USA, Stockbridge, Mass.: Three Marians Ordained to the Transitional Diaconate

The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary are pleased to announce that two Ordination Masses were held at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, this week.

This first was held on Friday, May 8, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass. Three Marian seminarians were ordained to the transitional diaconate: Br. Ruben Veloz, MIC, Br. Christopher Orante, MIC, and Br. Ryan Asensio, MIC.

The Most Reverend Juan Miguel Betancourt, SEMV, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, celebrated the Mass and conferred the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Men studying for the priesthood are ordained as transitional deacons prior to beginning their final year of study before ordination to the priesthood. Deacons are able to preach at Mass, baptize, and celebrate weddings, while undergoing additional pastoral, liturgical, and educational preparation.

A Life of Service
In his homily, Bishop Betancourt spoke of the vocation to the diaconate as one of service. “The Church entrusts you today with a beautiful, yet demanding way of life,” he said, “a life poured out in service to the Word, the altar, and charity.”

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat,” Bishop Betancourt explained. “There is no diaconal ministry without this quiet dying, a dying to self, to worldly security, and to the instinct to hold back. But this is not a loss. It is the path to fruitfulness. When your life is given away in love, as it will be, it becomes a place where others can encounter Christ.”

The men to be ordained, through the Sacrament, would be newly-configured to Christ the Servant in a supernatural way.

“The Lord does not ask you to be enough on your own,” said Bishop Betancourt. “He promises to be with you. He places His own Word in your mouth, and His own love in your heart. Keep one ear close to the Lord, especially in prayer, and the other close to His people, their joys, their wounds, their hopes.”

Please pray for Deacon Patrick, Deacon Ryan, Deacon Christopher, Deacon Ruben, and all of our Marian priests, brothers, and seminarians!

Is God calling you to be a priest? Or do you know a young man who would make an ideal priest? Contact us!

Deacon Ryan Asensio, MIC
Deacon Ryan, 34, grew up in Lisle, Illinois. He studied engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and worked as an engineer for a while before starting a small apparel company. At 23, rootless and unhappy, he had a conversion. “I never really looked back,” he admits. “I had nothing to lose. I had no friends, no sense of purpose in life, not much money or a career.”

He began discerning a vocation to the priesthood, first with a group of missionary priests. He then lived like a monk for a year, first in California and then on a hazelnut farm in Oregon. It was there that he learned about the Marians, and made contact with Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, vocation director. A “Come & See” retreat followed.

“In 2020 I was on an epic bicycle pilgrimage from Fatima, Portugal, to Milan, Italy, when I found out I was accepted by the Marians,” he recalled. “It has transformed my life. I have come to love the Immaculate Conception and the way that we share in it — being preserved from sin, not because of our merit. Learning that God is my Father, and that He never abandons me. I’ve received great graces, and I am excited to share them.”

Deacon Christopher Orante, MIC
His last name in Spanish means “one at prayer.” Deacon Christopher, 41, a cradle Catholic, started altar serving at his parish in the greater Los Angeles area as soon as he made his First Holy Communion. “I just enjoyed sitting near the altar and wearing the vestments,” he said. “I was small so I didn’t really understand much about the Mass at that time, but I felt drawn to it.”

When he was older, Deacon Christopher admits that he felt as though he were “too cool” for altar serving and lost interest. But once he started Confirmation classes in high school, his mother encouraged him to attend a youth group at his parish. “I loved it,” he said. “I witnessed the joy that everyone there had and knew I wanted that, too. So, I kept going back, growing in the faith and making it my own. Finally, I was going to Mass because I wanted to, not just because my parents were telling me to.”

Then a Marian, Fr. James Cervantes, MIC, happened to be ordained at Br. Christopher’s parish: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Rowland Heights, California. “He and I were good friends. Many of the Marian Fathers came out for his ordination in California, so I met a lot of them, including Fr. Donald Calloway,” he said.

Though nervous to discern his vocation at first, he decided to attend a “Come and See” retreat. “I felt right at home, especially meeting many of the brothers,” he said. “I could tell they were a really good group of men, very faithful to Our Lady, and they just wanted to serve the Church faithfully.”

Deacon Ruben Veloz, MIC
Friendship forged a connection with the Marians for Deacon Ruben, 56, a native of Anaheim, California. “Years ago I met Fr. Angelo Casimiro before he entered the Marians,” he explained. “We went to the same church, St. Peter Chanel in Hawaiian Gardens, California. We became friends. I was learning more about the Catholic faith, and several of the guys in our circle were seeking vocations.”

When Fr. Angelo left to join the Marians, he and Deacon Ruben kept in touch. “When he became a deacon, he invited me to Stockbridge for a ‘Come & See’ retreat,” Deacon Ruben related. “It took a little persuading, but I decided to go.” Once there, he felt a deeper calling to the Marians. “Two of our charisms, devotion to Mary and the Divine Mercy, have always attracted me and given me peace,” he said.

During Eucharistic Adoration, he venerated the relic of the Founder of the Marians, St. Stanislaus Papczyński. “I remember praying to St. Stanislaus, saying it would be an honor for me to be a Marian, if it was God’s will. After a year, I applied and was accepted. Although it hasn’t always been easy, this is definitely home and where God wants me to be.”