Scholastic Mark Nguyen Dinh Minh Tri SJ was ordained a deacon on 21 June at St Ignatius Chapel, Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. He is the first Vietnamese Jesuit to be ordained in Hong Kong.
Cardinal Stephen Chow SJ, Bishop of Hong Kong, presided over the multicultural ordination ceremony, which was attended by Jesuits, priests, deacons, Minh Tri’s students and colleagues from Wah Yan College, his professors in both Cantonese and theology, classmates, and friends.
In his homily, Cardinal Chow encouraged the new deacon to serve selflessly, without counting gains or losses, following the example of St Alphonsus Rodriguez, who saw service to others as service to Jesus. “You nourish your hope from reading the Gospel and sharing your hope with others,” said Cardinal Chow. “Then, speak from your heart, where the Holy Spirit speaks to you—the sound of desire. That convinces your faith.”
Deacon Minh Tri’s journey in the Society of Jesus has taken him from Cà Mau, Vietnam, to Taiwan and now to Hong Kong, where he has lived for the past five years. Reflecting on his vocation, he shared that the “most delightful thing” has been seeing the smiles of those around him.
“In fact, it was a smile that brought me to my calling,” he said. “I remember during my university years, I once caught a glimpse of the loving smile of Jesus in prayer—and I was drawn to it. His smile seemed to say to me: ‘Go and share the joys and pains of life with others.’ That’s when I responded to His call. From that moment, I deeply sensed God’s blessing on my vocational life and that He was giving me strength for the challenges of life.”
The new deacon expressed gratitude to both the Vietnamese and Chinese Provinces, which he described as “quite different from each other but both blessed by God in abundance”.
“One thing I adore about the Jesuits,” he added, “is how they embrace the individuality of every person.” He noted how each Jesuit has his own peculiarity, but as brothers, they respect and appreciate each other.
“In the Chinese Province, we can live and work together with brothers from around the globe: Chinese, Vietnamese, Germans, Japanese, Kenyans, South Africans, Poles, and so on. Gradually, I’ve learnt how to blend East and West and how to be a person who works hard but is also laid-back. I have learnt to appreciate and accept everyone’s differences and serve God’s people with my whole heart.”
He credited his formation in the Society of Jesus not with making him a perfect Jesuit but with shaping him into a companion of Jesus, who freely chooses to carry his own cross.
Having travelled hundreds of miles to be where he is today, Minh Tri resonated with the old saying, “At home, rely on your parents; outside, rely on friends.” But he added, “In spiritual life, rely on God.”
The new deacon, who enjoys studying ecclesiology—particularly how every member of the Church can feel at home and participate in their role with the guidance of the Holy Spirit—will have more miles to travel as he heads to the US to pursue a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) at Santa Clara University in California.