19 JANUARY 2023
www.therecord.com.au
Edition #416
BIOMEDICAL SCIENTIST, TEACHER, SHELDON BURKE ANSWERS THE CALL TO RELIGIOUS LIFE
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, left, with newly ordained Deacon Sheldon Burke, centre, and his parents Desmond (second from left) and Shirley Burke and Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton. PHOTO: MICHELLE TAN.
By Jamie O'Brien
Somascan Brother Sheldon Burke CRS was last month ordained to the diaconate by Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB. In celebrating the ordination, Saturday 10 December at Thornlie Parish Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Archbishop Costelloe encouraged Br Sheldon to always retain something of an Advent flavour in his life and ministry as a Deacon and later as a Priest. Archbishop Costelloe was joined for the ordination by concelebrants Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Thornlie Parish Priest Fr Minh Thuy Nguyen, York Parish Priest and Somascan Fathers Delegate Superior, Fr Joseph Kakumanu CRS, Somascan religious, clergy from across the Archdiocese of Perth and Australia, and assisted by Deacons Nicholas Diedler as MC and Nathan Barrie.
Speaking to Deacon Sheldon during his homily for the occasion, Archbishop Costelloe encouraged him to “like Saint John the Baptist, see yourself as one who is called to prepare the way for the Lord's coming in people's lives.” “This is, I think, a special gift which deacons, priests and bishops are called to offer in a particular way,” Archbishop Costelloe said. “If God has created in each person a secret place in his or her heart which only God himself can fill, it is the privilege of those who are called to ordained ministry to be among those whom God sends to his people to awaken in them the realization of this deep longing,” he said. A former student of Lumen Christi College, 30-year-old Deacon Sheldon is the son of Burmese migrants Desmond and Shirley. The youngest of three boys, Deacon Sheldon says he recalls being brought
up with a firm Catholic upbringing. After graduating high school in 2009, Deacon Sheldon explained to The Record he went on to study a degree in Biomedical Science at Murdoch University, graduating in 2012. By this time however, the significant imprint from a trip to World Youth Day Sydney in 2008 aged 16 could not be ignored for much longer. Deacon Sheldon noted meeting and feeling inspired by the numerous priests and seminarians present during the WYD journey, but not really understanding much about what their vocation meant. “It was during the meeting with (then) Pope Benedict XVI, where he invited the young people to say a prayer to the Holy Spirit, everyone was holding candles and I knew in my heart God was speaking to me,” Deacon Sheldon said. Full Text available at
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