Eight men ordained to permanent diaconate

Five more neighbor islanders in the same class to receive the sacrament soon

By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald

For a “sold out” service, the Jan. 9 ordination Mass for four permanent deacons at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu looked half empty after one took into account all the socially distanced seating that had to be arranged in the spacious church.

There were other signs of the pandemic times throughout the Mass. Bishop Silva and others on the altar used a generous amount of hand sanitizer in between actions. All in attendance wore the now-familiar masks. Each deacon candidates lay prone six feet apart from each other on the co-cathedral’s marble floor during the Litany of Supplication. There were bows instead of hugs between the new deacons and the veteran deacons during the Fraternal Kiss of Peace.

“It’s hard to plan an ordination under the best of times, but COVID-19 has brought a whole new magnitude to it,” said Deacon John Coughlin, the co-director of the permanent deacon formation program along with his wife Kathy, towards the end of the Mass.

Four Masses are scheduled this year and a fifth was originally intended to take place on Lanai for the first ordination of a permanent deacon from that island. However, travel restrictions prevented Deacon Henry D. Costales from being ordained on his home isle.

But much of the ordination proceeded as usual, marked by the solemn steps of the candidate’s election, the promise of the elect, laying on of hands and moment of ordination by Bishop Larry Silva, and the handing out of the Book of the Gospels to each new deacon. The men put on their stoles and dalmatics with the help of their pastors and then kissed their wives with masked faces.

In his Jan. 9 homily, Bishop Silva spoke of how a deacon’s strength in service comes from Christ.

“Yes, the things you do at the altar may seem so simple,” he said. “But they are ritual reminders that you are dedicated from this day forward to lift high the Good News of Jesus in a world bogged down with bad news, to lift up bread for all who are hungry, to raise a cup of overflowing joy for all those who mourn, and to lift up heavy hearts to give God thanks and praise.”

The bishop’s Jan. 8 homily focused on how deacons must extend their service beyond Mass.

“Your role in the liturgy is extremely important, but it will be an empty gesture if your praise of God is confined to the sanctuary,” he said.

“You will need to remind yourselves constantly that you are now heralds of the Gospel, whether proclaimed from the ambo or made flesh in the nitty-gritty happenings of daily life.“

Besides Deacon Henry D. Costales from Lanai, three Oahu deacons were ordained that Saturday: Savili Alefosio Bartley, Jeffrey L. Calamayan and Reynaldo V. Dinulong. Their wives are Divina Costales, Evelyn Bartley, Jennifer Calamayan, HoAnn Dinulong.

The previous evening, Jan. 8, another four deacons were also ordained: Kin Shing Cheng, Joel Y. Narusawa, Jonathan T. Lam and Renier L. Torres. Their wives are Maria Chan Cheng, Lily Narusawa, Diem Huyen Tran and Emilia Roxanne Torres.

 

Three Big Island deacons will be ordained at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 30 in St. Michael the Archangel Church, Kailua-Kona: Sandor Hernandez Morales, Charles W. Mapa and George G. Wood.

Two Kauai deacons will be ordained at 6 p.m. Feb. 19 at Immaculate Conception Church, Lihue: Alejandrino A. Ragasa Jr. and Averiet A. Soto.

Celebrating safely

After Mass, attendees were asked to stay in their pews until group photos of the ordained and their spouses were taken.

Then, outside under four red banners amply spaced out from each other and emblazoned with each deacon’s face, the newly ordained and their wives greeted well-wishers.

Deacon Jeff Calamayan gave his wife, Jennifer, his first blessing followed by an embrace.

Deacon and Mrs. Costales’ three grown children, Mikaela, Deven and Tyra, made the trip to Oahu for their dad’s ordination, along with about a dozen or more other friends and family. The Lanai contingent all wore masks with the outline of the small island on them, a fundraiser for Lanai High School.

Deacon Bartley and wife Evelyn received leis and congratulations under the co-cathedral’s back portico and Deacon Dinulong and his wife, HoAnn, greeted people near the St. Theresa School sign. Then those that wished to grabbed a to-go bento as they drove away.

A long process

Becoming a permanent deacon is a long and involved process. Eighteen men and their wives made it through their aspirancy year in 2016 and made the Rite of Candidacy in January 2017. The couples did two more years of formation, including studies through Chaminade University, pastoral training and meeting one weekend a month, mostly at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe.

By January 2019’s Rite for the Institution of Lectors, the group was down to 14, and then 13 by the final pre-ordination Rite of Acolyte in October 2019.

The process of becoming a deacon is just as much of a commitment for deacon candidate wives, since they have to agree to support their husband’s vocation and participate in much of the same formation process.

This group of candidates, Cohort 9, is so named because they are the ninth deacon formation class for the Diocese of Honolulu since permanent deacons were instituted in Hawaii. Bishop John J. Scanlan formed the first class in September 1978 and ordained the first eight permanent deacons in December 1981.

Cohort 9 was guided by core team mentors Deacon Keith Cabiles and his wife, Hazell, Deacon David Kane and his wife, Anne, Deacon Francis Leasiolagi and his late wife, Alofa, who passed away during Cohort 9’s formation, and Deacon Michael Weaver and his wife, Cecelia.

Deacon Keith and Hazell Cabiles have begun three years of training to eventually take over the deacon formation program from Deacon John and Kathy Coughlin.

The first eight men’s wives were all recognized and received a special blessing from Bishop Silva at the end of the Friday night and Saturday morning ordination Masses.