New priests Fr. Leonardo Ma. Guiang, Fr. Waren Ma. Campilan, Fr. Edgard Ma. Benedi-an, and Fr. Jumen Ma. Arcelo, all of whom Servants of Mary (OSM), were received formally into the priesthood on Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, in the presence of families and friends. (Photo: Ana Perucho)

Four new priests of the Servants of Mary (OSM) in Philippines were ordained on Dec. 8 on an occasion special to the Blessed Mother, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Fathers Leonardo Ma. Guiang, Waren Ma. Campilan, Edgard Ma. Benedi-an, and Jumen Ma. Arcelo were ordained by Bishop Ruperto C. Santos of Balanga at St. Peregrine Diocesan Shrine, Tunasan in Muntinlupa City.

“I feel elated and in a moment of awe because God has been so generous to me. Thanks to His grace, I am now what I have become. I am happy because God is so faithful and kind in sharing His love, and in awe that I have received the office of a presbyter,” said Fr. Guiang, one of the newly ordained Servites.

While he knows being a priest entails responsibility, he looks at the privilege more as a “gift of love.”

According to Fr Guiang, who hails from Infanta, Pangasinan, what prompted him to decide to enter the presbyterate is nothing short of his desire to serve God in a “special, radical way.”

In love with and inspired by the Blessed Virgin, he sees in the order named in honor of Mary what Pope Francis affectionately refers to as “Evangelii Gaudium,” or Joy of the Good News.

Source: CBCP News