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- The Catholic Spirit
About 15 years ago, a casual acquaintance asked if I had ever considered becoming a deacon. I hadn't at that point, but the seed was planted. Although I knew several deacons, I never asked them about their lives as deacons or how to learn more. Then, between 2017 and 2018, three priests asked if I had considered the diaconate, and in November 2018, I finally attended a Deacon Discernment Day with my wife. Since then, I've taken one step at a time and remained open to God’s call to the diaconate, if it is his will.
Nation + World
- OSV News
At dawn on Oct. 29, people were already lining up outside the Catholic Cathedral of God the Merciful Father in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. By morning, about 2,000 had gathered for bread, among them children carrying empty bags, some without their parents.
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- The Catholic Spirit
About 15 years ago, a casual acquaintance asked if I had ever considered becoming a deacon. I hadn't at that point, but the seed was planted. Although I knew several deacons, I never asked them about their lives as deacons or how to learn more. Then, between 2017 and 2018, three priests asked if I had considered the diaconate, and in November 2018, I finally attended a Deacon Discernment Day with my wife. Since then, I've taken one step at a time and remained open to God’s call to the diaconate, if it is his will.
- The Catholic Spirit
It inspired me to see my son, Ryan, discern the priesthood. At that time, it took great courage for an 18-year-old to explain to everyone he knows why he is open to giving his life to serve others through the Church. I have also noticed how his vocation has brought him great joy and through it he has already touched so many lives. When one is ordained, we receive special graces that will help God work through us in powerful ways. We will experience great peace and joy if we follow God’s call for our life.
- OSV News
When I moved back to the United States from Switzerland in 2020, several people asked if I was going to become a deacon. It was not something I had considered, but questions from various people in Europe and the U.S. caused me to discern the possibility that I was being called to the diaconate.
- The Catholic Spirit
I discerned the priesthood three different times in the course of about 10 years after graduating from college. But I would always come to the understanding that God wanted me to be a husband and father. The big struggle was that I really had two loves and desires in my heart. I loved the Church and wanted to serve the Church, but I also desired to be married and to have a family. After getting married to my wife and starting a family, I always wondered if one day the Lord would call me to serve the Church as a deacon. This was encouraged by the wonderful examples of deacons I came to befriend: in particular, Deacon Michael Nevin. When my brother-in-law announced his intention to discern this vocation for the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, I knew the time had come for me to explore it as well.
- The Catholic Spirit
A person at my parish asked if I had thought about the diaconate. At the time I was not interested. She went on to describe an opportunity to learn more about our Catholic faith as part of the Catechetical Institute’s Pillars program (at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul). That sounded interesting to me. During the program, two other people, out of the blue, asked me the same question. I then felt inspired to talk about it with my wife, go to a Deacon Discernment Day, and apply to the formation program still not knowing if this was right for me.
- The Catholic Spirit
My first experience of a deacon was when I moved to Crookston after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1993. While getting to know Deacon Denny Bivens and his family at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston, I first felt the faint whispering of a call to the diaconate.
- The Catholic Spirit
For several years I paid weekly visits to men from my parish who had moved into senior care facilities. I admired their courage and enjoyed listening to their stories. Eventually, they all passed, so I asked my spiritual director, “What now? Should I find a new set of guys to visit?” He promptly responded, “You should look into the diaconate.”
- The Catholic Spirit
Growing up, I was very aware of the diaconate as a vocation. My childhood parish has produced more than 20 vocations to the permanent diaconate. In addition, all three facets of the ministry of the deacon resonate with me: ministry of divine charity, of the Word and at the altar. The call to service, to diakonia, long stirred in my heart. As our life took shape and became stable, I felt the call to explore the vocation.
- The Catholic Spirit
I began feeling the call to the diaconate about 20 years ago, but at the time my trusted spiritual advisor counseled that it might be a challenging time with young kids, and a young career for both my wife and me. So, I continued to foster through prayer and meditation a listening ear to the Holy Spirit. Over time, it became clear to me that the Holy Spirit’s call was resilient and my desire to be of service through the Church to those who are marginalized in our society was compelling me to explore this blessed vocation.
- The Catholic Spirit
My journey toward the diaconate began with a growing desire to serve God more deeply. My wife played a significant role in that journey. On several occasions, she told me that she thought I would make a good deacon and encouraged me to learn more about the vocation. My response was usually, "No, that's not for me."
As I became more involved in parish life and spent more time in prayer, other people began to say the same thing. Many parishioners encouraged me, telling me they could see me serving as a deacon. Deacon Adelmo Gracia also spoke with me about it. He encouraged me to take a step forward and discern the call, reminding me that if God was calling me to this vocation, it would become clear, and if not, that was OK too.
- OSV News
At dawn on Oct. 29, people were already lining up outside the Catholic Cathedral of God the Merciful Father in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. By morning, about 2,000 had gathered for bread, among them children carrying empty bags, some without their parents.
Faith
- OSV News
Although more than a common part of Catholic culture and practice, the veneration of relics has been practiced less during the last 50 years or so. But that seems to be changing in recent years, as a number of saintly relics have been traversing the United States, attracting large numbers of the faithful. Relics seem to be making a comeback, and in a big way.
Commentary
- The Catholic Spirit
Voting can often seem like the only way to participate in politics. We’re sold this idea through ads, social media posts and postcards in our mailboxes every day leading up to Election Day. A lot of money goes into getting people to the polls, mainly because candidates, political parties and activist groups want our vote. And while voting is important, it occurs only one day of the year. For Catholics, the real work of faithful citizenship happens on the remaining 364 days of the year.
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