Fr. Gaberieli Saunivalu.SS.CC. of the Namosi Highlands of Fiji was ordained to the presbyterate Saturday Dec. 6, 2025 at the Sacred Hearts parish of Queen of Peace, in Harlingen, TX. Fr. Gabby became a priest by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit through the imposition of hands of Most Reverend Daniel Flores, Bishop of the diocese of Brownsville, TX, and newly elected vice-president of the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops.
The combined choir of Queen of Peace Church and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was masterfully and beautifully led by Br. Nez Marcelo, SS.CC. who guided the diverse choir who finished the liturgy by singing a favorite Fijian Eucharistic song.
Bishop Daniel preached a powerful and inspiring homily weaving into explication of the Advent reading with messages for the ordinand soon to be Fr. Gabby. The bishop reminded us that Dcn. (Fr.) Gabby’s word: “Present” was more than half the battle. Showing up is very important. In Jesus’ parable only some responded to the invitation of the host to his banquet… and the Master invited the crippled and blinded who accepted.
The bishop, ever the effective teacher, reminded us that this day was the feast day of St. Nicholas, who should make us think not so much of Santa, but of the real bishop who was present at the Council of Nicaea. The bishop spoke of the true meaning of Christmas is more than just the birth of Christ, but his incarnation, his condescension from being divine in eternity with the Father to becoming one of us- his self-emptying (cf. Philippians 2).
Bishop Daniel threw in a sprinkling of Spanish, confessing that he could not think of the English word for difundir - but eventually came up with “spreading”. We need to spread the good news of Jesus, by manifesting Christ in our lives. Referring to Pope Francis’ exhortation of smelling like the sheep, and referring to the epistle of Romans on bringing the aroma of Christ to others, Bishop Daniel said we must spend time in the company of the outcast: the homeless, the sick and the vulnerable so that we can smell like them and have the aroma of Christ.
In the same way that Christ emptied himself to become human and servant, so must we all become servants, and especially the priests. “There is no greater ambition than to become a servant”.
The rite of ordination was beautiful with enculturated elements including the Fijian tapa (mat), and the placing on Fijian leis called salusalus. A number of brothers SS.CC. priests were present as well as four area priests (besides the bishop). 
