Five New Franciscan Deacons
The Franciscan Friars had reason to celebrate in November. On 26 November 2021, the friars in Singapore gathered at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for the diaconal ordination of Brothers Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah. Due to Covid restrictions, only about 120 people were able to be physically present at the 4pm ceremony, presided over by Singapore Archbishop William Goh.
In his homily, Archbishop Goh said the Scriptures indicate who deacons are. The Book of Numbers refers to them as the Levites designated to assist priests and attend to the community, and St Paul speaks of the kind of disposition deacons must have, their role and their virtues. “A deacon has to read, meditate and even break the word. He also assists the priest in the celebration of the Eucharist in the preparation of the altar,” Archbishop Goh said. “Deacons also minister to the families. They are to be a good reflection of God’s servants serving only one Master.”
The ordination rite saw Archbishop Goh laying hands on the five friars and presenting them with the Book of Gospels, while Friars John Wong, Derrick Yap, John Paul Tan, Clifford Augustine and Aiden Peter assisted in investing them with the stole and dalmatic (an outer liturgical vestment).
For the new deacons, this is a step closer to priestly ordination. For those on the path to priesthood, the diaconate ordination usually takes place several months to a year before priestly ordination.
Deacon Cosmas and Deacon Gerald are serving in Sabah, Deacon Crispus in Penang, Deacon Sixtus in Johor Bahru and Deacon Robin in Singapore. They have begun to proclaim and preach the Gospel, lead people in prayer, preside over baptisms and marriages and conduct funeral services.
Five Friars to be Ordained Deacons
Friars Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Robin Toha and Sixtus Pitah will be called to the Order of Deacons by Archbishop William Goh at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd on 26 November 2021. The 4pm mass will be live-streamed on the Franciscan Friars YouTube channel.
*The mass booklet can be downloaded here.
They each share with us one thing that drew them to the priesthood.
Thoughts from the Novitiate
Friars Julian Chua, Sylvester Singh and Timothy Fong entered into the Novitiate at Greccio Friary, Singapore, in January. Novitiate is a period of intense formation for novices to know and experience the form of life of St Francis, to form their minds and hearts more deeply in his spirit, and to test their resolution and suitability for the Franciscan way of life.
The novices pray the Liturgy of the Hours and have an hour of meditation and a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day. They attend classes on everything Franciscan – from Constitutions and Statutes to the Order’s colourful history and the writings of Saints Francis and Clare. When they are not praying or studying, they can be found in the garden tending to the flowers and plants or caring for our cats and chickens.
As they near the end of their Novitiate, they each share one thing they have learnt from their first year of life in the Franciscan Order.
Please keep Friars Julian, Sylvester and Timothy in your prayers as they journey towards Temporary Profession in 2022.
Sharpened by Contact with Another
A patient said to the friar, “Young man, there is no medicine that can cure me. My problem is here (pointing to his forehead). I know too much, I worry too much, I want to control too much. Only God, in the end, can help. But I am still overanxious.” The friar replied, “Sir, do you believe that God will be good enough for you?” The patient broke down in tears and after a good five minutes of silence, he asked for prayer to surrender, to believe in God, to have the faith of a child again.
This encounter took place when the friar was providing pastoral care for the sick in Mount Alvernia Hospital as part of his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programme.
Six student friars – Cosmas Francis, Crispus Mosinoh, Gerald Terence, Sixtus Pitah, Gerald Tan and Robin Toha – are taking the CPE programme that runs from 2 July to 20 November. The programme will help them learn how to provide pastoral service to persons in crisis through action-reflection instructional methods and supervised practice in real-world settings.
They are on attachment with Mount Alvernia Hospital for the 20-week programme, journeying with patients and staff as they learn. A typical two-week cycle comprises six days of providing care for the patients, one day serving as communion and baby blessing ministers on the weekend, one day of group supervision and seminar, and a session of individual supervision.
Through his encounter with the leper, St Francis of Assisi learned to be truly human, humble and obedient to God and his fellow brothers and sisters. Through journeying with patients and staff, the friars are learning to remember to praise God at all times. Through encounters with the sick – such as the one above – the friars learn that we are all first and foremost human beings made in the image and likeness of God, made by love and to love.
Through the experiences in this programme, the friars are reminded once again of their first call – to be brothers to everyone, and called to care for one another. In caring for one another, our God, who is God of relationship, is truly present among us.
Indeed, as it says in Proverbs,
“Iron is sharpened by iron; one person is sharpened by contact with another.”
-Proverbs 27:17
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