Four men on road to priesthood ordained deacons

METUCHEN – Seated feet apart in the first pew of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, four men faced the Bishop of Metuchen and listened as he encouraged them to “stay with Jesus.”
 
The four men, now deacons for the Diocese of Metuchen – Jun Joseph Alquiros, Ariel Bautista Jr., Timothy Eck II, and Gregory Zannetti – were ordained by the Most Rev. James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA, Bishop of Metuchen, during a Mass of the Rite of Ordination of Deacons at the cathedral on July 25, the feast of St. James the Apostle. All four men are preparing for eventual service to the priesthood.
 
“Brothers, don’t ever lose the foundation of your call: Jesus’s loving call to you to be with Him, as it is that foundation that will properly feed you for the rest of your life of service, which you begin today,” Bishop Checchio said during his homily.
 
Like the apostles, whom Jesus chose to continue His own mission, and St. James, who watched Jesus willingly and obediently give up His life, the new deacons are called by Jesus to be with Him and continue His mission, said the bishop.
 
“Now, like St. James who was fortified by his experience of being with Jesus, you are being sent as you lay down your lives in service of Christ and His Bride in this Church of Metuchen,” Bishop Checchio said to the men. “The needs of our day are great; the challenges we face are so substantial they seem insurmountable at times, but all the whirlwind around us doesn’t deter us if we stay grounded in our call.”
 
The key to personal happiness; the key to the ministry of service; the key to faithfulness persevering; and the key to becoming a saint is to stay with Jesus, said the bishop.
 
“Stay with Jesus who has called you, in love, to be with Him,” he said. “Leave behind any pride or ambition and be converted through being with Jesus. Leave behind any feelings of unworthiness from your own human insecurities, learning to trust in God’s mercy and love, which is always there for us.”
 
He asked them to be witnesses of hope to God’s people by living and preaching the faith authentically and by simply living a life of prayer, obedience, and chaste celibacy.
 
“How our people need to see you living the faith, being men of prayer yourselves, being humble, obedient, chaste, celibate servants who inspire them to want to be with Jesus too. The Holy Spirit gives you all that you need to do so,” said Bishop Checchio. “May your road to sainthood always,” he emphasized, “be guided by Him.”
 
The four men are among the 22 seminarians in the Diocese of Metuchen preparing for eventual service to the priesthood, the largest number of seminarians the diocese has had in over 26 years. Five of the men are expected to be ordained priests at an Aug. 22 Mass of the Rite of Ordination to the Priesthood, to be celebrated by Bishop Checchio at 9:30 a.m. at the National Blue Army Shrine in Asbury. Another nine men are expected to enter the seminary in the coming weeks.
 
Holy Orders in the Roman Catholic Church consist of three distinct orders; deacons, priests and bishops. The Rite of being ordained to an official role of service to preach the Word of God and to configure one's life in imitation of Christ the Servant, known as the diaconate, is an ancient rite with its roots in the New Testament. All men who are in preparation for the ordained priesthood must first be ordained to the diaconate and serve in that role for some specified time prior to priesthood ordination.
 
The deacons spent years preparing for this moment, and while the pandemic caused them to change their routines and their expectations for the day of their ordination, it also reaffirmed their unshakeable faith.
 
The regular prayer, time communing with the Lord and learning more about Him through the scriptures and the teachings the Church has preserved for more than two millennia, and communal service – all intrinsic parts of life in the seminary – have helped shepherd the men in their vocations and through the pandemic.
 
“When everything else is filled with chaos and is out of order, prayer grounds me and reminds me that the Lord is still present and is still in control,” said Deacon Timothy Eck II, 28, who grew up in Blairstown and is a graduate of North Warren Regional High School located there.
 
Deacon Eck is studying in seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. His home parish is St. Jude in Blairstown. Before entering the seminary, he graduated from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
 
Also studying in seminary at the Pontifical North American College, Deacon Gregory Zannetti, 29, who is a native of Edison and a graduate of John P. Stevens High School located there, said prayer and the sacraments were fundamental to his decision to follow his vocational calling and still remain so now as he prepares for the priesthood during the pandemic.
 
“This time, challenging though it may be, is reminding us to have absolute trust in God and to do His will with joy and love,” said Deacon Zannetti, who entered the seminary two years after graduating from Rutgers University in New Brunswick with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. His home parish is St. Helena in Edison.
 
While the days plagued by COVID-19 have been challenging, agreed Deacon Jun Joseph Alquiros, 30, who is better known by his nickname “Jay,” they have also been a blessing, he said.
 
“I’ve been able to spend more time in prayer, praying the Liturgy of the Hours,” said Deacon Alquiros. “That is something that I’m promising to do for the rest of my life,” he said of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, which are marked by a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer, and held in the presence of God using His words and wisdom.
 
Born in the Philippines and later moving to New Jersey as a child, Deacon Alquiros said New Jersey has always felt like home. He is a graduate of Nathan B. Forrest High School in Jacksonville, Fla., and is studying for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange. His home parish is St. Ambrose in Old Bridge. Before entering the seminary, he graduated from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
 
Deacon Ariel Bautista, Jr., 27, who was also born in the Philippines, and later moved to Flemington with his family, is now studying for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University. He is a graduate of De La Salle University – Lipa in Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines. Before moving to Flemington, he earned a degree in classical philosophy from Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Seminary in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines. His home parish is St. Magdalen de Pazzi in Flemington.
 
Bringing Christ to others in these times can be challenging, said Deacon Bautista, but the answers to all our worries and burdens come through prayer.
 
“Prayer, bringing your intentions and others’ intentions to the Lord, is the real gift we can give to the world, especially during these troubling times,” said Deacon Bautista.
 
To learn more about these deacons and vocations in the Diocese of Metuchen, or to watch the recording of the Mass of the Rite of Ordination of Deacons, visit diometuchen.org/vocations.