Bishop Zeferino Zeca Martins urges a newly ordained priest and ten deacons in Huambo to practice humility, ongoing formation and true priestly fraternity.
Newsroom, (30/08/2025, Gaudium Press) – “Permanent formation is both a duty and a pastoral necessity through prayer, study and testimony,” the ordaining bishop told them.
Most Rev. Zeferino Zeca Martins, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Huambo, Angola, exhorted a priest and ten deacons he ordained to exercise their ministry with humility, a spirit of listening, commitment to ongoing formation and true priestly fraternity.
In his homily during the ordinations at the Shrine of Our Lady of Monte da Caála, Bp. Zeca recalled that ordination is only the beginning of a path of service, not an end in itself.
“Your ministry will be as fruitful as it is humble,” Bp. Zeca said on August 24. He invited the newly ordained priest and deacons to “learn to listen to God, to the Church, to the people and to your brothers in the presbyterate.”
“Let yourselves be formed every day, for formation does not end in the seminary. Live your consecration in fraternity, because the priestly ministry is not lived in isolation but in communion with others, so that we may truly be a sign of Christ’s unity,” added Bishop Zeca.
A member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), Bop. Zeca emphasized that “permanent formation is both a duty and a pastoral necessity. The ‘yes’ you give to God today must be renewed daily through prayer, study and testimony.”
“Do not be deceived into thinking that ordination completes you. On the contrary, you are called to deepen even more the gift you have received,” he insisted.
Speaking about humility, he advised learning from everyone: “Learn from the elderly, from the sick, from the simple, from those who suffer. Learn in priestly fraternity. Learn from your equals. This will not diminish you. On the contrary, it will lift you up before God and his people.”
He warned about the responsibilities and risks associated with ordained ministry: “You will be the deacons and priests you choose to be. Those who strive and ask God to be good ministers will undoubtedly be so. But those who choose evil will become a cause of scandal and rejection among the people of God.”
Bishop Zeca insisted on authenticity of life as a condition for a fruitful ministry: “Be conscious of what you will do. Imitate what you celebrate. Shape your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross. Your lives must be marked by truth, authenticity and uprightness — qualities that are far too often lacking.”
He warned against arrogance and self-sufficiency: “Beware of the spirit of arrogance and self-sufficiency that prevails among younger generations. Do not believe you know everything. Always listen, always learn, with humility.”
The prelate emphasized that “the mission is not a stage for individual protagonism, but a field of selfless service. The Church does not need stars. It needs servants with a humble and available heart. Vanity separates, compassion unites. Obedience to the Church and fraternal life are the distinguishing mark of a true minister of Christ.”
With information from ACI Afrique.
Compiled by Adele Wong.
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