By Herald staff

Bishop ordains new priest, transitional deacon

Bishop William K. Weigand ordained Jonathan Molina to the priesthood and Renier Siva to the transitional diaconate during an ordination Mass in St. John the Baptist Church in Folsom May 31.

Bishop Weigand urged the new priest and deacon at the ordination Mass to go about the duties of priesthood “in such a way that people will recognize them as true disciples of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve.”

The bishop said the Second Vatican Council made it clear that “the work of ministry and the experience of life are aspects of each other, two sides of the same coin.”

He noted that as a priest, “you let Jesus under the appearance of humble bread and wine teach you humility, you let frightened sinners teach you gentleness, you let baptisms and weddings teach you hope, you let funerals teach you faith, you let parish meetings teach you patience, and you let Mary at Bethlehem teach you trust.”

Some priests have ignored the challenge to be single-minded and single-hearted and betrayed their calling, and the church has suffered grievously for their sins, the bishop noted. “We clergy cannot lead double lives without causing enormous suffering,” he said.

But he urged Father Molina and Deacon Siva to “celebrate the goodness in people, the goodness in our world, the goodness that leads back to God.”

Beginning July 1, Father Molina will serve as parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish in Elk Grove.

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