Last week in Abu Dhabi, Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia presided at the ordination ceremony where hundreds of Catholic faithful, family and friends of Fr. Darick Paul D’Souza and Fr. Arun Raj Manuel gathered to witness them fulfilling their calling towards becoming priests for Jesus Christ.
Priests of the Capuchin order, Fr. Darick Paul D’Souza and Fr. Arun Raj Manuel were ordained at a Mass in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the capital of the United Arab Emirates Jan. 8, for the Holy Trinity (Karnataka) and St. Francis (Kerala) provinces of the Capuchins, respectively.
Fr. D’Souza was born in Shivamogga district, a village 12 miles southeast of Udupi district in the Karnataka state of India while Fr. Manuel was born in Kerala, a state on India’s tropical Malabar Coast. The two priests grew up in the UAE after their parents relocated: Fr. Manuel in Abu Dhabi (he had hopes of becoming a medical doctor just before he entered the seminary) and Fr. D’Souza in Dubai.
Bishop Hinder was actively involved in helping the both them discern their calling to priesthood.
In his admonitions, the bishop noted the coincidence of the ordination with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.
“Today again the heavens will open and the Spirit of God will descend and confirm your mission as priests,” he said.
He called on the new priests to “exercise the Word (of God) worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and Catholic faith … when you proclaim the Word of God, you do not present yourself but you give way to the Lord who is the true actor in proclaiming the Gospel.”
“Avoid falling into a mechanical routine; always keep fresh the preferential love that Jesus shows you,” he urged the new priests. “For this purpose you have to unite more closely everyday to Christ … take daily your time for personal prayer and never think that time spent in prayer is lost time, or useless” Bishop Hinder said.
The prelate harped on the issue of poverty, he said: “especially as Capuchin priests, never be after money. Beware of the generosity of the people, which always can be a temptation; but rather be on the side of the poor and the needy, and show them solidarity whenever you can.”
“Keep Jesus in mind, who was not ashamed to stay with the sinners, to heal the sick, and to give relief to the downtrodden” he concluded.
Principal Con-celebrants of the Mass include: provincial of the Holy Trinity Capuchin Province,Fr. Joseph Pais; Fr. John Baptist, vicar provincial of the St. Francis of Assisi Capuchin Province; Fr. Troy della Santos, vicar general of the Southern Arabian vicariate apostolic, among others.
