IN THE DIOCESE
tvc.dsj.org | June 19, 2018
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Priests throughout the Diocese Celebrating Milestone Anniversaries
This year several priests in the
Diocese are celebrating anniversaries
of their ordination to the priesthood.
Monsignor Stephen Perata marks
60 years as a priest. Meanwhile Father
Enzie Lagattuta celebrates 40 years.
And Father Hao Dinh and Father Sergio
Ovando mark 25 years as a priest.
Here’s some insight into each of
them, written by them.
60 Years
Monsignor
Stephen Perata
(Editor’s Note: On
Pentecost Sunday, Mon-
signor Perata celebrated
the 60 th anniversary of
his ordination with a Mass at Saint Vic-
tor’s Parish, where he spent many years
as Pastor. Below are excerpts from his
comments at that Mass).
“After sixty years of priesthood and
twelve in preparation, I look around
today and see so many of you who have
touched my life as family and friends in
the places I served. I give thanks to God
for all of you … your love, your prayers
and support. There are some of you I
have known a very long time, especially
my sisters for whom I am really grate-
ful to God. There’s something about a
relationship between brother and sisters
that keeps you grounded in reality. Even
in correction or disagreement there is
without a doubt loving support.
In every parish in which I have been
privileged to serve, God has always
blessed me with the people He sent to be
of aid and support. That’s all of you from
my former parishes here today. When I
came to Saint Victor’s you unknowingly
came with me. I was not alone when
I arrived. Your prayers and examples
were and are a part of me.
The richest blessing I have is you. You
are always with me.”
40 Years
Father Enzie Lagattuta
How can I express in
words what it means to
belong to the Lord? To be
with Him and know that
I am His? To be called,
sent, and united by love to the Lord?
To know that, despite all my faults and
foibles, I have been chosen to proclaim
God’s unconditional love and mercy
for every person He has created? As
with all priests, I stand in awe when
I reflect on the gifts I have been given
and what God does through me. I have
been invited to walk in the shadow of
the Shepherd of our souls so that others
may experience his love. What a blessing
25 Years life I now live in the body, I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. (Gal 2:20).
In all these years, I have tried to
be that image of Christ. Sometimes,
I failed and other times, I succeeded;
but I always believed in His continued
care and presence in my life, and I can
testify to His love for me. I hope and
pray that in the years to come I will be
a priest who has let Jesus live in me.
For all these years, I am grateful to
the I.V.E. Fathers who formed me and
with whom I spent many years of my
life. I am grateful to my family who
always supports me; to my father in
faith, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, and to
those priests who with their constant
support, prayers and example have
helped me to arrive to today, espe-
cially my friend from my youth and
colleague in basketball, Monsignor
Francisco Rios, and from my time here,
Monsignor Francis V. Cilia, and to the
people of God who with their love and
support have made these 25 years so
enjoyable.
Thanks to all of them and for them:
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call
on the name of the LORD. (Ps 116:13).
Father Sergio Ovando
Look ing to t he
past, it is difficult to
remember how every-
thing started. What I
do know is that every
single step leads me to this direction
and, in some mysterious way, pre-
pared me to become a priest.
I entered the Seminary at the age of
17, and I became a priest when I was
24 years old. For some people, this
may seem too young, but even at that
young age, I was sure of my vocation
and never doubted it.
My 25 years of priesthood have
been blessed with the most diverse
experiences, in the most diverse places
and with the most diverse people.
From my youth in Argentina to the
ex-Soviet Union, the experiences of
Rome, and of course the beautiful
experience of California, I have done
many things in the widest spectrum
of activities. I have been a missionary,
a professor in the Seminary, a student
in Rome, to just a simple parish priest.
Yet I learned from and I have enjoyed
every single one of these experiences.
Each moment and each place marked
my life in some specific way and made
me who I am today.
It is a tradition that each priest for
his Ordination and for his life will
chose a motto. I chose this one 25 years
ago: I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The Father Hao Dinh
“A wedding is a day;
a marriage is a life-
time.” That’s an adage
in the Catholic Engaged
Encounter that can be
adapted and applied to the ordained
priesthood: “Your ordination is a day;
your priesthood is a lifetime.” Ordina-
tion does not mean a guarantee of what
we want for the rest of our lives, rather it
is only the beginning of a lifelong call-
ing with both promises and challenges
that can lead us to where we do not
anticipate. I already experienced it in
my journey to the priesthood: it started
in Sài Gòn and led to San José, it took 24
years, much longer than expected (from
May 15, 1969 to May 15, 1993).
As I reached the 25-year milestone
in priestly life and ministry this year,
I have a deep sense of gratitude and
awe of what the Lord has done for me.
His constant companionship and oc-
casional “nudging” have helped me in
my journey, in good days and bad. The
Lord definitely has walked with me and
sustained me through my family, many
other people and several communities
of faith. Their prayers and support
have affirmed me, their experiences
and examples have challenged me to
continue learning and growing.
It’s a privilege to be part of people’s
lives, to be present with them in their
joyous moments and challenging times.
It’s a blessing to have the opportunity to
to give witness to the great love of God!
These past 40 years have been oppor-
tunities to be of service to the Church
and beyond. I am deeply grateful to
have served in parish ministry (Saint
Joseph of Cupertino, Saint Julie, Ascen-
sion, Saint Mary of the Immaculate
Conception, Saint Nicholas and Saint
William, and Saint Leo). I was blessed
by opportunities to pursue graduate
studies at The Catholic University of
America, to serve those in our Juvenile
Probation and Adult Correctional facili-
ties, to teach and serve as Chaplain at
Archbishop Mitty High School, to serve
those living with HIV and AIDS, and to
work with the students, faculty, and staff
at Santa Clara University.
These experiences have enriched
and blessed my life. Each one stretched
my comfort zone and taught me many
lessons. Through it all I have learned to
trust in the Lord every day, every second
of the day. I often remember something
that has helped me in the most difficult
times. It’s from Saint John Paul II who
said, quoting Jesus, “Come follow me.
And when you do, do not be afraid.”
speak or pray with them, for them. Some
of them, the elderly or the homebound,
just need a listening ear. Yet it’s the Spirit
of the Lord who is at work, enabling us
to say or do what is needed. It’s the same
Spirit who touches both the minister as
well as the ministered.
Being interrupted sometimes can be
a challenge, especially on New Year’s
Eve. Last December 31, 2017, I got a sick
call about 20 minutes before midnight.
As I was walking through the ER area
in Kaiser-Santa Clara, some nurses
began an early countdown, shouting
“five minutes” (to midnight). When I
reached the door to that patient’s room,
it’s four minutes… but the nurse inside
the room was on the phone and kept
talking without knowing I was there.
When I finally stepped into the room
and met the patient, it’s already the new
year - 2018! It took me a year to reach that
patient, but it’s worth it. Somewhere in
the valley, a baby was born a minute
after midnight. Here in ER, at that mo-
ment a son of God received the grace he
needed before crossing the threshold to
eternal life.
What is amazing in ministry is
people remember for a long time what
a priest said or did, when he no longer
remembers it: some relevant words in
a homily, a touching rite of anointing
of their parent, etc. God knows and we
know that they also remember for very
long what a priest should not have said
or done. After 25 years of ministry I am
sure I get both. I hope that people see
me as a work still in progress.
All things considered, I count it a
blessing to be part of the Diocese of San
José, to have the privilege of walking
together with diverse people in these
communities of faith: Saint Justin, Saint
Lawrence the Martyr, Saint John the
Baptist, Queen of Martyrs/Saint Patrick,
Holy Family, Saint Thomas of Canter-
bury, parishes in Deanery 5, Holy Fam-
ily (second “tour of duty”), and currently
Saint Martin in Sunnyvale. Added to the
list are communities that I came to know
through my seminary field education:
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Jo-
seph of Cupertino, Saint Justin (pastoral
year), San Jose State campus ministry,
Saint Christopher; and through summer
residence: Saint Maria Goretti, Saint
Mary in Gilroy.
Deo gratias! Thank you all!
Editor’s Note: At the time we went to
press we had not received reflections
from Father Michael Burns, Father Nor-
man Segovia, Father Jose (Joe) Galang,
Father Drago Gveric, OFM and Father
Eduardo Obero. Please stay tuned for
a future issue of The Valley Catholic for
their anniversary reflections.