it to come faster.”

“Imitate the Good Shepherd,” Bishop Wenski told Father Wajda and Father Vazquez during the ordination Mass, “Go out and wash the feet of the people entrusted to your care.” In July, they will do just that. Father Wajda will begin his priestly ministry at Annunciation Parish in Longwood. Father Vazquez will be assigned to Holy Redeemer Parish in Kissimmee.

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