Discerning becoming a Deacon

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And I forgot to mention the wife is open to going to the informational meeting in the fall.
 
So I had a thought pop into my head while praying about the diaconate the other day: why do I need to become a deacon to spread the word of Jesus?? I know plenty of holy people who aren’t deacons, nuns, or priests that bring people to Jesus just by the way they live they lives and things they say about Jesus. Do I really need to go through the deacon process to do that.

Are thoughts like this normal while discerning?
 
Do you think you’d like getting the additional education?

I love taking classes and going to school. If I ever had the chance to do this, this would be part of the draw for me.
 
That’s definitely part of the draw. I would love to get more education in theology, catechism, spirituality, ministry, etc. all that is a huge interest to me.

(My wife actually gets petrified when I go into a book store)
 
Also ask others to pray that the Lord answer your prayer! I will say a prayer. God bless you!
 
I discerned for the diaconate some years ago. I ended up deciding it was not my path and that I would express my faith in other ways.

One of the deciding factors among others was finding out that if I remained single then I would not be permitted to marry once I had become a deacon. My spiritual director had a long explanation that I won’t recount here, but it amounted to better the wife they know well via the program than the wife who comes along after the ordination.

Another deciding factor was my level of commitment to my career at that time as I didn’t really feel I had the luxury of taking on the time commitment required by the diaconate at the same time I was frequently oncall for my career and this would persist for several years. So I would say what one does for a living not only should be stable for the sake of one’s family, but also not cut into the time required for the diaconate.

The OP is already married, in which case that part is already handled. Best wishes on your discernment, whichever way it goes.
 
Zzyzx_Road said:
My spiritual director had a long explanation that I won’t recount here, but it amounted to better the wife they know well via the program than the wife who comes along after the ordination.
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They actually said that in so many words…explains a lot.
 
You know it’s time to go to bed when your eyes are so blurry that you misread the title of this thread as “Discerning becoming a Daemon”. 😀
 
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GordonP said:
You know it’s time to go to bed when your eyes are so blurry that you misread the title of this thread as “Discerning becoming a Daemon”. 😀
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It’s mid morning my time. Did you stay up all night?
 
jack63 said:
It’s mid morning my time. Did you stay up all night?
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Work 12 hour night shifts in the ER. It was a really nasty night, and I’m still riding on the adrenaline high and having trouble falling asleep.
 
Trying2bssint said:
So I had a thought pop into my head while praying about the diaconate the other day: why do I need to become a deacon to spread the word of Jesus?? I know plenty of holy people who aren’t deacons, nuns, or priests that bring people to Jesus just by the way they live they lives and things they say about Jesus. Do I really need to go through the deacon process to do that.

Are thoughts like this normal while discerning?
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Yes! And absolutely correct. There are many paths to holiness and God gives us all the necessary grace to be saints. In “The Heart of the Diaconate” by Deacon James Keating he says:

“The practical reality is that if I am called to Holy Orders, it will be the easier way to holiness for me, not the more difficult. In other words, the sacrament of Holy Orders is offered to me by Christ as his gift to me.”

That’s what discerning the call is about. Is this the gift that God is giving me to aid in my holiness? If you go down the path and see that it’s not bearing fruit and in fact making it harder, then it’s not your call. You may find his will by going down the path and then realizing it’s not exactly what you thought. That too is His will. Trust in Christ! Realize that you are not throwing a gift back in God’s face by taking action but finding out it’s not your call. If it’s not your call, it was his gift to you to at least take action and find out.
 
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