{"id":7522,"date":"2017-06-19T12:01:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T17:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legionariosdecristo.org\/?p=7522"},"modified":"2025-08-12T19:52:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T19:52:31","slug":"deacons-joy-not-church-sad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/subdir.legionariosdecristo.org\/en\/blog\/2017\/06\/deacons-joy-not-church-sad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cardinal Osoro at the ordination of Father Nicol\u00e1s N\u00fa\u00f1ez, L.C.: \u201cBe diacons of joy and do not make a sad Church\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cBe<\/a>\u201cBe servants of compassion and mercy.\u201d \u201cToday we do not bring, like Moses, stone tablets,\u201d but rather \u201cwe bring your lives, the lives of all of you with which the Lord wants to write His diaconate.\u201d With these words, Cardinal Carlos Osoro, Archbishop of Madrid, began a heartfelt sermon, from start to finish, with the chords of a God passionate about all human situations. The solemn ordination ceremony of 20 deacons, among whom was the Legionary of Christ Nicol\u00e1s N\u00fa\u00f1ez, took place last Saturday, June 10th, at the Almudena Cathedral. A homily in which the cardinal emphasized the importance of the deacon in his mission of accompanying people and their personal encounter with Christ.<\/p>\n

Tell of God’s mercy<\/h4>\n

The Lord \u201cwill form in your life that diaconate of His, that face of service and dedication to the poorest, to those who need it most.\u201d The prelate encouraged them not to keep their lives for themselves but to expose them. \u201cLife is not yours; it is the Lord\u2019s,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the Lord wants it to be of the people, of men, and for all men.\u201d Because \u201cyou are not deacons only for a specific service; the Lord wants you to launch yourselves into this world and to all the men you meet along the way to tell them, with your own life, what compassion and mercy of God are.\u201d The how and where had only one path and one answer, and it was confirmed by the emotional eyes of the bishop: \u201cIn concrete service and in their concrete needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cBe<\/a>The cardinal, hand in hand with Moses and anchored to the promise of the Old Testament, encouraged the deacons to \u201cfeel,\u201d \u201cwelcome,\u201d and \u201clive\u201d what the prophet experienced: \u201cIncline yourselves before the Lord, cast yourselves to the ground.\u201d In this way, \u201ctake as a great passion of your life to intercede like Christ for those in need; in various needs, not only material ones, but those that come from not knowing they are children of God and brothers of men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love as He loved<\/h4>\n

In this sense, he affirmed that the diaconate that the Lord entrusts to them has a special song for them, made alive with a series of notes: \u201cBe deacons of hospitality, listening, joy, hope, and discernment.\u201d Step out of yourselves, he pointed out, \u201cto joyfully welcome the part of truth in the other, which the other communicates to me,\u201d and \u201cwalk alongside the other, together, toward the full truth, which is Jesus Christ, whom you want to serve.\u201d This, he emphasized, \u201cis the great hospitality that the Lord asks of you: it is an essential note in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cBe<\/a>Thus, deeply rooted in the hearts of everyone present, he highlighted: \u201cBe deacons of joy, of that joy, which is the joy of the Gospel.\u201d Because today\u2019s world \u201cneeds that joy that comes from encountering Christ and brothers, from open and sincere listening to the word of God.\u201d Joy, he reaffirmed, \u201cis a beautiful reality that must be in your life as deacons.\u201d And in this challenge to fulfill, he stated: \u201cDo not make a sad Church, because it is a sad Church. Do not do this.\u201d And love \u201cas He loved and without holding anything back\u201d because, like St. Paul, \u201cconsider everything a loss if we do not have Jesus Christ.\u201d And go out \u201clike Jesus,\u201d he concluded, \u201cnot judging, but loving.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Father Nicol\u00e1s N\u00fa\u00f1ez, L.C., deacon seminarians from the Madrid Conciliar Seminary, the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary, and two religious from the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary were ordained.<\/p>\n