The People of God in Broken Bay have celebrated the ordination of three of its sons to the Order of Deacons, as Deacons Shayne D'Cunha, Huy Trần and Tân Nguyễn answered the call to devote themselves to service of the Church.
On Friday, 12 September, the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara was in overflow, as hundreds packed in to witness the ordination of Deacons Shayne, Huy and Tân.
Bishop Anthony Randazzo was joined by clergy from across Sydney and beyond who were in attendance for the ordination, along with seminarians from the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.
While all three men have enjoyed different paths to ordained ministry, they stood shoulder to shoulder during their ordination, after studying together at seminary for the past seven years.
In his homily, Bishop Anthony Randazzo said their ordination marked the beginning of a life of service, dedicated entirely to the Church and to Christ.
"Beloved sons of the Father, this identity, which is born in the waters of baptism, is the source of your dignity, and this dignity is now sealed in a new way through Sacred Orders," he said.
"You are now being configured to Christ the Servant, so that through your lives, others might come to know that they too are no longer slaves to fear, sin, or death, but beloved daughters and sons, and heirs of grace. You do not belong to yourselves anymore. You belong to Christ and to his Church. But remember; you do not serve the Church by wielding control, be it liturgical, administrative, or theological. The temptation is real. There is a danger that the higher in rank one rises in the Church, the further removed the person seems to become from the real purpose in being there. This has been true of clericalism, yes, but increasingly today, we see its mirror image: lay authoritarianism dressed in the language of “professionalism,” “efficiency,” or “reform.” Both are distortions. Both can suffocate the Spirit. Whether it is a collar or a title or a boardroom, any form of dominance that forgets the cruciform shape of Christian leadership is spiritually corrosive.
"This must not be part of your life and ministry. The diaconal ministry must be grounded in discipleship, not ideology, not institutional politics, but in the radical humility and servant leadership of Jesus Christ our Saviour. True Christian leadership is cruciform, shaped by the cross, not by dominance. It is deeply relational, sacrificial, and always oriented toward communion rather than control.
"Shayne, Huy, and Tân, this is your path now. It is beautiful. It is challenging. It is joyful. It is costly. But it is worth it, because it belongs to Jesus Christ. And he will walk with you. You are not being asked to do this alone."
The liturgy was complimented by the Cathedral choir, led by Joshua Willard and the Schola from the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, while the altar was served by the Diocese' current seminarians and discerners.
At the conclusion of the Mass, Deacon Huy thanked all of those who had supported him through his journey, including his parents who were in attendance. Deacon Tân spoke in Vietnamese, thanking those watching on the live stream.
Following the Mass, those in attendance gathered for a celebration at the Light of Christ Centre, where Deacon Shayne also thanked everyone for the support he had been given over the past few years.
While the three new deacons are still in the process of completing their studies, they have been assigned to serve in parishes.
Deacon Shayne has been appointed to serve the Parish of Epping & Carlingford, Deacon Tân has been appointed to serve the Parish of Chatswood and Deacon Huy has been appointed to serve the Cathedral Parish.