BRISBANE Deacon El Louie Jimenez and Toowoomba Deacons Brian Redondo and Nathan Webb were in the last stages preparing for their priestly ordination in the last weeks of June.
Deacon Jimenez said it felt like only yesterday he was entering the seminary.
He said the journey so far had been a blessing.
He came to Australia from the Philippines not knowing what his future held for him.
“I did not totally understand God’s plan for me, but I trusted Him that He would look after me,” he said.
“He did not disappoint me.”
Deacon Redondo, who was also from the Philippines, said his time as a deacon in the outback parishes of Toowoomba diocese had taught him a lot about Australian culture.
He said priests ordinarily would avoid pubs in the Philippines, but in Allora that was the centre of town and the place to encounter people.
He said he was amazed by how big and diverse the outback parishes were and said it had been a great experience to be welcomed so warmly.
Deacon Webb said he was excited about the ordination.
He said he felt like he had a lot of support from the community around him.
His diaconate had shown him how unpredictable ministry life could be and the value of being adaptive to unexpected situations.
He said it was often the days when he had nothing on the schedule that became the busiest.
He could be asleep early one night in bed and hours later up at the hospital helping a family in a domestic violence situation, then a couple hours later doing a baptism and later a funeral.
Ordained life involved the full gamut of life and death, he said.
He said he was looking forward to celebrating his first Mass as a priest and hoped everyone would be patient as he learned to pray it, he said with a laugh.
Deacons Jimenez, Redondo and Webb gave thanks for their friends and family, both those locally and overseas.
“You are God’s precious gift to me,” Deacon Jimenez said.
“I thank the Blessed Virgin Mary who brings me closer to her son, Jesus Christ.
“Mother Mary, thank you for your care for me.
“Please pray for me that I may always follow your example of wholehearted submission to follow and trust in God’s will.”
Deacon Jimenez would be ordained to the priesthood on June 29 at St Stephen’s Cathedral and Deacons Redondo and Webb would be ordained on June 25 at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Toowoomba.
