An Ordination to Service

Twelve seminarians receive ordination to the diaconate this spring.

Four fourth-year theologians for the Archdiocese of Detroit became one step closer to priestly ordination on April 11. When Most Rev. Francis R. Reiss, Detroit auxiliary bishop, laid hands on Paul Graney, Dominic Macioce, Kevin Roelant, and Timothy Wezner, they were ordained into the Order of Deacons during an evening liturgy in the seminary main chapel.

At Sacred Heart, a seminarian receives diaconal ordination in the spring as he begins his final year of formation. He is a transitional deacon since he intends to move on to priestly ordination. A permanent deacon is a single or married layman who has no intention of becoming a priest. He must go through years of educational and spiritual formation just like a seminarian. Both are Catholic clergy and equal members of the Order of Deacons.

Other diaconal ordinations of Sacred Heart seminarians come later in the spring. Diocese of Lansing seminarians Peter Lawrence and Ryan Riley will join their brother Sacred Heart seminarians as members of the Order of Deacons at an ordination ceremony at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing on May 16. Seminarians Jose Haro, Andrew Raczkowski, Paul Redmond, and Bruno Okoli will be ordained transitional deacons on May 9 for the Diocese of Kalamazoo at a liturgy at St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo. On May 29, St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette will be the site of the diaconal ordination of Diocese of Marquette seminarians Aaron Nowicki and Jernej Sustar, CCL.

Supporting the ministry of priests and service to the Christian community remain the primary duties of the ordained deacon today. A deacon can baptize, witness a marriage, perform a funeral service, and preach at Mass. A deacon is called to catechetize, evangelize, and assist the needy. He cannot consecrate the Eucharist, hear confessions, confirm, or anoint the sick.

It was the first Apostles who established the Order of Deacons. In Acts 6:1-6, the Twelve needed help distributing food to widows of the Jerusalem Christian community. They laid hands on seven responsible men to assist them. This transfer of authority through formal ordination freed the Apostles for spiritual service, to devote ourselves to prayer and to ministry of the word.