Following are major segments of Bishop Weigand’s homily on May 28 for the ordination of four transitional deacons, Arbel S. Cabasagan, Ruel Z Mesa, Martin J. Ramat, and Roland B. Ramirez:

Ordination to Sacred Orders demands a life of prayer, so from this day forward, you are required to pray daily the Liturgy of the Hours for the Church and the whole world. A few years ago, Pope John Paul II, spoke of this to U.S. bishops:

“If bishops and priests are to be truly effective witnesses to Christ and teachers of the faith, they have to be men of prayer like Christ himself....At a time when many demands are made on the priest’s time and energies, it is important to emphasize that one of his first duties is to pray on behalf of the people entrusted to him. This is his privilege and his responsibility, for he has been ordained to represent his people before the Lord and to intercede on their behalf before the throne of grace....Liturgical and personal prayer, not the tasks of management, must define the rhythms of a priest’s life, even in the busiest of parishes.”

Secondly, as deacons, and later as priests, you will be ministers of the Word of God. “The priest’s ministry of the Word is pre-eminently focused on the preaching ministry. The priest is a servant of the Word of God. He is not the master of the Word, nor is it his personal or sole possession. But it is his task to break open the Word that has been entrusted to the entire community in order to shed its light on their daily lives. It is not his own wisdom nor his own best judgment that the priest (or deacon) seeks to convey in his preaching. Rather, to the best of his ability, he strives to discern the message of God revealed in the Scripture for this particular community of disciples at this particular moment in its history.” (Father Mark O’Keefe, OSB, “The Ordination of a Priest,” pp.11-12)

Dear brothers, in order to be good homilists, you will need to meditate on sacred Scripture daily and set aside ample time to prepare your Sunday homily, in spite of how busy parish life can become....The ordination rite itself makes this urgent: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

Thirdly, dear Ordinands, as deacons, you also accept the commitment to the celibate state. Celibacy is a sign of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus chose it for himself. Whoever chooses consecrated celibacy chooses to participate in a special way in the full mystery of redemption — including of the body. The consecrated celibate images for the world how all will live in heaven, where there will be no marriage, and participates already in this heavenly mystery by being a living image of the Kingdom. The celibate chooses to fashion his life in a very concrete way on the celibacy and virginity of Jesus. And he makes this choice with a true understanding of what he is choosing and what he is giving up. He loves Christ so much that he is ready to embrace chaste celibacy, even though he also values highly the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Living the promise of celibacy generates its own kind of fruitfulness for the world — spiritual fruitfulness. You will serve others and make yourselves available to others in ways that married people cannot. Compelled by a sincere love of Christ and embracing this state with total dedication, you will more easily cling to Christ with an undivided heart. You will be generative of spiritual life — of Christian conversion and rebirth unto the Divine life. Yours is a countercultural witness that celibate love, with personal effort and with God’s grace, is, indeed, possible and beautiful.

Dear Ordinands, you will also promise today to be obedient to me and to my successors — to do what Christ and the Church asks of you even when the cost may be heavy. Obedience can be difficult and demanding, but it is vitally important. I will always try to listen to you and love you and do my best to help you grow. But, I will have to challenge you to that obedience which the Gospel of Christ and the good of the local Church require.

Finally, you commit yourselves today, also, to a special ministry of love and care for the poor — to a special charity toward the sick and the needy. Your identity with the needs of others, especially the poor, dictates that you live simply, without material possessions being important to you. God bless you for your courage and generosity in wanting to undertake this awesome but demanding life of service of Christ and his people.

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