In less than ten days, Deacon Victor Lujano will be ordained to the priesthood at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth.
Deacon Victor has been based at Good Shepherd Church in Lockridge since his ordination to the diaconate in July 2012.
He said although he was both nervous and excited as his day of ordination approached, he was not thinking about it too much.
“The best thing is to keep calm … maybe on the day I will be very nervous but for now I feel very tranquil,” he said.
Earlier this month, Lockridge parishioners raised almost $4,000 to help defray the cost for Deacon Victor’s mother and sister to travel from Venezuela to Perth for his ordination.
Deacon Victor said he was most grateful for the parishioners’ generosity.
“It’s very touching,” he said. “It’s so far to come to Australia from Venezuela … so it will be great to see them and to have them support me.”
In preparation for his ordination, Deacon Victor spent three days in retreat at the Benedictine monastery in New Norcia last week.
“It was very strong experience, to be [away] from the parish and just to relax, and to think what the Lord is preparing for me,” he said.
“The parish is very big … so you don’t have much time to reflect about what the Lord is doing every single day.”
Deacon Victor said he took part in the recitation of the Divine Office with the monks at New Norcia, as well as spending time reading and meditating on scripture.
As a priest, Deacon Victor said he would have several aspirations that he would like to fulfill.
“The thing I will wish is to become really holy, with the help of God … to recognise my sins, to recognise that the Lord has called me,” he said.
“If it’s God’s will, through me, maybe many people will be saved.”
Deacon Victor Lujano will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB at St Mary’s Cathedral on Friday, March 8, beginning at 7pm.