Br LORENZO PAGANI, ofm If I can think of two words that express what vocation is for me, it is first of all relationship because it is a relationship of love, a relationship of love between me and the Lord Jesus who loves me infinitely. This love prompted Him to call me to follow Him every day, in small and big things, with the certainty and knowledge that He will never abandon me. Br JOHNNY JALLOUF, ofm This "yes" is a call to joy and a call to love. And following Mary's example we are invited to give and say our "yes" to the Lord so that our joy may be full and our love may be greater. Br JOAQUIM FLORIANO JOSÉ, ofm "Vocation for me is a divine call that requires a response of obedience, that is, a person conforms their life to that of Christ, who is alive. We put ourselves at the service of God, humanity and all creatures." Br MARK VERTIDO PALAFOX, ofm Vocation is a divine call that needs a human, joyful, generous and total response. Br DIPHAPANG EZEKIEL NTSALA, ofm Vocation for me is a call to love, and to respond to that love, there are many different ways. I said yes, and I said yes to consecrated life. Now I am preparing for the diaconate and then the priesthood. We have many ways to say "yes" and participate in God's love. Br GEORGE PAOLO JALLOUF, ofm "Vocation for me is a call to life that leads us to enter into an intimate relationship with the Lord, a relationship that is renewed every day in the response to his call: Come and follow me!" These young people come from different parts of the world and have spent the last years of their formation here in the Holy Places. With the gifts they have received from God, they seek to respond to a call of love, in joy but also in the labors of each day, in listening to God's will and in obedience. A vocational journey that led these 7 young people to be ordained deacons on Sunday, May 21, in St. Savior's Church, Jerusalem, in a celebration presided over by H.B. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins. Present were the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the Vicar of the Custody, Br. Ibrahim Faltas, many priests, as well as relatives and friends who came to share this joy-filled day. In his Homily, H.B. Pizzaballa, highlighted how "the glory of Christ is found in love and gratuitousness. Becoming a deacon means becoming a servant again and making a total gift of self, taking on the style of Jesus' life." H B PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins To lay hands means two things: first, to invoke the Holy Spirit, but to invoke him through the Church, because in the Church the gifts bear fruit. The Church has changed many things, but this will always remain: the way the Church unites with God's desire to continue the work of God's Kingdom. These ordinations are a gift of the Lord to the Custody and a gift of the Custody to the local and universal Church. Read More