Permanent Diaconate

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levavi

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I am presently discerning a vocation to the Diaconate. I am a married 31-year-old, and I know in the UK I would have to wait until I am 40.

It occurred to me a while ago and I am seriously thinking about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
 
God bless you for considering answering God’s call to the diaconate. The best suggestion I can make to you…is get yourself a good spiritual director to guide you in this decision. You can contact your diocese for a list of spiritual directors. Not all priests are spiritual directors and not all spiritual directors are priests either…but the guidance they provide is invaluable. If you feel called…and your diocese provides a lay ministry program that you can enroll in prior to your diaconate training…that’s another avenue you can take until you are able to become a deacon. Get involved at the parish level, in liturgical ministry and the ministry of charity as well which is where deacons work. If you have a deacon in your parish already, get acquainted and ask him to mentor your journey with you. And with all things begin with prayer and end it that way too. Also all deacons say the Liturgy of the Hours daily…you can as well. You may need some help in learning how to say them, but that’s where your parish deacon can help too. You will remain in my prayers.

usml.edu/education/diaconate/default.htm
 
Congratulations on your call! I myself have been discerning the call to the permanent diaconate for a number of years. I’m currently wrapping up the application process and if accepted, I will start formation this fall.

To underline some of stbruno’s suggestions, it is very important to be active in your parish, serving as lector, eucharistic minister, or being involved in other parish ministries. Speak to your pastor about your call, as he may be called as a reference for you in your application. Seek out spiritual direction, as it is invaluable in refining your call.

Another very important point is to be sure your spouse and children are also aware of your call, and are supportive. Your wife will be required to be in agreement for your application. As a deacon’s wife she will be sharing you with the body you will be serving.

My prayers are with you!

Peace
 
If you feel this is what God is calling you to do, I think you should really look into it. We here in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis were blessed Saturday to have 25 men ordained to the Permanent Diaconate, one of which is a member of our Catholic Community where I attend mass. This is the first time the Archdiocese of Indianapolis has ever ordained permanent deacons. May God bless you and sent the holy spirit to you to make known His plan for you.
 
levavi said:
I am presently discerning a vocation to the Diaconate. I am a married 31-year-old, and I know in the UK I would have to wait until I am 40.

It occurred to me a while ago and I am seriously thinking about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
Click to expand...
Good advice given-Ever thought of moving?🙂
 
levavi said:
I am presently discerning a vocation to the Diaconate. I am a married 31-year-old, and I know in the UK I would have to wait until I am 40.

It occurred to me a while ago and I am seriously thinking about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
Click to expand...
I would read and study what your local requirements but also look at what other dioceses are doing in other parts of the world. Get a spiritual director, your diocese probably can give you leads.
 
levavi said:
I am presently discerning a vocation to the Diaconate. I am a married 31-year-old, and I know in the UK I would have to wait until I am 40.

It occurred to me a while ago and I am seriously thinking about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
Click to expand...
Well, I think the Traditionalists’ stance is so because they feel it’s a loophole out of the priesthood. You know, sort of the whole “you can wear the fancy vestments at Mass but you can still have a wife and kids” kinda thing. I personally have met many fine permanent deacons in my day. However, I can also understand why many do “look down” upon it. To be perfectly honest, we need priests, not permanent deacons. While they may help the priest at Mass, without the priest, there is no Mass. The church can survive without deacons; but not priests.

Anyway, may God bless you on your discernment journey.
 
Good point-can not survive without priests at Mass. Helping the priest was suppose to be a very small part of the diaconate. The purpose of the deacon was to be where the church is not. This was the original vision for the permanent diaconate. Service was to be to the least of our brothers and sisters at prisons, soup kitchens, hospitals, mental wards and a hundred other places. The shortage of priests has caused more assisting for the deacons with Sacramental duties and services such as weddings outside of Mass, funerals, baptisms, counseling, bringing viaticum Etc. Etc. This was not the original vision. My pastor tells me that maybe the original vision was not God’s vision. More and more deacons are so busy with their parishes that there is little or no time for service to the Least Of Our Brothers and Sisters.
 
BritishCatholic said:
Well, I think the Traditionalists’ stance is so because they feel it’s a loophole out of the priesthood. You know, sort of the whole “you can wear the fancy vestments at Mass but you can still have a wife and kids” kinda thing. I personally have met many fine permanent deacons in my day. However, I can also understand why many do “look down” upon it. To be perfectly honest, we need priests, not permanent deacons. While they may help the priest at Mass, without the priest, there is no Mass. The church can survive without deacons; but not priests. .
Click to expand...
While I agree that most traditionalists probably feel the way you posted, the fact is that many men that are drawn to the deaconate because they may have missed the calling earlier in life to become a priest, or they only matured later in life to recognise the calling.

The fact is, we have to make the most important decisions in life when we are at our most imature point in life, the teenage years, so there are men that miss the calling. And many men only become stronger in the faith as they get older, and may not have been ready at an earlier age. So IMO, thank goodness for the permanent deaconate!

While the deaconate doesn’t replace our need for priests, it does fill a need for men to answer the calling after marriage or later in life…🙂
 
levavi said:
I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
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I wouldn’t worry about that. All sorts of people look down on others, but it shouldn’t stop someone from doing what they want to do or what they know in their heart they want to do.

IMHO
 
What would you do if you felt a very strong calling to the diaconate, applied, and then were rejected but still feel a very strong call? I know if it’s God’s will, it will happen, but what is my role in making it happen? Should I just sit back and wait? Move to another diocese?
 
levavi said:
I am presently discerning a vocation to the Diaconate. I am a married 31-year-old, and I know in the UK I would have to wait until I am 40.

It occurred to me a while ago and I am seriously thinking about it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I have heard many traditionalist “look down” on the permanent diaconate…
Click to expand...
Levavi:

Don’t be discouraged about what others think about the diaconate. Your only job is to follow what God wants of your life. He may be calling you to Holy Orders through the diaconate.

I’m not sure of the minimum age requirement (canonically here it’s 35 for married candidates), but perhaps your diocese or maybe the UK’s Conference of Bishops have set the minimum age at 40 for married men. In either case, the formation period is typically four years, and the age requirement is about ordination, not entry into the program of formation. As such, you could probably apply four years before that age.

Regardless, you should be already highly involved in parish life before applying for entrance into a formation program, and it would be very helpful if you’ve already been meeting with a spiritual director as well.

If you don’t mind a helpful suggestion - you may want to seek out someone as your spiritual director that knows something about the permanent diaconate. There are not many permanent deacons in the UK (about 500 or so) of the 34,000 worldwide (about half of all deacons are Americans). Such a source might be a parish that already has a permanent deacon, or a monastery, where monks have often studied and been exposed to the diaconate for a variety of reasons.

As you pray and discern and meet with your director, God will make it more clear to you if this is what He wants. I will pray for you.

God bless,
 
I am scheduled to be ordained in five weeks. Two people in my class were turned down on their first application. They both tried again and were accepted. If you are turned away and still feel the call - reapply!

One applicant was turned down because his home situation was less than ideal. The selection committee felt that it would be better for him to wait for things to stabilize. The other was turned away because the class was full.

Looking back, both feel that the Holy Spirit inspired the decision. Both are grateful to be in our class.
 
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