In 2009, we started a RCIA support team at my parish. We attend the classes, get to know the people in the class on a personal level; we provide snacks for the classes, support, prayers, are sponsors if needed. It is truly a blessing to be able to walk their journey of faith with them and to see their faces the first time they receive Communion is beyond description. Maybe you can start up something like this at your parish.
My Bishop is allowing lay persons to attend the diaconate formation classes with the deacon canidates (the diocese is even helping out with 1/3 of the tuition). It is a 5-year committment which will finish academically in December. Then, we will have 6 months of canon laws next year.
Many diocesan seminaries now operate out of colleges and universities. These are open to lay people. Also, many male religious communities operate out of what we call schools of theology, which focus on training male religious, but they are often open to lay people attending classes or even getting degrees. I’ll warn you, they’re usually very expensive and unless you’re a full-time student, the Federal Financial Aid packages don’t apply. Many tend to charge the lay person a lot of money, because that’s the reason for admitting lay people, to offset the costs of educating religious. Running an independent school is not cost effective, because religious men don’t make money. They can’t pay $300.00 per credit for a 120 credit Master’s Degree ,or however many credits it is today. It was 120 in my time, but I’m old. It may be more today. The money has to come from somewhere. The Diocesan seminaries are different, the expense is split between the seminarian and the diocese.
Look into what you can do in your parish and study up on 3rd orders. I too found myself reading the catechism and the Bible continuously, however I got my start long time ago. My great aunt was a Franciscan nun in Texas for many years and I went to a Catholic School who had at that time 3 Franciscan nuns. The Christ Renews His Parish program was also a big stepping stone for me. I pray that you find what you are looking for.
your vocation, if that is your question, is marriage and your primary duty in bringing about God’s kingdom is as wife and mother. Yes call your parish and find out where else you can serve, in ways that do not take you away from your primary duty.
Br. JR,Please don’t suggest that. Some people will read this and take you literally. Then, if this does happen that a parent pushes their son toward the seminary and the young man is denied admission, there are all kinds of problems.
You raise children to be good holy Catholic men and women. If they are, they will respond to God’s call, where ever that may lead them.
Let me share a little story about a friar whom I knew a long time ago. His parents raised him to be a priest. He was attracted to religious life, not to the priesthood. He entered one of the Franciscan obediences (for privacy reasons, which one is not important).
He went through seven years of formation to be a friar and made solemn vows. He then went to two years of formation to be a priest, asked his superior for permission to be ordained. The permission was granted. He was ordained. He was miserable.
He finally asked his superior to be dispensed. When they looked at his request, they realized that he had a vocation to be a religious, but not to be a priest. Long story short, after 10 years of misery, he has now spent 15 years of bliss as a friar who teaches and serves as the parish maintenance man. He never has to say mass or celebrate sacraments unless he wants to or unless there is an emergency.
The same thing happens with women. I’ve known women who were raised to be nuns, because the parents have no clue what nun is. I knew one who was the most horrid teacher. She was a lovely woman, but couldn’t teach. Eventually, she realized her parents’ mistake. Their idea of a nun was Mother Teresa and sisters who are in active ministry. This girl never learned to teach, because she was not into it. She eventually became a real nun. She left the Franciscan Sisters and joined the Poor Clares. She’s very happy.
Do we have a shortage of priests? Yes we do. Do we have a shortage of sisters? Yes we do. Do we have a shortage of brothers? Yes we do.
Should we steer our young in those directions. No we should not. We must steer them to listen to the voice of Christ and to respond with generosity. We should expose them to the different gifts: deacons, priests, brothers, monks, friars, hermits, husbands and fathers or for women: sisters, nuns, hermits, consecrated virgins, wives and mothers . . . for both, good single Catholics.
If they are open to the Spirit, they will hear his voice and respond in love.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Oh Dear. No-one said this.* I* said just the opposite, and I apologize profusely if my suggestions got lost in my prose.
Don’t think that Catholic school is enough. Does yours have a Mass where the whole school goes? Try attending this and observe. How is the tabernacle/altar treated by the children? Watching the kids at my son’s school, I’d say 1 in 50 kids at least seem to have some comprehension of *whom *they are there for.
Now it’s MY turn to be offended. I was just trying to share some wisdom with you. Maybe help you think outside the box.
Sorry, but you are 100% wrong here. You are preaching prosperity gospel, and that concerns me if you intend to spread this around.
I’m sorry, $100,000 + dollars to have a title and be able to say a sermon to a couple dozen people every once in a while does not make the most sense to me. Most people are unaware of this cost and should be apprised if they are uncertain about their calling as you *seemed *to indicate.
There’s the problem. Interpreting your calling. You sound to me like a student who wants to play an instrument: in order to play well, you must first listen. I and wise others (the others are “wise”, I’m still struggling
) have given you suggestions for *learning *to teach; if being a deacon is indeed where God wants you to be, there will be no obstruction: every step you take will lead down that path. If you really were being called to this, I would think negative seeming responses would make you shake your head sadly at our lack of understanding; but instead, you get angry and respond uncharitably.~sigh~ Pax, sister.
Did you even read any of my posts?
The bold is mine.Oh Dear. No-one said this.* I* said just the opposite, and I apologize profusely if my suggestions got lost in my prose.
Don’t think that Catholic school is enough. Does yours have a Mass where the whole school goes? Try attending this and observe. How is the tabernacle/altar treated by the children? Watching the kids at my son’s school, I’d say 1 in 50 kids at least seem to have some comprehension of *whom *they are there for.
Also, if you went to Catholic school, how many of your classmates are real Catholics. Facebook has shown me a frightening penchant of my former classmates to ignore and belittle God and, seek out the occult for “fun”.
I’m not saying “don’t send them to Catholic school”; I am saying it is really not enough.
Now it’s MY turn to be offended. I was just trying to share some wisdom with you. Maybe help you think outside the box.
“Not putting God first”? That’s laughable. Are you saying the thousands of lay people that do the work of God, unrewarded, are NOT putting God first?
Be fair, you have not definitively declared that being a deacon *is *your calling. If you had approached it that way you would have gotten different answers.
Sorry, but you are 100% wrong here. You are preaching prosperity gospel, and that concerns me if you intend to spread this around.
If it comes from the HEART it is coming from you-> you have just made yourself “God”. Your ego and desires do not drive God. If it comes from the Holy Spirit you will not go wrong, but discerning what is “Spirit-inspired” vs. “other” is no simple matter.
I’m sorry, $100,000 + dollars to have a title and be able to say a sermon to a couple dozen people every once in a while does not make the most sense to me. Most people are unaware of this cost and should be apprised if they are uncertain about their calling as you *seemed *to indicate.
There’s the problem. Interpreting your calling. You sound to me like a student who wants to play an instrument: in order to play well, you must first listen. I and wise others (the others are “wise”, I’m still struggling
I’m *not *sorry that I am a mom that does more work for God as a mom than most priests could only hope; let alone the deacons that seem little better than superfluous. I am always striving to do more and, believe me, the possibilities are endless.
How dare you belittle that amazing vocation?
~sigh~ Pax, sister.
May God open your heart to our sincere answers that are there to help, not just you but all parents that feel like we need to do more. And may God encourage and inspire us all to reach beyond what we think is possible.
You may want to consider studying Spiritual Theology. There are some women who are superb spiritual directors. We had two in the seminary. They were excellent.
Ah, blessings Brother. Thank you for your correction and I apologize for my hasty remark. I sincerely apologize if I offended any hard working Deacons out there. I had originally written a lengthy justification for my view, but chose to cut it so the point was not lost to the OP.The bold is mine.
Deacons are not superfluous. The diaconate is a real call to Holy Orders. The deacon occupies a place in the Church that no one else can occupy. The fact that we have had priests fulfilling the role of the deacon in the Latin Church, because we did not promote the vocation of the deacon, does not mean that it is superfluous.
That being said, I agree that motherhood is a holy vocation and is essential for the good of humanity and the salvation of souls.
I’m wondering if the problem here is that we thinking that a mother cannot have a vocation within the vocation to be a mother? That’s why I suggested that mothers may want to study other mothers such as Giana Molla, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Jane Frances de Chantal, Elizabeth of Hungary and Louise de Marillac. These were mothers of many children and they were also very active outside the home in the service of the the poor, the sick and the larger ecclesial community. What was incredible about them was that they were able to bring their children into the ministry. This is not possible for all mothers. However, it may be possible for many mothers, but no one has exposed them to these women.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Unfortunately, what you’re observing is the underutilization of the deacon. Despite the fact that the permanent diaconate has been restored almost 40 years, there are still priests out there who cling on to their turf. They limit their deacons the way that you described it. In the Eastern Churches, where they never stopped using the deacon, he has always had a place in liturgy and pastoral care.
There is a wonderful program called Catholic Distance University. It’s very good. The man who wrote their Survey of Catholic Spirituality was my professor in Spiritual Theology in Rome. He’s very good.
Thank you so much!! I would really like to look into that. I feel also that besides leading them to the Lord, My children will learn about Charity thru my actions…You may want to consider studying Spiritual Theology. There are some women who are superb spiritual directors. We had two in the seminary. They were excellent.
If you don’t want to go for a degree, there are certification courses in ministry. Currently, there is a great need in pro-life ministry, doing preventive counseling to men and women in crisis pregnancies and post abortive coiunseling to men and women. In pro-life ministry there is alos a need for people who can provide spiritual guidance to families of older and terminally ill patients in hospice.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
Awesome…Look at the Lord working thru us already. It goes to show you what shapes us with our opinions of the Church is our own personal experience. I am sad to hear all the situations in your parish. Thank you for opening up. It really changed how I look at things see it from where you are comming from…
Brother: Thank you so much for understanding. I pray that all of the Catholics out there have the same experience in the Catholic church as I have. Our Deacon are AWESOME!! We even have a Nun. Which are few as you know. I feel because our church lets the Deacons do baptism and other functions, the needs of the church members are being met. Our school has 500 children alone. Our Church has over 2000 members. We are so blessed for people like you that minister to the people. A Priest has a lot on his plate and I think its great to have people that know the Lord and Church. The married ones in the ministry help with pre marital counseling and youth group too!! The Lord is great and its wonderful to see his Beautiful church be blessed.Unfortunately, what you’re observing is the underutilization of the deacon. Despite the fact that the permanent deaconed has been restored almost 40 years, there are still priests out there who cling on to their turf. They limit their deacons the way that you described it. In the Eastern Churches, where they never stopped using the deacon, he has always had a place in liturgy and pastoral care.
The deacon is ordained to be the right-hand man of the bishop. His real boss is not the pastor, but the bishop. The bishop tells him/them what he wants and does not want. That’s why, if there is a deacon available, you will always see him at the side of the bishop, including the pope. Keep an eye on the seating arrangements during a mass with a bishop or the pope. The deacon sits to the right of the bishop or pope. He is his right-hand man. It is the deacon who proclaims the Gospel, not the bishop. It’s not because the bishop wants to be nice. It’s because that’s the deacon’s ministry.
We still have to get to the place where priests can feel comfortable with deacons and brothers too. Brothers often have the same problem. We are usually very well trained in many areas, including theology. But there are still priests and lay people out there who think that a brother and a deacon is someone who can’t be a priest, for whatever reason.
In the diocese when I’m stationed we have deacons working in the chancery as judges in the tribunal, teaching at the seminary, running schools and heading up departments in the diocese. Then we have deacons who fit the description that you gave. I believe that the pastors and the deacons have slipped into a comfort zone. It’s unfortunate, because it aggravates the priest shortage.
In my community, we don’t have deacons, We are brothers, but some brothers are brother-priests or clerics. We have a very good system. The non-clerics do pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, retreats, administration, preaching and teaching. This leaves the clerics free to serve the Church through their priestly ministry. The same can happen with well educated deacons.
Part of the problem is that deacons are not paid a salary. Therefore, they have to hold down a secular job. Then they have families. This leaves them little time for ministry. Only the deacons that are employed by the diocese are paid.
There is a wonderful program called Catholic Distance University. It’s very good. The man who wrote their Survey of Catholic Spirituality was my professor in Spiritual Theology in Rome. He’s very good.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF