The newly ordained Vincent Anh Xuan Vu assists Bishop Larry Silva at the altar at his ordination Mass Dec. 28 in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu. (HCH photo | Dann Ebina)
Bishop Larry Silva ordains Vincent Anh Vu in a joyful bilingual liturgy
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
On the fourth day of Christmas, Hawaii’s Vietnamese Catholic Community gave the diocese one new deacon.
Bishop Silva prays over Deacon Vu after the laying on of hands. (HCH photo | Dann Ebina)
Bishop Larry Silva ordained Vincent Anh Xuan Vu to the transitional diaconate Dec. 28 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu in a joyful bilingual liturgy. For Vu, it was his last major step before his ordination to priesthood in May.
The people gathered for the evening Mass under gray skies, the remnant of a massive cloudburst that had drenched Oahu earlier that day. Inside the church, brightly lit Christmas trees sparkled in the marble sanctuary, which was trimmed with rows of poinsettias and arrangements of bright red anthuriums.
The Vietnamese Catholic Community, the ethic ministry based at the co-cathedral to which Vu and his immigrant family belongs, was well represented with many of the women in traditional garb and men in dark suits. Eight pews were set aside for Vu’s family. The rest of the assembly included laity and members of religious orders.
Vu, who came to Hawaii at age 12, has been studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Honolulu since he graduated from Radford High School in 2008. He attended Mount Angel College Seminary in Oregon and is in his last year of studies at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California.
The Mass began at 6 p.m. with a procession of nine seminarians, 12 deacons, 32 priests and Bishop Silva, as the Vietnamese choir solemnly sang in its native tongue the hymn “Tu Ngan Xua.”
Vu’s brother read the first reading in Vietnamese and, in a clear baritone, sang the responsorial psalm, also in Vietnamese.
Vu’s twin sister read the second reading in English.
The ordination rite began after the readings.
At the formal summons by Deacon Clarence Decaires, Vu stepped out of the front pew where he had been standing with his parents, Vu Son Hung and Phuong Thi Nguyen, and approached the sanctuary. Father Rheo Ofalsa, the diocesan director of vocations, then presented Vu to the bishop, asking the bishop, on behalf of “Holy Mother Church” to ordain him a deacon.
“Do you know him to be worthy?” the bishop asked.
Father Rheo answered in the affirmative to which the bishop announced, “We choose this man, our brother, for the order of deacon.”
The congregation applauded.
In his homily, Bishop Silva melded the themes of martyrdom and diaconate in an instruction directed at the soon-to-be ordained.
The bishop pointed out the confluence of factors that led him to choose his themes — the patrons of the Vietnamese community are the 117 sainted Vietnamese martyrs; Dec. 28 was the feast of the martyred Holy Innocents, which fell two days after the feast of St. Stephen, the church’s first deacon and martyr; and St. Vincent was also a deacon and martyr.
Bishop Larry Silva poses with Deacon Vincent Anh Vu and his family following his ordination Dec. 28 in the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. (HCH photo | Dann Ebina)
Multiple martyrdoms
The bishop told Deacon Vu that while it was unlikely his new role would result in a physical martyrdom, occasions for spiritual suffering would nevertheless be plentiful.
‘When you offer yourself to the service of the Lord,” he said, you will experience the “martyrdom of love, which suffers with those who suffer and rejoices with those who rejoice.”
As one dedicated to Christ, “you may suffer the martyrdom of misunderstanding and criticism,” he said.
Deacon Vu shares a fraternal embrace with a permanent deacon. (HCH photo | Dann Ebina)
“You will suffer the martyrdom of affiliation” with those in the church who have failed to remain faithful and, as a result, suffer unjust criticism, he said.
As one who has promised to remain celibate, the bishop said, “surely you will suffer the martyrdom of mastery over self” in a world that glorifies self-indulgence.
When “you promise to conform your way to the life of Christ,” he said, “what greater privilege could be bestowed upon you” than to share in Christ’s “glorious martyrdom.”
“It is this wonderful truth that he chooses and ordains you to proclaim,” Bishop Silva said.
After the homily, Vu stood before the bishop who led him through a series of pledges on service, prayer, celibacy, respect and obedience, each beginning with the words, “Do you resolve …”
To each, Vu answered clearly, “I do.”
Then, in a traditional act of humility and posture of supplication, Vu lay prostrate face down on the sanctuary floor while the bishop and everyone else knelt and sang the four-minute long Litany of the Saints.
Finally, the moment of ordination itself. At 6:45 p.m., Bishop Silva, in tandem with the power of the Holy Spirit, laid his hands on the head of Vu for a few silent moments, elevating him to the order of deacon.
The bishop then recited a lengthy prayer of consecration over the newly ordained, asking God that he “remain strong and steadfast in Christ.”
Vu then received the symbols of the diaconate — from fellow seminarian and deacon Romple Emwalu a diagonal stole and dalmatic, a T-shaped outer vestment, and from Bishop Silva the Book of the Gospel.
“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are,” the bishop said. “Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
The bishop concluded with the sign of peace — an embrace. The assembly applauded a second time.
The Mass proceeded with the new deacon performing his new role, incensing the congregation, assisting the bishop at the altar, and distributing the precious blood at Communion.
After Communion, Deacon Vu took to the podium to thank the bishop, all those involved in the ordination and the people who came.
The bishop also thanked Deacon Walter Yoshimitsu, present in the sanctuary, who would be ending 35 years of active diaconate when he retired on Jan. 1.
The new deacon then intoned, “The Mass is ended, go in peace,” and the sanctuary emptied as the Vietnamese choir sang a hymn of thanksgiving.
