Soon-to-be priests share their message of faith and hope for the future
Deacons Robert Burkot, JuHyun Andrew Lee, Bernardo Garcia, and Frenel A. Phanord led diverse and interesting lives before they felt the calling. The four men will be ordained as priests on Saturday, May 27, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Deacon Burkot, 59, has always lived a life of service. Over his nearly 60 years, he has worked as a catechist, helped his widowed sister raise her children, and acted as a caretaker and legal advocate for his sister after she was stricken with cancer. But Deacon Burkot was not inspired to become a priest until having a dream in which Mary pushed him into Jesus’ embrace.
He received an associate degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and was near graduating with a degree in political science at Rutgers University with plans of going on to law school when he received the call to the priesthood, he said.
Deacon Burkot has since received a bachelor’s degree in theology, a Master of Divinity, and a master’s degree in church history. He said he would still like to attend a graduate degree program in church history after a yearlong pastoral.
One of his most memorable leadership roles as seminary president was to present the seminary bylaws to Seton Hall University President Joseph E. Nyre at his investiture. One of Deacon Burkot’s greatest joys this year was to teach and prepare a boy who has blindness, autism, and panhypopituitarism for his first Holy Communion.
Deacon Burkot is currently a transitional deacon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood.
When asked what message he would like to share with the members of his future parish, Deacon Burkot said, “Do you believe in miracles? Anything is possible for God. Have salience in knowing that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Deacon Garcia, 29, is originally from Santa Ana, Calif., where he worked in his father’s recycling company. He humbly states that he is an expert forklift operator and can drive a big rig. He graduated from Segerstrom Fundamental High School in Santa Ana and completed four semesters at Santa Ana Community College in pursuit of a business degree. He had plans to take over the family business and get married, but after seeing the joy among the priests while attending a Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica, he realized giving himself to God might fill the emptiness he felt in his life. Nine years ago he entered the seminary.
In New Jersey, his home parish is St. Peter’s in Belleville, but he is currently serving as a transitional deacon in the parishes of St. Benedict and St. Aloysius in Newark.
Deacon Garcia said he wants to be a priest out of “gratitude for how good God has been with me and how He has rebuilt my life. Through the seminary and the Church, He has taught me how to be a son, a brother, and, with God’s help, a father. How else can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done for me?”
Deacon Garcia said he would like to tell the members of his future parish that he is “eager to meet them and serve in every way possible. I am also looking forward to getting to know their families, to share in their joys, and to be there for them in their trials.”
Deacon JuHyun Andrew Lee, 27, was born in South Korea and has also lived in the Philippines, China, and the United States. He settled in Fort Lee, where he was a parishioner of the Church of the Madonna.
After experiencing poverty, Deacon Lee developed a desire to help others who are struggling like he did. So, immediately after graduating high school, the South Korean native entered the seminary to pursue his dream of becoming a priest. He is eager to be ordained soon so he can assist parishioners and let them know it is never too late to turn to God.
H As a college seminarian at St. Andrew’s Hall, he studied philosophy and continued his study of theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary.
Deacon Lee said living and experiencing different countries has allowed him to experience different images of the universal Church.
He is currently a transitional deacon at Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange.
When asked what he would like to share with the members of his future assigned parish, he said everyone is “always lovable and precious in God’s eyes, and there is no such thing as ’too late’ to return to God. I want to share that all of us are called to live joyful eternity with God in His Kingdom… and the only thing that can stop us from entering Heaven is ourselves when we say ‘no’ to His love and mercy.”
Deacon Phanord, 31, is originally from Haiti but grew up in Turks and Caicos, where the Archdiocese of Newark oversees the local Catholic mission.
Deacon Phanord completed his high school education in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where his enthusiasm for soccer grew. While he was on the AFC Academy team in 2010, the team won the league. He also trained with the National Soccer Team of Turks and Caicos Islands.
He pursued philosophical studies at the Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Catholic Theological Institute of Oceania in Guam and later completed his graduate studies at Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Conception Seminary, earning a master’s degree in divinity.
As a teenager in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Deacon Phanord had a lot of tough questions about the purpose of his life. He believed he might find answers in the seminary, so he joined thinking he might last a year or two. He never left. Now on the verge of entering the priesthood, Deacon Phanord is eager to help others by bringing them to Christ.
He said he joined the seminary because without priests “we are unable to have the sacraments” — the Eucharist and confession.
He is currently with the Neocatechumenal Way community at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ridgewood. He currently serves as a transitional deacon at St. Peter’s Church in Belleville.
To the members of his future assigned parish, Deacon Phanord said, “I am happy and looking forward to being of service to the flock that Christ will put before me with his help.”
Featured image: Deacons Frenel A. Phanord, JuHyun Andrew Lee, Bernardo Garcia, and Robert Burkot.
