Create in me a clean heart, O Lord!

Deacon Zeno Lasius Gantis chose ‘A pure heart, create for me, O God,’ (Psalm 51:10) as the theme for his sacerdotal ordination on August 4, at the Catholic Church of Madsiang, Penampang.

Aug 12, 2022


By Peter Zeter
Deacon Zeno Lasius Gantis chose ‘A pure heart, create for me, O God,’ (Psalm 51:10) as the theme for his sacerdotal ordination on August 4, at the Catholic Church of Madsiang, Penampang. He is the sixth priest from the Catholic community of Moyog after Fr Thomas Makajil, Fr Micheal Modoit, Fr Matheus Luta, and the Marcus siblings – Fr Florian and Fr Gilbert.

The sacred ceremony was attended by about 1,000 members of the Catholic community and the deacon’s family.

In choosing his theme, the 31-year-old said, “I want to work for God, and thus I pray each day that my heart is always pure and holy for this work.” Being newly ordained, he admitted to having mixed feelings – happy and worried – as he realised the responsibilities he will bear in the coming years of his life as a priest.

Born on Dec 16, 1991, to Gantis Bohido and Loimis Gohinsang, Fr Lasius is the ninth child of 11 siblings. He went to SK Moyog, Penampang for his primary education and later to SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin. He started his priestly formation in February 2013 as he entered the Aspirancy at the Catholic Diocesan Centre and proceeded to Initiation Year at St Peter’s College, Kota Kinabalu the following year. From 2015 to May 2021, he did his priestly formation, and philosophical and theological studies at St Peter’s College, Kuching, Sarawak. Lasius’ pastoral exposure included St John, Tuaran in 2019, four months at Sacred Heart Cathedral in 2020, and a month at St Paul, Long San, Miri (Sarawak), and St Joseph, Kiulu from 2021 until his ordination.

Sharing his vocation story, Fr Lasius said when he entered the Aspirancy, he had no intention of completing his formation year. It was only a way for him to slowly ‘leave’ his active participation within the church circle and turn his full attention to working in the secular world.

Upon completing the first semester, he met the then Director for Aspirancy, Fr Wilfred Atin, to convey his intentions to quit the formation. Fr Wilfred advised him to finish the one-year period and decide thereafter. A year passed and then several years flew by along his path to the ordination day, which he described as a day to pledge a vow for higher commitment.

After the ordination, the archbishop announced that Fr Lasius would remain at St Joseph, Kiulu until further notice.

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