Anniversary reflections on being a deacon

On this day seventeen years ago, then-Bishop George Niederauer ordained me a deacon. It had been his intention to ordain my class on the anniversary of his ordination to the episcopacy, which is 25 January- the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. But back in 2004, 25 January was on a Sunday. And so, he ordained us on Saturday, 24 January 2004. I write "then-Bishop" because George Niederauer went on to serve as Archbishop of San Francisco from 2005 until his retirement in 2012. He died on 2 May 2017.

Since it is the anniversary of my ordination today, please permit me the indulgence of once again noting how quickly time passes. In January 2004, I was thirty-eight years old. Up until a few years ago, I remained the youngest permanent deacon in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. I am still on the younger side of the average age of permanent deacons in my diocese.

Like most permanent deacons, I simultaneously participate in the two sacraments at the service of communion, what my friend, teacher, and mentor Deacon Owen Cummings refers to as "the diaconal sacraments"- the sacraments of holy matrimony and holy orders. At least for Catholics, matrimony comes with the implied vocation to parenthood. Now, the "implied" vocation of parenthood may not be realized in marriage for a variety of reasons. In my case, it has been made real six times!

This simultaneous participation in the diaconal sacraments is but one of the very unique and indispensable aspects of the diaconate restored and renewed as a permanent order of ministry in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council. Of course, there are unmarried deacons who vow celibacy. There are even permanent deacons in religious orders, who, along with their confreres, live the evangelical councils of chastity, poverty, and obedience. There are permanent deacons who are widowed. There are even deacons whose marriages, sadly, have ended and who still continue to minister as deacons. There is great strength in this diversity.

I was ordained with 23 other men. One of those was destined to go to another diocese and went through formation here in Utah. Seven of my classmates have died. Another eight are retired from active ministry. Not counting Roger (the one who was ordained for another diocese) there are eight of us still actively serving in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

I have been privileged, with the assistance of my local Church, to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministry. I was also supported in my pursuit of the on-going education needed to obtain the equivalency of a Master of Divinity degree. This equivalency allowed me to go on to earn a Doctor of Ministry degree.

On the day of my ordination with my very dear friend, Fr. J.T. Lane, SSS, who vested me as a deacon

Both my master's thesis and my doctoral dissertation are on aspects of the permanent diaconate: Making Up for What Was Previously Lacking: The Importance for the Church of the Dual Sacramentality of Married Permanent Deacons and Diaconal Spirituality: A Systematic Exploration, respectively. With any luck, I hope to have both accepted for publication. Indications are good that this might happen.

On 1 March 2020, Bishop Solis, who currently serves as Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, appointed me as the Director of the Office of Deacons. In that role, I oversee the formation of new deacons and the on-going formation of current deacons. I also have the responsibility of looking out for permanent deacons and their wives. While I still serve in a parish, these days the bulk of my service is to my fellow deacons on behalf of my bishop.

When I began diaconal formation, my wife and I were parents of two children and expecting our third. Along the way, we've been blessed with three more. While the conjugal life of married permanent deacons is, oddly, a source of canonical vexation, it is lived out in a healthy and human way by married deacons and their wives. In this way, the sacrament of holy matrimony is attenuated by the sacrament holy orders. I will leave it there, to pursue this more deeply, you'll have to wait for the book or find a way of obtaining and reading my master's thesis.

While pastoral ministry has its ups and downs, I am grateful to be chosen to serve the Church and the world as a deacon. Of course, the model deacon is Jesus Christ. To write about the diaconate without mentioning Christ would be a travesty.

As Jesus taught his disciples: "For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves" (Luke 22:27). The phrase "one who serves" is the translation of one Greek word: διακονῶν (i.e., diakonon), which translates as "deacon." "I am among you as a deacon." Serving after the manner of Jesus is what it means, to employ a phrase used by Archbishop Gomez in his Foreward to Deacon James Keating's book, The Heart of the Diaconate, for deacons to act in persona Christi servi- in the person of Christ the servant.

I hope, by the grace of God, to be worthy of ministry to which I have been called. I also hope to serve for many more years. When Jesus calls you, as he did Andrew, Peter, James, and John in today's Gospel (see Mark 1:14-20), it is to lead you not just on a journey, but to invite you on an adventure.