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Bishop James and other priests with the newly inducted brothers at Good Shepherd Seminary on May 6.[/caption]
Dimapur, May 8 (EMN): Four Brothers, namely—Albert Renao (Diocese of Kohima), Barnabas and Bitto Baby (Miao diocese) and Peter Soude (Archdiocese of Imphal) were vested with ‘clerical habit’ at Good Shepherd Seminary on May 6 in the presence of priests, brothers and sister, friends and relatives.
A press release from received here on Tuesday informed that the occasion was solemnized with the Holy Mass presided over by Bishop James.
At the commencement, bishop thanked Fr. Sunny Joseph, the rector of Good Shepherd Seminary and formatters for guiding the brothers. He also thanked the parents and relatives for offering their children at the service of the Lord.
Bishop congratulated the brothers for ‘boldly coming forward to get vested in clerical habit,’ which is a step for the stage of formation to priesthood.
Emphasizing on the word ‘commitment,’ bishop said ‘it is a total surrender one makes to the love of Christ.’
“We are all called for the enduring love. We have all had a share in the fullness of God’s love by the commitment we make to one another,” bishop remarked.
Bishop stressed on three aspects of commitment— permanent, faithful, and fruitful. Permanence, he said is a call for continuous dying to oneself and rising in ever greater holiness daily and lifelong and to be faithful is to be united in the persons of the trinity and in Christ’s spousal love for the church. This will enable a person to express the gift by total consecration of their lives in single-hearted love of a generous ministry, he said.
Bishop opined that fruitfulness marks the vocation to commitment in the church and fruitfulness is God’s love. He assured prayerful support to the newly vested brothers and called upon the congregation to pray for them.
The newly vested brothers were facilitated by the inmates of Good Shepherd Seminary with songs and steps.
Rev. Fr. Chacko, the director of Shalom and Rev. Fr. Tom also congratulated and exhorted the brothers.
