“Oh, what joy when they said to me: let us go to the house of the Lord”

“Oh, what joy when they said to me: let us go to the house of the Lord,” says Psalm 122, and this is exactly what we experienced on Thursday, May 14, a feast day for our College. Besides celebrating the feast of the Apostle Saint Matthias as a Church, we also had the great joy of accompanying some of our brother seminarians from India as they received various ministries according to the Syro-Malabar Rite. From the second year of formation: Geoffry Tharakan Parayil, Joel Thomas, Midhun Seby and Justin Joseph received the “Karayosa” (lectorate). From the third year of formation: Justin Pokkath and Ronil Varghese received the “Heupadiaknusa” (subdiaconate/acolytate). Together with them, one of the seminarians from the “Mater Ecclesiae” College received the diaconate. All of them belong to different dioceses (eparchies) in India.

The celebration took place in the Basilica of Saint Anastasia on the Palatine Hill through the laying on of hands by H.E. Mar Sebastian Vaniyapurackal, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Kalyan, to whom we express our gratitude for his closeness and availability. The hymns in Syriac and the various signs proper to the Syro-Malabar Rite deeply disposed our souls and hearts to prayer and to the celebration itself. It was truly a great opportunity not only to accompany our brothers, but also to be strengthened in our own vocational journey.

Getting to know other rites of the Church, such as the Syro-Malabar Rite, is always a great opportunity to widen our hearts toward an authentic love for the Universal Church. We thank God for the ministries He has entrusted to our brothers and for the rich experience He has allowed us to live.

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