In just a few moments, our brothers, before being ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon, will take an Oath of Fidelity to the Church and to her teachings; and despite its length, this oath is simple in its content: I believe. I profess. I will obey.
I believe and profess and obey not what man has taught, but what God has revealed through his Risen Son and through our Holy Mother, the Church.
Believing in God is a simple thing. A child kneeling beside his bed posits the same trust in his Father in Heaven as he does in his mother and father on earth…in their wisdom, their care for him and their ability to save him. And yet, as our beloved Pope emeritus reminds us, this fundamental affirmation of belief “simple in its essence, opens onto the infinite world of relationship with the Lord and with his mystery.”
The faith which is professed by these, our brothers, is the Apostolic Faith which we have received from the Lord Jesus himself. It is, as the hymn reminds us, “the faith of our fathers, living still.”
It is the faith which each one of you, God willing, will someday profess by the same oath and creed as you prepare to be ordained.
A faith which demands care and fidelity, an adhesion to what has been handed down in its entirety. An obedience to the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, which fosters communion and unity.
So help you deacons-elect, so help us all, and God's Holy Gospels on which you will place your hands.
I believe and profess and obey not what man has taught, but what God has revealed through his Risen Son and through our Holy Mother, the Church.
Believing in God is a simple thing. A child kneeling beside his bed posits the same trust in his Father in Heaven as he does in his mother and father on earth…in their wisdom, their care for him and their ability to save him. And yet, as our beloved Pope emeritus reminds us, this fundamental affirmation of belief “simple in its essence, opens onto the infinite world of relationship with the Lord and with his mystery.”
The faith which is professed by these, our brothers, is the Apostolic Faith which we have received from the Lord Jesus himself. It is, as the hymn reminds us, “the faith of our fathers, living still.”
It is the faith which each one of you, God willing, will someday profess by the same oath and creed as you prepare to be ordained.
A faith which demands care and fidelity, an adhesion to what has been handed down in its entirety. An obedience to the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, which fosters communion and unity.
So help you deacons-elect, so help us all, and God's Holy Gospels on which you will place your hands.
