Fr. Ike presented with congressional commendation

Fr. Isaac Masga Ayuyu, who is celebrating his 25th sacerdotal anniversary, reached another milestone in his priesthood when he received a congressional commendation from Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan commemorating his service and commitment as one of the longest-serving spiritual leaders of the CNMI.

Ayuyu was joined by Fr. Ryan Jimenez and other members of the CNMI Marriage Encounter team, Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), JJ Atalig, Cathy and Charles Cepeda, Gonzalo Pangelinan, Wayne Pangelinan, and Bill Santos when he accepted the award at Sablan’s office yesterday.

“I am humbled, honored and grateful for the privilege to be recognized this way and I accept this recognition on behalf of the people of God. I assure them my continued love, prayers and support,” Ayuyu, affectionately called Pale’ Ike, told Saipan Tribune.

The son of Francisca Masga Ayuyu and the late Corbiniano Songao Ayuyu, the younger Ayuyu is the first priest from Rota to be ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa on Aug. 30, 1986. He currently holds the position of Director of Worship at the diocese and Parochial Vicar of Mount Carmel Cathedral.

“My primary support for my vocation came from my parents and my siblings,” Ayuyu said.

He believes that being a priest is “an awesome blessing” and a “privilege.” “It is in the priest, through the power given to me at my ordination, who makes it possible to experience the real presence of Jesus.”

His involvement with the Marriage Encounter Program, Ayuyu said, has brought tremendous joy and life-enhancing experience to him.

“Every time I present at a Marriage Encounter weekend, I witness couples fall in love again and they appreciate their Sacrament of Matrimony. I, too, fall deeper in love with my priesthood and my Sacrament of Holy Orders,” he said.

Ayuyu noted, however, that with this privilege comes responsibilities that can be overwhelming. “I have always tried to look at my priesthood as a gift from God and, like any gift, it is something that I can lose or break if I am not careful.”

Through Marriage Encounter, Ayuyu learned that “love is a decision” and “when I wake up, the first thing I do is decide to be a pries each and every day. I try never to take my vocation for granted.”

Nurturing his vocation through prayers and relationships with people who value his vocation also helps a lot, according to Ayuyu.

“I truly treasure my experience with these people for inevitably, I can feel God supporting me and speaking to me through these people,” he said.

As he celebrates his anniversary as a priest, Ayuyu asked the community to continue praying for him and all the other priests.

“Pray that we, priests, remain faithful believers, and thus be channels of the grace of faith to those who depend on our priestly ministry,” said Ayuyu. “Pray that we may preserve our chastity. Pray that we priests, if it is God’s grace, die a martyr’s death, that we might live, all of us, a martyr’s life.”

Ayuyu thanked Bishop Tomas A. Camacho, Fr. Ryan Jimenez and all his brother priests, family and friends from Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and Guam who have helped him become “faithful to the promises I made 25 years ago.”

“Thank you for your continued prayers and loving support.”