Permanent Diaconate

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melekali

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I believe I am being called to the permanent diaconate so I applied. Anyone else feel similarly?
 
It’s hard to know for sure, but I might be. I’m meeting with my pastor tomorrow to see if he can give me any insight into spiritual direction. There’s general direction available and there’s more specific direction available for people discerning vocations. Hopefully, he will guide me in the right direction. I’m hoping spiritual direction will help me to see if the Holy Spirit is truly calling me or not before I enter formation. I’m on the cusp of being canonically eligible to become a deacon, meaning if I began formation, by the time I finished, I would be eligible for ordination, but in terms of my life situation, I don’t think the Church wants me right now. I’m just trying to find a way to discern if there is a calling and be patient. I’d be interested to hear your story and how you’re calling has manifested itself if you’re willing to post it or private message it.

God bless!
 
Interesting. For whatever reason I found myself researching what a deacon is, when the permanent deacon was restored, what their duty are, what they can and can not do. I was very interested in knowing these things. I have a new respect for permanent deacons. That being said I do not know myself if I’m being called at this time. I’m leaning towards not for the following reasons:
  1. My parish already has 3 permanent deacons, 1 transitional (we always have one) and 3 full time priests. All the parishes within 10-15 miles are in a similar situation, no glaring need in my area of the archdiocese.
  2. The permanent deacons at my parish don’t do all that much. They assist on Sundays (which is great). None of them PD’s appear to have homily faculties. Only one (the retired one) holds regular office hours.
  3. I don’t think that I would feel comfortable filling out annulment paperwork (one of the main task of the PD’s at my parish)
  4. I tend to be traditionally leaning (not a TLM or nothing guy, but lets say I don’t like holding hands and prefer pipe organ music to drums and guitars). Being a deacon would require a certain amount of obedience and may require a certain amount of promotion of things that I do not prefer and some of which I might feel are abusive. I would have to be willing to take it as a sacrifice.
  5. Kids are still kind of young (10 and 12) The formation is long and involved, which I like, but it would be a strain on family time.
  6. I don’t have any desire to be seen as a deacon. Meaning I don’t desire any attention.
I know some people frown on permanent deacons as being a VAT II “mistake” a source of liberalism or even somehow reducing priestly vocations. I do not agree with any of that.

The things that I like about the diaconate are as follows:
  1. I love that they are ordinary ministers of holy communion (That tugs at my traditionalist leanings) I love going to churches where if you go down the main isle you will receive from either an ordained priest or ordained deacon.
  2. I respect that it is an additional sacrament.
  3. I would love to take all the theology (4-5 years worth) as part of the formation process.
  4. In contrast to the concerns about family time during formation I mentioned above, I think it could be a great example for my children to be open to vocation possibilities, which they currently are open to.
  5. I could see myself ministering to people with marital challenges. I already do that to an extent however and it may be helped by receiving holy orders but it is not required to continue this type of ministry.
  6. I feel a lot of peace when I think about it (not always but more often then not). It often pops into my thought during adoration or at Mass. Can’t really tell if that is just coming from me or not.
OP I don’t know if this helps you other than knowing that other people struggling/discerning along with you. I hope that you find the answers you are looking for.
 
melekali said:
I believe I am being called to the permanent diaconate so I applied. Anyone else feel similarly?
Click to expand...
I did about 6 years ago; look where it got me!!!👍

No regrets, no worries. Follow the call to discernment, the discernment process will lead you to the truth. If it is the diaconate He calls you to, He will take care of the rest; that I can assure you from my experience.

Good luck and God bless!
 
whm said:
Interesting. For whatever reason I found myself researching what a deacon is, when the permanent deacon was restored, what their duty are, what they can and can not do. I was very interested in knowing these things. I have a new respect for permanent deacons. That being said I do not know myself if I’m being called at this time. I’m leaning towards not for the following reasons:
  1. My parish already has 3 permanent deacons, 1 transitional (we always have one) and 3 full time priests. All the parishes within 10-15 miles are in a similar situation, no glaring need in my area of the archdiocese.
  2. The permanent deacons at my parish don’t do all that much. They assist on Sundays (which is great). None of them PD’s appear to have homily faculties. Only one (the retired one) holds regular office hours.
  3. I don’t think that I would feel comfortable filling out annulment paperwork (one of the main task of the PD’s at my parish)
  4. I tend to be traditionally leaning (not a TLM or nothing guy, but lets say I don’t like holding hands and prefer pipe organ music to drums and guitars). Being a deacon would require a certain amount of obedience and may require a certain amount of promotion of things that I do not prefer and some of which I might feel are abusive. I would have to be willing to take it as a sacrifice.
  5. Kids are still kind of young (10 and 12) The formation is long and involved, which I like, but it would be a strain on family time.
  6. I don’t have any desire to be seen as a deacon. Meaning I don’t desire any attention.
I know some people frown on permanent deacons as being a VAT II “mistake” a source of liberalism or even somehow reducing priestly vocations. I do not agree with any of that.

The things that I like about the diaconate are as follows:
  1. I love that they are ordinary ministers of holy communion (That tugs at my traditionalist leanings) I love going to churches where if you go down the main isle you will receive from either an ordained priest or ordained deacon.
  2. I respect that it is an additional sacrament.
  3. I would love to take all the theology (4-5 years worth) as part of the formation process.
  4. In contrast to the concerns about family time during formation I mentioned above, I think it could be a great example for my children to be open to vocation possibilities, which they currently are open to.
  5. I could see myself ministering to people with marital challenges. I already do that to an extent however and it may be helped by receiving holy orders but it is not required to continue this type of ministry.
  6. I feel a lot of peace when I think about it (not always but more often then not). It often pops into my thought during adoration or at Mass. Can’t really tell if that is just coming from me or not.
OP I don’t know if this helps you other than knowing that other people struggling/discerning along with you. I hope that you find the answers you are looking for.
Click to expand...
FYI, hubby is in formation and we have three children (the oldest is 6). There are two others in his class who are fathers to children that are under 1. And just because one becomes a PD doesn’t mean they will be assigned to their parish, especially if your parish already has 3.
 
My husband is finally acting on his calling and entering the diaconate. It’s been something he has felt called to do for a number of years, I’m excited to support him in this new chapter of life. I’ve only known one deacon and only really from afar so this is a new adventure for us!
 
whm said:
Interesting. For whatever reason I found myself researching what a deacon is, when the permanent deacon was restored, what their duty are, what they can and can not do. I was very interested in knowing these things. I have a new respect for permanent deacons. That being said I do not know myself if I’m being called at this time. I’m leaning towards not for the following reasons:
  1. My parish already has 3 permanent deacons, 1 transitional (we always have one) and 3 full time priests. All the parishes within 10-15 miles are in a similar situation, no glaring need in my area of the archdiocese.
  2. The permanent deacons at my parish don’t do all that much. They assist on Sundays (which is great). None of them PD’s appear to have homily faculties. Only one (the retired one) holds regular office hours.
  3. I don’t think that I would feel comfortable filling out annulment paperwork (one of the main task of the PD’s at my parish)
  4. I tend to be traditionally leaning (not a TLM or nothing guy, but lets say I don’t like holding hands and prefer pipe organ music to drums and guitars). Being a deacon would require a certain amount of obedience and may require a certain amount of promotion of things that I do not prefer and some of which I might feel are abusive. I would have to be willing to take it as a sacrifice.
  5. Kids are still kind of young (10 and 12) The formation is long and involved, which I like, but it would be a strain on family time.
  6. I don’t have any desire to be seen as a deacon. Meaning I don’t desire any attention.
I know some people frown on permanent deacons as being a VAT II “mistake” a source of liberalism or even somehow reducing priestly vocations. I do not agree with any of that.

The things that I like about the diaconate are as follows:
  1. I love that they are ordinary ministers of holy communion (That tugs at my traditionalist leanings) I love going to churches where if you go down the main isle you will receive from either an ordained priest or ordained deacon.
  2. I respect that it is an additional sacrament.
  3. I would love to take all the theology (4-5 years worth) as part of the formation process.
  4. In contrast to the concerns about family time during formation I mentioned above, I think it could be a great example for my children to be open to vocation possibilities, which they currently are open to.
  5. I could see myself ministering to people with marital challenges. I already do that to an extent however and it may be helped by receiving holy orders but it is not required to continue this type of ministry.
  6. I feel a lot of peace when I think about it (not always but more often then not). It often pops into my thought during adoration or at Mass. Can’t really tell if that is just coming from me or not.
OP I don’t know if this helps you other than knowing that other people struggling/discerning along with you. I hope that you find the answers you are looking for.
Click to expand...
I am in formation. I am an aspirant. I am pursuing a masters degree in pastoral ministry. It is hard work. But, it is a labor of joy.

Two things you said I want to pick up on… #6 - you said, " I don’t have any desire to be seen as a deacon. Meaning I don’t desire any attention."

Perfect. If one wants to become a deacon for the notoriety, they are in the wrong line of work.

Second: You said, " I feel a lot of peace when I think about it (not always but more often then not). It often pops into my thought during adoration or at Mass. Can’t really tell if that is just coming from me or not."

That might be God’s way of telling you that you are on the right path…

Don’t ever think their are enough workers in the vineyard. There is a ton of work to be done. I am sure will not be bored 🙂

God bless your discernment. If he is calling, just relax and trust Him. He will open doors you won’t believe.
 
Thanks to those who responded to my post. As it turns out after mentioning it to my wife, she is not really supportive of the idea right now, so it will put it on the back burner for a few years. My understanding is that her 100% support is an important if not essential consideration.
 
Interesting topic.

My archdiocese recently decided to restore the Permanent Diaconate.

When I first heard the announcement, my initial gut reaction was something like, “Alright! A way in which I can participate more in the church and bring more spirituality into my life.” For some reason, I have been getting more spiritual lately.

However, then my brain took over: I have a full-time job and might not be able to commit to the training, let alone the actual responsibilities of deacon. I have three small children and I like to keep their lives full and balanced (arts, sports, etc.) so, again, I might not be able to commit to it. I am not a people person; I would hate to become like some priests who are booksmart but not people-smart, and are perceived as stand-offish by their parishioners, so not really liked. I am not a good public speaker, so would probably be really nervous reading or talking to the parish. Etc. Etc.

At this time, I have to be honest with myself: given the choice between listening to my gut/heart and my brain, I have to go with my brain. But I also feel a need to live a more spiritual life, so will have to find another way to do so (other than trying to become a deacon).
 
Lapey said:
I did about 6 years ago; look where it got me!!!👍

No regrets, no worries. Follow the call to discernment, the discernment process will lead you to the truth. If it is the diaconate He calls you to, He will take care of the rest; that I can assure you from my experience.

Good luck and God bless!
Click to expand...
Where did it get you? I am now an aspirant, the program starting in September of this year. When I posted that, I had been convinced of God’s call to the ordained ministry for about a year and a half, but I had to wait for the next class to start. I’m glad I waited, and while I did so, I continued working in the Shroud Museum in our town (ShroudNM.com). If you visit the site, you can read the effect the Shroud has had on my call to the deaconate since I am the webmaster of this site.

God’s blessings be upon all who read these posts.
 
melekali said:
Where did it get you? Into the Sacred Order of Deacon.I am now an aspirant, the program starting in September of this year. When I posted that, I had been convinced of God’s call to the ordained ministry for about a year and a half, but I had to wait for the next class to start. I’m glad I waited, and while I did so, I continued working in the Shroud Museum in our town (ShroudNM.com). If you visit the site, you can read the effect the Shroud has had on my call to the deaconate since I am the webmaster of this site.

God’s blessings be upon all who read these posts.
Click to expand...
Took me a while to remember what this conversation was about…God Bless.
 
I was discerning a possible call myself. I would be very happy in that state, but I doubt the needs of my family will allow it.It is a very high hurdle to jump in terms of time. I have served as a reader and now I sing at Mass. I wish there were more opportunities for lay persons; am still looking. 😉
 
brotherjoe said:
I was discerning a possible call myself. I would be very happy in that state, but I doubt the needs of my family will allow it.It is a very high hurdle to jump in terms of time. I have served as a reader and now I sing at Mass. I wish there were more opportunities for lay persons; am still looking. 😉
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God bless you, Joe.
 
Lapey said:
I did about 6 years ago; look where it got me!!!👍

No regrets, no worries. Follow the call to discernment, the discernment process will lead you to the truth. If it is the diaconate He calls you to, He will take care of the rest; that I can assure you from my experience.

Good luck and God bless!
Click to expand...
Deacon Lapey, How did you know. I feel called and love serving in the Church. It may sound strange ,I write reflections on the Gospels and send them to my Pastor. Some very engaging conversations we have had, discussing the differences between what he interpreted and what I interpreted. How do you know?
 
mountainman99 said:
It’s hard to know for sure, but I might be. I’m meeting with my pastor tomorrow to see if he can give me any insight into spiritual direction. There’s general direction available and there’s more specific direction available for people discerning vocations. Hopefully, he will guide me in the right direction. I’m hoping spiritual direction will help me to see if the Holy Spirit is truly calling me or not before I enter formation. I’m on the cusp of being canonically eligible to become a deacon, meaning if I began formation, by the time I finished, I would be eligible for ordination, but in terms of my life situation, I don’t think the Church wants me right now. I’m just trying to find a way to discern if there is a calling and be patient. I’d be interested to hear your story and how you’re calling has manifested itself if you’re willing to post it or private message it.

God bless!
Click to expand...
I’m sorry but I don’t come here regularly and even though you responded immediately, look how long it took me to respond. Forgive me. 🤷 It seems with time I am better able to explain things but it takes me some time.

When I married 14 years ago my new wife told me I ought to consider the deaconate. I had been toying with the idea of becoming a priest, but that was not my call as I met and married my best friend. Yet I have always felt called to a life of service, even as a kid.

Then I met a man who was to become a very good friend. He started a Shroud museum and asked me to create the website (ShroudNM.com) in 2009 (hence the picture). My involvement with the Shroud of Turin and the website has been a large part of my decision to pursue the deaconate. I will have to explain to make it more understandable to those here since I doubt anyone knows me personally.

The Shroud was a mystery for me I thought I would never understand at all. Judging from my picture, one can guess I am a bit comfortable with that subject now. I have had the great fortune to meditate upon both Old and New Testament records about this event I can see on this linen cloth and have come to believe that I am seeing Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection when I “look upon him whom we have pierced.” Then I met others who have studied. I mean folks from the STURP team from 1978 who studied the Shroud - these are not only very intelligent people, but they are experts in their areas and are also deeply reflective men. What strikes me the most about the Shroud without exception is the affect it has had on those who have studied it. Look at me - here I am just starting out - I would do searches after I created the site to see if there were sites with reliable information about the subject that I could link to. Every time when I started out I had to vet all sites through my friend because I did not know a reliable one from one that was unreliable with the information it was putting out. Yet as my wife tells me, I was in the “suck zone” and don’t expect I will ever escape the Shroud. Then again, I wouldn’t want to. While my faith is not based on the Shroud, my study of the holy relic has taken my faith to an entirely different level. This personal interaction with our personal God has had a deep effect on me and I cannot take any credit for whatever God leads me to do. As I say, anything good I do is God’s fault, anything evil is mine.

Let me step back a little bit now in time. When I first met my new friend, he told me I ought to think about becoming a deacon. I shrugged and told him I did not want to be in a public office, that I liked to remain in the background - in the shadows so to speak. This was true. I knew what a deacon did and did not want to be under the microscope as many ordained ministers are. Then my bishop asked me the same thing and I offered the same rationale. After all that, the people in my parish started suggesting out of the blue (so it seemed, my friend did not put them up to it) that I would make a good deacon. It was then that I thought I ought to consider this as a call from God.

For that reason, I went on a personal retreat in the mountains near where I live and came away from that convinced I was being called and I was a little better in touch with things I felt called to do as a deacon. After that retreat in the silence, I filled out all the paperwork and gathered everything else I’d need and sent it all in.

When we started, I was very nervous. Yet I met some of the most deeply spiritual men (I am referring to my fellow searchers, not to mention our teachers and directors) which put me at ease in short order. We have just finished our second of four years of preparation and we will be working with the poor for our summer project. This is way outside my comfort zone, as it is for my other friend in our town who is also going through the process. I am sure we will benefit greatly from the experience.

When I started the program nearly two years ago, I also started writing a regular column for our local Catholic paper on my deaconate journey. I felt the need to write for those men who might possibly hear the whisper of the Lord but were swatting it away like flies as I had done for all those years. My purpose is tell share with those who read it my journey - my experience in the program, so they might have something upon which to base their own personal faith, reflections and actions.

That is, in essence, my story without belaboring it. I pray we all follow God’s will no matter where he is leading. That is the most important thing for me - to follow God no matter what. God bless all who enter here.
 
JerrySeibert said:
Deacon Lapey, How did you know. I feel called and love serving in the Church. It may sound strange ,I write reflections on the Gospels and send them to my Pastor. Some very engaging conversations we have had, discussing the differences between what he interpreted and what I interpreted. How do you know?
Click to expand...
Sorry I missed your post and questions, I didn’t realize you had directed this to me.

How did I know? Well to be honest, most of the formation I was not sure of my calling. I knew for several years before starting formation that I was being called to something, some kind of service. I was the altar server coordinator, EMHC, helped teach 8th grade CCD, and a few other things in youth ministry. But I had no idea what the diaconate was or that it even existed for that matter. We never had a PD in our parish so I had no knowledge of this ministry.

My interest in this sacred office came as I grew in faith and made associations with people, like our associate pastor who asked me this question one day, “…with all you do, why not become a deacon?” When my priest asked me this question I felt a slap like someone had backhanded me across the chest; I literally felt this sensation that I had been slapped. I know that sounds weird, but to me it was as real as real can get.

At that point I had an idea the diaconate was where I was heading so I started researching all I could about this ministry.

Long story short, I spoke to my wife about it one night as we laid in bed and it did not go over very well…lol, it was a rough night! I put it on the back burner for several years and prayed constantly about this; this was in 2003, I think.

As I prayed and went on with life my wife became more open to teh idea and I applied to be a part of a group just starting out in the formal inquirer. It went well so we applied for aspirancy, then candidacy.

This is when I knew for sure I was called. During our ordination retreat a couple of weeks before our ordination date of December 2010, my wife and I knelt down before the blessed Sacrament and she signed the letter of permission and assured me I was truly called to the diaconate.

The rest is history. But it was all complete before I truly knew for sure.

Now every day God assures me I am in the right place, especially after weekends like this weekend. Last night I escorted my daughter down the aisl then witnessed her and her husband’s vows and consent in their wedding Mass. God is good!!!
 
Thanks for relating your experience, Deacon Gary. Very interesting how each person’s journey is so very different, yet there are things that are similar. God bless you in your service.
 
Lapey,

I going through the same thing. I knew I was being called for several years but fought the feeling. I thought God was wrong about me and just put everything away and tried not to think about it.

About six months ago I talked to a deacon that I knew and he said he would give me a call and talk more on the subject. Well, time went by and he didnt call. I buried the feeling again, mainly because my wife doesn’t think I am being called, and continued on with my life.

I have been praying for guidance everyday and yesterday, after six months (or more), the deacon I talked to called me. It could be a mere coincidence but coupled with some other things that have happened to me over the last few months; I’m thinking it’s more than that. I called my pastor and I have an appointment with him to talk. My wife isn’t too happy but she is a bit better about now.

I will post again and let every know the outcome. 🙂
 
Interesting, Don W. Look forward to hearing about your journey and what happens.
 
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