JOYFUL CELEBRATION
Deacon ordained for Josephite ministry
By Susan McInerney
African and Gospel hymns wove a tapestry of praise Dec. 3 at Church of the Incarnation in Washington, D.C.
The congregation clapped and sang.
The joyful sounds anticipated the ordination of Josephite Brother Dominic Tochi Njoku to the transitional diaconate.
The liturgical celebration marked the final step before Deacon Njoku is expected to be ordained a Josephite priest next year, destined to serve the African American community in the United States.
The new deacon said he felt called to minister in the United States rather than his native Nigeria.
“I feel strongly convinced that God wants me to not only be a priest but a missionary priest,” Deacon Njoku told The Josephite Harvest, “and the diaconate ordination is a step toward being a missionary priest as a Josephite.”
The theme of the ordination Mass and the celebration to follow flowed from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, when the Lord asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” And the prophet answers, “Here I am; send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
During the ordination liturgy, Deacon Njoku lay prostrate in front of the sanctuary while members of the congregation chanted the Litany of the Saints.
Bishop Ricard laid his hands on the new deacon, the “essential act” of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Deacon Njoku was dressed in vestments for the office of the diaconate.
Bishop Ricard drew on the Book of Numbers in his homily, noting that while the Lord gave a portion of the Promised Land to 11 of the 12 Tribes of Israel, Levi and his sons received no portion of the land. Why? Because the Lord was their portion.
“Which is why we take these steps, so that our mind, our heart, our intention, our imagination, our desire will be for the Lord,” he told Deacon Njoku and the congregation. “Our portion is the Lord, the Lord alone.”
The bishop called on the congregation to pray that the Holy Spirit will come to Deacon Njoku and enable him “to live this life.”
Deacon Njoku did not always plan to become a priest. Originally, he wasn’t open to it, he said.
“I went to minor seminary but at some point, I was thinking about going to university to study accounting,” he recalled.
But in prayer he felt God was calling him back to the seminary.
He learned about the Josephites from Sister Lucy of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood, who was in his parish, St. Michael in Imo State in eastern Nigeria.
“She was like an elder sister to me,” he said. And that is the thread that runs through his studies, parish life and education. There is less talk of people being ‘friends’ and more talk of people being brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons in the Lord.
In his ministry as a deacon, the newly ordained clergyman said he’s looking forward to serving the people of God by handing down the deposit of faith through the rich spirituality of the African American community.
“There is a rich way of communicating with God that I can relate to as a Catholic and an African,” he said. “There is something about us as the people of God regardless of race, culture and background that helps us remain Catholic. There us something in African American culture and spirituality that helps us to build up the body of Christ as Catholics.”
After the ordination, Josephites, friends and supporters gathered for a celebration.
Myra Miles, a parishioner at Church of the Incarnation, said, “He’s an ideal seminarian. In him you see humility and perseverance. He is good at listening, and he is approachable.”
Deacon Dominic is currently assigned to serve at Corpus Christi Epiphany Church and St. Augustine High School, both in New Orleans.
