On May 12, the Chicago Archdiocese ordained 19 men to the diaconate. The archdiocesan newspaper, the Chicago Catholic, provides a little bio and headshot for each of them.
This is the so-called "permanent" diaconate; these are not the seminarians on the road to priesthood.
My class (2004) also was a class of 19, although in my day that was the English-speaking class; there was a separate ordination for Spanish-speaking men. I think (but am not certain) that they ordain both language groups in a single ceremony now. Still a good-size class.
Based on the sketches of each guy, I'd say this is a pretty typical ordination class: the ages range from early 40s to mid 60s; some diversity; most are husbands and fathers. A handful work full-time for the church but most don't. Some are certain what ministry they'll be doing, while others seem to have no idea :-). Some are in the city, some are suburban.
I think it's interesting and exciting. It brings back memories for me; formation was a blessed time in my life. I'll try to post more about that when I get a chance.
If you can spare a prayer for these guys and their wives, children and grandchildren, I'm sure it won't miscarry.
God bless them, that is a nice sized class!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how it is in your archdiocese, but the formation program here has become much more academically focused since my husband (and I) went through it. At that time it was three years, and everyone attended the same classes. If you came in mid cycle, you just continued until you completed the three years. It was divided into a rural and urban program. There was quite a diversity. At various points in formation there were a diesel mechanic, a lawyer, a man with a PHD in school administration, farmers, and an immigrant man with a 5th grade education who worked in a packing plant, among others. Now a prior bachelors' degree is strongly encouraged, if not required, and it is four years of pretty heavy academics. I doubt if about half of our class would be accepted to the program now. Particularly the immigrant gentleman, whose first language wasn't English. He struggled mightily but made it through with the help of his classmates. He is now heavily involved in Spanish language ministry and is well loved in his parish and community. The diesel mechanic ministers in the rural parish where he grew up, and which currently shares a pastor with two other rural parishes. He is basically the parish administrator.
Of course the academics are important, but they weren't the original focus of the diaconate.
Katherine, what you describe has been our experience as well. When we were in formation it was a *program*; now it's an *institute*. I assume that represents an elevation in stature, and that there were specific criteria that had to be met to earn that designation, but I couldn't tell you what they were. I do know that, when I was in formation, the courses were pass/fail but now they're graded, so they've cranked up the academic rigor a little bit.
DeleteWe had three lawyers in our class. Also a couple of ex-military guys, some small business owners, a few IT types, a few corporate types. A school teacher, a fire captain, a maintenance worker, a postal worker.
The wives were an interesting mix, too. A couple of nurses, an art teacher, a religious-ed director. Some with corporate jobs. Some IT types among them, too. One was an executive assistant for a university bigwig. Ours was sort of a youngish class: three of the wives gave birth during our formation, and some others had younger children at home, so there was the gamut of working moms, part-time working moms and moms on maternity leave. The only wives I can think of who were full time stay-at-homers were grandparent age.
Jim, the ages of the aspirants is another thing that has changed here. When we started, people with young children were encouraged to wait. Our youngest had just graduated high school. You were supposed to be under 65 at the time of ordination, but there were a few people who got waivers. Now I don't think they would let someone that old into the program. Which, I can see the archdiocese's point of view, they're not going to get as much mileage out of the senior citizens.
DeleteKatherine - yes, the "mileage" thing is interesting. Theoretically, a deacon is not what he does (he doesn't do anything laypersons can't do) but who he is. So in theory, an elderly deacon could be an icon of Christ the Servant by living in assisted living and sitting in the church pews during mass. In fact, that's not just theory; I am sure you and I can both point to examples of just that sort of witness. But somewhat understandably, bishops and pastors have a stake in deacons actually doing stuff. And since deacons generally do it for free, it's a great deal for the money guys.
DeleteThe age range in that class startled me. We have a deacon program at the seminary here, but they don't take anyone over (I believe it is) 50. I know that because, a few years ago, the pastor asked some of us for nominees (the parish paid tuition for three previous deacons, and they were all paid off at the time), and I suggested someone whom, the pastor said, was perfect but two years too old. And today he is still at least five or six years short of 60.
ReplyDeleteWe have two and a half currently in the parish, but don't tell the Duke about the half. One was ordained in Washington after he put a padlock on a Mafia warehouse while working for the IRS. One was an environmental code enforcer. The half is a contractor whose family business has built or remodeled a lot of the churches and banks (neat parlay there) in the area. He was ours, but the Duke next door needs him more, so he is over there except at 6:30 on Wednesday mornings when he is in our men's prayer group. (He was lay leader in our CHRP I 15 or so years ago.)
We also deaconized a guy whose wife died suddenly right after he was ordained. He is young (and a heck of a confessor), so even though it is not supposed to happen, the bishop gave him a waiver, and he went back to the seminary for a year or two and became a priest. He is now in a pastor try-out year. Really nice guy, an asset to whatever community he serves.
Tom, why would he have needed a waiver to get on the priest track if he was a widower?
DeleteSounds like you have an interesting bunch!
Tom, not taking anyone over 50 is pretty interesting. If I were the suspicious type, I'd suspect it's a ruse to keep men out of the formation program. The formation program can be pretty disruptive in that it requires the candidate couple (if there is a wife) to be away from home on quite a few evenings and weekends. So my experience is that men have two windows of opportunity during their adult lives: when their children are very young and there is a good family support network of grandparents, siblings, etc. to babysit; and after the children grow up and the nest empties. The latter is by far the more common window traditionally, and I'd think most candidates don't begin their formation until they're in their 50's or at least their late 40's. And in my experience, quite a few men (and their wives) who have felt a calling to the diaconate have said that they won't respond until their kids are done with school - which strikes me as a pretty level-headed set of priorities.
DeleteIf your image of a deacon in the US, like mine, is of a jolly grandpa in vestments, I believe that the factors I'm describing account for that type.
Katherine, When they sign up for the seminary, the deacons sign a pledge that they are not using the diaconate program to sneak into the priesthood through a back door. I says in writing that when we ordain you a deacon, you cannot become a priest. For the exception I mentioned, the bishop would have been guilty of some kind of dereliction (IMHO) if he hadn't waived that caveat. It may be to prevent guys from converting to the priesthood for retirement benefits. I dunno. Father Bob should have a long run.
DeleteJim, The half deacon I mentioned is young enough to be my son. I have one his age. He went to the seminary shortly after the CHRP I mentioned. He has three children; the youngest was in high school when he started training. I think your suspicion is probably wrong and that the age requirement has to do with commitment. Deacons are certainly not discouraged here. In addition to the one I mentioned, we have a now-aged Spanish-speaking deacon and had two other deacons in the parish for awhile before they were voluntarily reassigned elsewhere. There are a lot of deacons running around down here -- more, I'd bet, than in any of the old northeastern dioceses.
Tom, I am glad to hear you have a lot of deacons. I know some of ours are snowbirds and others retire to Florida, in addition to those who are native to your diocese.
DeleteRegarding the pledge not to become a priest, I'm not sure exactly what that's about, but it is kind of a thing that a few candidates pursue the diaconate because they actually want to be a priest. Candidates to the diaconate need to understand that it's a stable, permanent order in its own right, and further holy orders aren't contemplated. Deacons certainly aren't junior priests and the candidates themselves sometimes need to understand that.
I asked my husband if he signed any kind of a pledge not to pursue the priesthood. He said he didn't; that might have changed by now in our area.
DeleteWe didn't sign a pledge. We did have a classmate who told all of us that he applied for the diaconate because he wanted to be a priest (IIRC, he was married). After he made that announcement, he didn't go forward with us.
DeleteNice to see some working stiffs in the class, not just well-heeled white collar retirees.
ReplyDeleteThree of the deacons specifically wanted to go into hospice or bereavement--end of life care.
Interesting. What sorts of things does this entail?
I wanted to talk to someone after my mom died. Pretty sure I did all the wrong things and have added more stones on my road to hell.
Neither the deacon nor priests in our two combined parishes have office hours. You get a recorded message to call the rectory. I'm so sure. Father is on hospice now. Why the bishop doesn't see that this serves nobody well is beyond me.
I hope more deacons will make pastoral care more accessible as the priest shortage grows.
Jean - I've never done hospice ministry, but I am sure that a good deal of it is a ministry of presence and prayer with the patient and the family. I'm sure deacons also bring communion and tend to other sacramental needs, e.g. by arranging for a priest to be present when he is needed.
DeleteOh. Mom wasn't Catholic. I thought maybe they would help Catholics make decisions. Things happen so quickly, and often in the middle of the night. And it's amazing what the doctors cannot tell you despite their beeping machines and tubes. You just hope they're the right ones. The nurses were really way better at leveling with us. But even with advance directives, the gray area a make for a lot of fog where you can get lost second guessing yourself.
DeleteJean, you did the best you could. That's all anyone could do. If she had signed a "do not resuscitate", I don't see how honoring that, for someone in her circumstances, would be morally problematic.
DeleteNo, I really didn't. There was no DNR. They brought her baan, but she wasn't right because she had been without O2 for a critical period, could not breathe in her own, and ventilator was bleeding because of unforeseen obstruction. She had in writing no ventilator, so I told them to put her in comfort care and pull it. Because I wasn't there to advocate for her the first time, she had to die twice.
DeleteYou're right about there being gray areas. My mother was at the end of a fight with cancer. She had slipped into a coma. The doctor told us that it was possible to prolong her life with interventions, but that we "...wouldn't be doing her any favors." We opted for comfort care. She had no written directives, we just had to do the best we could with the information we had, and leave it up to God.
DeleteIt is SO sad, and such a waste that women cannot be deacons. Just as it's more than sad - it's sinful - that they can't be priests.
ReplyDeleteIf I understand the program correctly, the wives (if they are married) go through the whole formation program with their husbands. Yet they are simply to be good, little helpers to the big smart MEN. The support to the important one in the family. Support to the important gender in the RCC.
Let's pat all these good supportive women on the head, and continue wasting the gifts they have that would enrich the church - gifts that go well beyond teaching the children (for free) and ironing the altar cloths and arranging the flowers.
Based on the "homily" that Jim's wife gave, it would seem that she should also be a deacon. Even better if she could be a priest, but it doesn't pay much. Her "homily" was SO MUCH BETTER than 98% of Catholic homilies I've ever heard - from deacons, but mostly from clueless priests who simply parrot back what they've been taught, afraid to say something that one of the temple police might report to the bishop, or maybe reformulate a homily gleaned from some kind of homily book. Some of the deacons, those who have been married, are usually in better touch with "real" life than the celibates and so give somewhat better homilies than the priests do. Usually very relevant to life for 99% of people in the 21st century.
As I understand it, no non-ordained person can give a "homily". So did Therese give a "homily" at the appointed time during mass or did she give a "reflection" after some man gave the official homily?
Anne - if it's to happen that women can be ordained to the diaconate, this would seem to be the window of opportunity. Francis promised to take a look at it. He's surprised before.
DeleteI agree with you that Therese is a wonderful preacher. I get many positive comments from parishioners about her, and they ask me for printed copies, sometimes months after the event. I'd support it 100% if she could be a deacon.
I would also support a revision of church liturgical law that would allow laypersons of either/any sex or gender to preach the homily at mass. There are quite a few people with the right stuff to be effective preachers.
Anne, I agree with you that women should be able to be deacons or priests if they feel called to those ministries. The theological underpinnings of an all male priesthood make no sense to me. However, having said that, I have never had the slightest desire to be either a priest or a deacon. When I was very young I did briefly consider being a religious sister, but didn't end up pursuing that path. I have never done any type of public speaking and don't want to. My heart is with doing music, and I also enjoy being an EMHC.
DeleteOne of my cousins felt called to the priesthood. She ended up being ordained in one of "ecuminical Catholic communities". I think it is a shame that she had to go off the grid to do it; she does a great job in her congregation. It's not like we have so many priests that the mainstream church can afford to write off half the people who might be interested.
Be careful what you wish for. We attended an Episcopal church with lay "guest homilies" (not kosher; in fact some Anglican deacons are not given preaching rights), and there was a lot of strange theology we heard. One was pushing substitutions atonement, and Raber was disgusted and called the priest to complain. The priest's defense was, "I didn't know what he was going to say."
DeleteExactly.
I'm my view, the Word is as precious as the Body and Blood, and the pulpit is no place for amateur hour.
Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopalian, but if she preaches like she writes, I'd go to hear her. She did make somebody's list of the 10 top preachers in the country, and Time's Most Influential 100. Of course, the Episcopalians ordained her a priest; we wouldn't even let her proclaim the Gospel. I understand she is out of pastoring at the moment and teaching instead. Still, I hope, writing. So she is what I would wish for.
DeleteKatherine, I was thinking that you would also be someone to give top-notch homilies. Based on your comments, you are well informed, articulate, and, most important, you offer great insights into many complex issues.
ReplyDeleteTom, I have heard Barbara Brown Taylor preach, and she was excellent. I also have some of her books. The first I read was "Leaving Church". She describes her journey - to the priesthood, an assistant rector, a rector, and finally, leaving pastoral ministry to teach and write. From a review: Barbara Brown Taylor describes doubt, faith, and vocation, their limits, and how the church both blesses and muddies the waters.
I also recommend her book called "Learning to Walk in the Dark", and her book "The Altar of the World" was also a good read.
Tom, I heard Barbara Brown Taylor preach at the Washington National Cathedral. (The Cathedral gets many, many amazing speakers. And has many, many amazing programs). I also heard Sr. Joan Chittister there - she spoke at the adult forum and also gave the homily. Some may not be familiar with standard Episcopal church customs, Most parishes have an adult education every Sunday called the Adult Forum. It is usually held after 15 minutes of coffee and doughnuts (first things first), between the two most popular sevices (times).
DeleteMany who were in the Cathedral that day were Catholics who went to the Cathedral that Sunday just so they could hear Sr Joan speak. After the adult forum, there was time for comments and questions. One woman spoke for many (given the applause) when she asked why she, a Catholic, had to go to an Episcopal church to be able to hear her (Sr. Joan) give a homily.
The RCC is choosing to operate with half a brain - denying the feminine by keeping women out of the priesthood. It seems they have forgotten Genesis - God made them male AND female in God's image. True complementarity requires that men and women be truly equal in the church, with equal access to all seven sacraments.