San Fernando, Camarines Sur. Another day of blessing was bestowed on the Diocese of Libmanan, when on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the 16th day of July 2024, Rexwilson Dizon Alto of Pamukid, San Fernando was ordained to the Diaconate at St. John the Baptist Parish Church, this municipality. Deacon Rex was born of Vilma Dizon of San Vicente (Caramoan) and Exequiel Alto of Santo Domingo (Calabanga), who later chose to settle in Pamukid, San Fernando. Having grown up in this part of Camarines Sur, Deacon Rex chose to get incardinated to the Diocese of Libmanan, notwithstanding his parents’ provenance, which is the Archdiocese of Caceres. Gifted with a beautiful voice, Deacon Rex has been serving the diocese even prior to ordination as Assistant Director of the Office on Liturgical Music under the Diocesan Commission on Liturgy. Similarly, he has been given the opportunity to develop his talent in music by being assigned as instructor of Gregorian Chant and Polyphonic Music at St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary in San Fernando.
Given the prerogative to choose the readings for his ordination, Deacon Rex chose the passage from John (6, 60-69) as gospel reading, where St. Peter tells Jesus, “Lord to whom shall we go? You alone, have the words of everlasting life.” In fact, when asked sometime in the recent past whether or not he would pursue the priesthood, Deacon Rex consistently replied, “Masaen pa man bayâ ako?” (Where else should I go?)
As mentioned in a recent post, St. John the Baptist Parish is becoming a “mine” of priestly vocations. Deacon Rex’s ordination is only second to that of Deacon Neil John Bolocon, of Bonifacio (San Fernando), ordained deacon last year and who is also due to be ordained priest on July 24, 2024—in what appears to be the start of a series of priestly ordinations in San Fernando in the coming years.
A soloist himself, Deacon Rex’s ordination was marked by delightful music and singing by Anawim Choir under Maestro Ronald Dolor, a musician Deacon Rex admires and regards as tutor and mentor. Of all the songs sang during the whole celebration, the responsorial psalm that echoed St. Peter’s words, “Lord to whom shall we go?”—composed by the American musician and liturgist, Michael Joncas, way back in 1988—naturally stood out most as it expressed the theme of Deacon Rex’s ordination. Sang by a lead quartet featuring The Voice finalist, Carmelle Collado, and accompanied by an orchestra, the psalm left the church assembly touched and mesmerized.
In a message similar to what he imparted during the ordination of Fr. Nikko Alan to the priesthood in Sinuknipan, Del Gallego, on July 13, 2024, the bishop (Bp. J. Rojas) in his homily once again grabbed the opportunity to expound on the vow of obedience which St. Peter’s words in the gospel reading no doubt verily expressed. The priesthood, he explained, cannot be lived based solely on one’s own subjective interpretation of what the Church is and what kind of priesthood it demands. Rather, it needs to conform to the kind of priesthood lived by Christ himself as discerned by the Magisterium of the Church and regulated by the law of the Church (e.g., Canon Law). It is a priesthood lived in poverty, chastity, and obedience. To help the poor, he became poor himself–away from the allure of material wealth. In fact, he only had harsh words against the wealthy tax collectors when he could have become one of them to enrich himself. He chased the money changers and the traders out of the temple. In his preaching, he consistently taught that poverty in spirit is blessedness. To be able to fully serve, he lived a celibate and chaste life–depriving himself of the beauty of married life and the company of a wife even if he had himself women-friends. All his life, he surrendered himself to the will of the Father, and even to legitimate human authority. The bishop stressed that the Church, being a synodal Church, demands the kind of priesthood that is lived not according to one’s subjective whims but rather according to magisterial teaching and the collective experience of the universal Church. Apart from Christ, apart from doing his will, and apart from the way his mission is to be carried out as mandated by the Church, the priesthood becomes an exercise in pure activism. The priest is nowhere to go then except in obedience to the will of Christ. The demands of discipleship and service in the priesthood may be hard, but one who is called and wishes to serve Christ and his Church accepts the task just the same in a manner that Peter and the apostles did, surrendering himself completely to His will because “You alone have the words of everlasting life.”
As the Eucharistic celebration came to a close, Deacon Rex expressed his gratitude not only to those who made the celebration truly solemn and meaningful but also to all who became part of his vocational journey.
