Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula D.D., taught that the grace of diaconal ministry is found in being known by God, loved by Jesus, and given in service to others during the ordination of four seminarians to the Sacred Order of Deacons at San Carlos Seminary, Makati City on September 19, 2026.
Cardinal Advincula presided over the Ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons, conferring the diaconate upon Rev. Mart Ceazar Adarlo, Rev. Mark Jake Deseo, Rev. Ian Gabriel Nuñez, LRMS, and Rev. Louis Montfort Ngo Van Huy, CRM.
Reflecting on the day’s readings from Jeremiah, the First Letter of Peter and the Gospel of John, the Archbishop of Manila organized his homily around three graces of diaconal ministry: “to be known, to be loved, and to be given.”
On being known, Cardinal Advincula taught that vocation begins with God’s knowledge of the person He calls. Reflecting on Jeremiah’s call, he emphasized that God knows a person’s strengths and weaknesses, generosity and limitations, courage and fears even before the person fully understands his own vocation.
The Cardinal then connected this teaching to the Church’s examination of the ordinandi before their ordination, when the question of their worthiness is answered by the Church’s reliance on God’s help. He reminded the ordinandi that God knows and understands them more deeply than anyone else.
On being loved, Cardinal Advincula highlighted the laying on of hands as a central act of the ordination. He explained that through this sacramental act, the ordinandi are consecrated to a life dedicated to Christ’s love and called to remain in that love.
The third grace, “to be given,” calls the newly ordained to share the gifts they have received from God. Reflecting on the First Letter of Peter, Cardinal Advincula said that every blessing carries a corresponding mission and that what is received from God is meant to be shared with others.
He connected this mission to the Book of the Gospels that will be placed in the hands of the new deacons, with the charge to “believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” Their ministry, he emphasized, should allow others to encounter the Gospel through prayer, preaching and service.
Cardinal Advincula called the four new deacons to make the Gospel tangible not only through liturgical proclamation but also in concrete acts of service, including visiting the sick, serving the poor, accompanying those who struggle, and welcoming those who are lost. He described the diaconate as a ministry in which they are “given to the others.”
Cardinal Advincula described the diaconate as a life of “constant self-donation,” reminding the four newly ordained deacons that their vocation is ultimately a gift to others.
The ordination also marked the return of the rite to San Carlos Seminary after 11 years. Cardinal Advincula described the seminary as a “womb, seedbed, and haven of vocations” for lay and ordained ministries in the Archdiocese of Manila.
Photo by Maricar Santos / RCAM Media | Photogallery
