Diaconia
Online

Volume XXI
Number 1
January, 2001

Who Is the Deacon of the New Millennium

In 1972 our late beloved Archbishop Humberto Cardinal Medeiros embraced the renewal of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Boston.  A renewal that the Bishops of the United States refer to as “…one of the great legacies of the Second Vatican Council”.  Our present Archbishop Bernard Cardinal Law has likewise embraced and nurtured the call to this Holy Order.

In 1972, Cardinal Medeiros called Father William Burckhart and informed him that he wanted to implement a formation program for the Permanent Diaconate with Father Bill as its Director.  Within a year Father Bill outlined a formation program with the help of Father (now Bishop) Banks, Father James Haddad, Father Fred O’Brien who coordinated the Hispanic program.

The first call in 1973 produced over 250 applicants for admission.  And the second call in 1974 resulted in a similar number.  The selection process resulted in 35 and 37 men admitted to the classes of 1976 and 1977. The number of applicants dropped in the ensuing years but has increased in recent years. 

A whole generation has passed. What has happened in that 25-year period? The formation program has been expanded to include psychological testing, spiritual direction and a year of Aspirancy (when candidates, wives and the Church experience the process of discernment).  The wives are integral to the entire formation process.  Three years of academic instruction were continued and a summer internship program, with theological reflection, was added.

The wonderful growth of husbands and wives in the spiritual life brings about an integration of the sacraments of matrimony and holy orders.  I dare say the domestic church (the family) takes on new meaning, and thus prepares the children of Deacons and their wives to a deeper understanding of, and faithfulness to, the Christian life.

Over the years the leadership of the Diaconate in Boston has transferred from Father Bill Burckhart, to Father Tom Foley, to Father Frank Silva, to Father Dick Butler and now to Deacon Leo Donoghue. The successors to Father Fred O’Brien have been Father Albert Silva, Father Jose Corral, and Father Alvaro Silva.

It has been my privilege and honor to work with these men; each contributed to the building of the Permanent Diaconate in Boston as one of the foremost formation programs in the country.   Sister Jane Carew whose doctoral theses  was on the “Integration of the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders”, set the scene for Sister Clare O’Keefe who for the past thirteen years has brought insight, grace and wisdom to the local, regional and national programs.

Between 1976 when the first ordination class was assigned in the archdiocese, until the present class of 2000, over 270 Deacons have been ordained.  We mourn the deaths of many and we rejoice with those who have entered the ranks of Senior Deacon/Retirement (required age 75).  Many of our Senior Deacons are still on active duty.  It is good to note that the sacrament of Holy Orders, like that of Marriage, is a lifetime commitment, ”… till death do us part”.  From my experience, I have learned that the formation program does not make Deacons.  Deacons are men who serve in the world and are called by the Lord.  But the formation forms them to be a sign of the Servant Christ in the sacred ministry of Deacon.

Although the theology of the Diaconate is still evolving and new ministries are unfolding, the call of the Deacon is clear.  The Deacon is an enabler, a catalyst for other ministries.  Deacons ordained today share in the ordained ministries of the men ordained a quarter of a century ago.  I am always saddened when a Deacon ordained in the early days of the renewal would say, “I would never have been a Deacon if I had to go through the selection and formation process in place today”.  My answer is, “You are a Deacon because God called you at that time and in that place to be a Deacon for all time”.

Who is the Deacon of the new Millennium?  He is one who has been shaped and formed on the Master Potter’s wheel to be a vessel of grace for the world.

William H. Wildes ’77
Senior Deacon/Retirement

Praying Together at Shabbat

About 20 years ago I was invited to speak at a Shabbat worship in a local synagogue.  Though I was appreciative and happy to respond to their kind invitation, the circumstances under which this occurred were distressing; for on that same day, as it appeared on the front page of the local paper, an older member of a Catholic parish in a neighboring town had been picketing with an anti-Semitic message.  He was well known by all concerned and this had become an annual exercise on his part.  What would I say to those who had gathered at the synagogue that evening, knowing that by then they would have read the same news report as I?

I prayed intently for the wisdom to speak words of reconciliation and peace; to approach the service with a sense of joy and trust, and to be open to the Spirit who had brought me to this moment for a reason.  I remembered, all at once, my own father, and how we had traveled together in 1962 to visit some relatives he had not seen in many years.   We drove across the country to Minnesota, and in that crossing I discovered my father in a new way.  We had never had anything but a warm cordial relationship, but for some reason we had also never had the opportunity to spend that kind of time together.  We stopped, I remembered, at a small town in Illinois and had lunch together.  My father and I sat at a table together and drank a cool drink on a very warm and humid day.

Now I stood before the gathered congregation of the Sons of Israel and began." I am here tonight with you as your younger brother.  Why has it been so long a time that we have not joined together to thank our God for his goodness and mercy?"  I related to them the story of my father and our trip out west and how good it was for us to be together.  How important it is, I shared with them, for us speak to one another and to share those things we believe as we journey together through this time and place.  How sad it is when we are estranged from those who with us are numbered among the children of God.

The evening of prayer was a warm and strangely familiar experience, followed by coffee and dessert and lively conversation.  In the many years that have passed since that Shabbat service, I have often thought of how pleasant an encounter it was and find my memory resonating with the declaration of the Holy Father, that the Church's commitment to ecumenism and interfaith dialogue is irrevocable.  May there be, in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and in the creative power of the Father, with the love and compassion of Jesus, many more opportunities provided us to sit at table together with our Jewish brothers and sisters.

Deacon Leo Martin '77

From the Director

Happy New Year!    The year 2001 is very significant because it marks the 25^th anniversary of ordination of the first Permanent Deacons in the Archdiocese of Boston.  Deacon Bill Wildes offers some reminiscences of the first 25 years in this issue of Diaconia. The next issues will focus on the evolution of the formation program as well as post-ordination efforts.  To whet your appetite, the following are some varied predictions pertaining to the next 25 years. 

The next quarter century will certainly produce more deacons who are representative of the many diverse cultures in this Archdiocese.  The formation program may include English as a Second Language for many of the deacon aspirants and candidates.    

·More and more deacons will serve as prison and hospital chaplains, and some may serve as high school chaplains.

It is quite possible that every parish or cluster will have a deacon or deacons assigned to it, and some may serve on a full time basis. Working together with priests and laity, deacons will form ministerial teams to function in new, creative ways.

Deacons will become more visible in struggles for justice and peace as well as in caring for the poor and vulnerable.

Deacons will sharpen their focus on evangelizing the “unchurched”.

The first classes of deacons set a wonderful standard for all deacons who have followed.  They were the right men at the right time.  May the Holy Spirit continue to bless the Archdiocese of Boston with aspirants and candidates eager to serve as Permanent Deacons.

Deacon Leo Donoghue ‘92

Presenting the Aspirants for the Permanent Diaconate

The following men have been accepted as aspirants for the Permanent Diaconate.  A year of discernment and preparation for the men and their wives began on September 14.  We are grateful to them for their generosity in the application process and to all those who worked so diligently on the admissions boards.  The regional statistics for this class are: Central 1; North 2; South 8; Merrimack 6; West 2.

NADD Region I Assembly, Newport, Rhode Island November 4, 2000

The largest group ever assembled for this event was treated to an enthusiastic, joyful, and faith-filled message by the keynote speaker of the day, Deacon Bill Ditewig, from the diocese of Davenport Iowa, where he currently serves as Director of Pastoral Services and Ministry. Deacon Bill electrified the crowd with his enthusiastic and engaging delivery of his message for “The Deacon in the New Millennium”.

Bill stressed, in light of Vatican II, the importance of the fact that Diaconate is a Sacrament, the first Holy Order, and that unlike the protestant tradition of lay deacons, the Catholic Church chose to sacramentalize the order.  Graced by that sacrament, deacons are to be a public sign of the Lord and the Church, which gives them a different role from a layperson, even if performing the same duties. 

Bill strongly stated, in support of the new directory, that the role of the deacon is no longer an “experiment”, but nonetheless is still “evolving”.  He emphasized the three-fold ministry of worship (sacrament), word, and charity.  While the deacon is primarily called to the service of charity, he must remember that all three ministries are service roles, and all have equal importance.  The deacon is to help wash the feet of others by his service, but also to lead others by his service in sacrament and in word, and in whatever other ways are needed, empowering others to lead and serve as he does so.

 It would be unfair to try to rephrase all that Bill presented to us, but very fair to say that every deacon and spouse present left with a renewed sense of hope and encouragement in their ministries and roles in the parish and workplace.

Deacon John Pepi ‘94

Diaconia Editorial Staff

Coordinator of Publication: Sister Clare O’Keefe

Editors: Charles A. Cornell, Leo Martin, Carolyn S. O’Neil, Richard F. Radford,

Members of the Diaconate Community are encouraged to submit ideas, articles, photography that might be of interest to the Community. Submit by mail to the office or by email to cac@stisidorestow.org.