On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Sunday, June 15, the Custody of the Holy Land celebrated the diaconal ordination of fourteen Franciscan friars. The liturgy, presided over by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, was held in the Church of Saint Savior in the Custody of the Holy Land's convent complex.

The Trinity as a model of service

Cardinal Pizzaballa's homily delved into the meaning of the diaconal ministry in light of John's Gospel, (16:14-15) "He will take from what is mine and proclaim it to you." These words, the Patriarch explained, reveal the internal dynamic of the Trinity, where each Person gives and receives in a perpetual movement of love. Likewise, the deacon is called to live a service that does not originate from himself, but from Christ, becoming a channel of His grace.

The Cardinal contrasted this logic of communion with the lie of the serpent in the Genesis account. While the tempter sows distrust and separation, the Holy Spirit, he stressed, "neither adds to nor takes away from Jesus' words, but makes them alive in us. "In a time marked by conflict and fragmentation, this truth directly challenges the mission of the new deacons: "Your task is to bring humanity back to the awareness of being a creature, dependent on the Creator's love.

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In his homily, the Patriarch, outlined three concrete aspects of diaconal service:

Service to the Word: "You will have to proclaim it without altering it, as the Spirit does with the words of Jesus," the Patriarch said, inviting the brothers to "ruminate" the Scriptures so that they become life before proclamation.

Service at the Eucharist: the reference to "breaking bread" was linked to the call to "break one's existence" for others, renouncing all forms of protagonism.

The service at Communion: in a passage of his homily, the Cardinal noted, "Just as in the Trinity nothing is held back, so your ministry will have to build bridges, not walls."

A sign for the Holy Land

The celebration concluded with an invocation to the Virgin Mary to guide the new deacons on a path that "does not evade history, but redeems it through gift. "In a context marked by tensions, their ordination takes on a symbolic value: to show that it is possible to live relationships based not on power but on mutual acceptance.

The thanksgiving of the new deacons

Dear brothers and sisters, our hearts are glad in the Lord. St. Augustine, addressing the brothers of the community, among whom were also deacons, said, "Deacons are poor and forgiving of God, and hope for mercy." We, too, today, by divine grace, have received the order of the diaconate by responding personally to the Lord's call to each of us.

Embracing evangelical poverty, we have recognized in Him our only wealth. Enriched with mercy, we are made witnesses to the efficacy of God's grace. God is good, and He has called us. The initiative comes from Him alone, and each of us has responded to this invitation from the depths of our hearts. Therefore, we give thanks unceasingly to God, who has turned a merciful gaze toward us.

We thank His Most Eminent Beatitude, Pierbattista Card. Pizzaballa, for conferring on us today the order of diaconate in the service of the Church of Jerusalem and the Universal Church. We thank the Most Reverend Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, who refreshes us in the mission of the Custody of the Holy Land. We thank Father Rector of the Seminary, Brother Ulysses Zarza, and all the formation friars who encourage us to form our hearts according to God. We thank Friar Rosario Pierri, dean of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology in Jerusalem, and Friar Nicolás Márquez Gutiérrez, moderator of the Jerusalem ontological study, along with the entire faculty who, with their commitment, help us to know the mystery of God through the study of the sacred sciences.

We thank Brother Rodrigo Machado, master of ceremonies, the brothers of the liturgical service, the Schola Cantorum and the Magnificat Institute Chorale, who helped us to live this celebration with greater dignity and beauty. We thank the custodial fraternity that welcomes us, as well as our home provinces, our provincials, their delegates and all our brothers who accompany us with their prayers. We give thanks to the Church of Jerusalem, to which we belong, and which rejoices with us today that our ministry will produce abundant fruits in its favor.

We thank and greet our families present here in this Church or united spiritually through the Christian Media Center. Know that your prayers are our support. Our seraphic father St. Francis, in his diaconal ministry, made himself a servant of the poor and suffering.

Pray for us to the triune and one God, that we may become images of Christ in charity and dispensers of peace, of that peace so longed for and invoked for all this earth, especially for those brothers and sisters who suffer the ravages of war. "Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel!" Most Holy Mary, beloved daughter of the Father, mother of the Incarnate Word, spouse of the Holy Spirit, intercede for us, that we may always go forward and never lag behind.

Thank you very much.

The best wishes of the Custos of the Holy Land