On 30th January 2021, Bishop John Sherrington ordained Jakub Joszko as a Deacon. In his reflection, he speaks about learning to rely on God's love in leading him to his vocation.
I come from Prudnik, Poland. I have two sisters younger than me. I started my formation for the Diocese of Westminster in 2010 at the age of 19. Along the years of discernment and growth at Redemptoris Mater and Allen Hall, I also spent four years of missionary formation in places such as Israel, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The last few months before ordination, I lived at the parish of St Francis de Sales in Tottenham, with Fr David Lucuy, the Parish Priest, as a mentor. It has been a cause of great joy for me to be ordained deacon in St Francis as it has become a bit of a home for me now.
What I have experienced most of all during the last ten years has been an unwavering faithfulness of God and his unconditional love to me as I am. He never stopped loving me even when I was acting against his will at different points in my life. Like a father he corrected me and led me closer to himself.
At the ordination it was this experience of his love that stood out to me the most. It was as if God was telling me ‘Do not be afraid, you can trust me and not be disappointed. Rely on my grace.’ These words fall short in front of what this sacrament is, however I see that in order to serve as a deacon I have to rely on God’s love as he is the only one who can do any work in and through me.
Pray for me that I may be faithful to the call of God.
Deacon Jakub
(from left to right) Deacon Jakub Joszko, Bishop John Sherrington, Deacon Marco Salvagnini