September 30, 2009

Five men ordained to holy orders

By Roxanne King

They are called and set apart to give their lives to the Church in service.

That’s the message ordaining prelate Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., shared with five men who were ordained to the diaconate on Sept. 26, the feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damien, in a step starting the last leg of their journey toward the priesthood.

“May you love the Church as Jesus loves the Church and gave his life for her,” the archbishop said.

The newly ordained deacons—Matthew Book, John Green, David Nix, Jose Maria Quera and Michael Rapp—attend the two seminaries of the Denver Archdiocese: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Archdioce-san Missionary Seminary.

Deacon Book, 35, is a former engineer. Deacon Green, 32, was once an electrician. Deacon Nix, 31, was a paramedic and Fellowship of Catholic University Students missionary. Deacon Quera, 49, had a career as an architect. Deacon Rapp, 26, went directly from high school to a college seminary.

Deacons Green, Nix and Rapp have roots in Denver. Deacon Book is from Wisconsin. Deacon Quera is a native of Barcelona, Spain.
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was filled to near capacity with those eager to witness the milestone step in the men’s formation Saturday morning. 

A colorfully caped and plumed Knights of Columbus honor guard led an impressive procession of some 20 deacons, 40 priests, numerous altar servers and two bishops to start the bilingual Mass. Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley and the seminary rectors—Msgr. Michael Glenn of St. John Vianney and Very Rev. Florian Martin-Calama of Redemptoris Mater—were among the vested concelebrants.

“We’re celebrating this ordination of deacons in the Year for Priests,” Archbishop Chaput said in his homily. “It’s a time of prayer for renewal to the priestly life. And next May these men will be ordained to the priesthood.

The archbishop told the men they would do well to model themselves after St. John Vianney, the patron of priests. Called the Cure d’Ars after the French village where he served as pastor, an image and a reliquary with several relics of the saint were on display near the altar. The Year for Priests marks the 150th anniversary of the saint’s death.

“Today’s ordination is usually referred to as an ordination to the ‘transitional diaconate,’” noted the archbishop, “but in theology there’s nothing transitional about the diaconate.”

That’s because the sacrament of holy orders marks the deacon with an imprint (or character) that cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the ‘deacon’ or servant of all, explains the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” (No. 1570).

“Just as the Levites were called by God,” Archbishop Chaput said, referring to the Scripture reading of the Mass (Num 3:5-9) that described the Levites as being set apart for priestly functions, “you deacons are called by God to serve the priest and the people.”

The archbishop emphasized that all faithful and clerics should appreciate and respect deacons and their ministry.

A clergy rank of the Church in Apostolic times, the diaconate eventually became a preliminary step toward ordination to the priesthood. While it still serves this purpose for men who will become priests, like those ordained Saturday, in 1967 the diaconate was restored as a permanent rank of holy orders.

Deacons can officiate at baptisms, weddings, wakes and funerals. They can also preach and distribute holy Communion. They cannot consecrate the Eucharist, hear confessions or anoint the sick.

“Understand that your ordination today is a gift and an act of the mercy of God,” Archbishop Chaput said as he reflected on the second Scripture reading from the Mass (2 Cor 4:1-2, 5-7), which addressed apostolic ministry. “This moment (of ordination) is like a new creation.”

The Ordination Rite began with the five men being called forward and affirmed as worthy of ordination. Upon the archbishop’s acceptance, the congregation applauded enthusiastically.

Next, the men promised celibacy and obedience to the archbishop and his successors. Then, as they lay prostrate before the altar, the congregation sang the Litany of Supplication, asking the intercession of the saints for them.

In silence, the archbishop laid hands on each of the men as they knelt before him. He then said the Prayer of Ordination over the group.

Finally, the newly ordained were vested with a deacon’s stole and dalmatic and were empowered to preach the Gospel.

“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are,” the archbishop said as each of the new deacons knelt in turn before him holding a gleaming gold Book of Gospels.

“Believe what you read,” the archbishop exhorted, “teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”

Following the archbishop’s lead, veteran deacons gave each new deacon a warm embrace, welcoming them into the order of deacons.

The deacons then took seats in the sanctuary beside the archbishop, eliciting warm applause, and assisted him for the remainder of the Mass.

In concluding the Mass, the archbishop thanked all those responsible for fostering the men’s vocations—their families, their parish communities, the seminaries where they are in formation, and the Neocatechumenal Way, a Vatican approved catechumenate that played a significant role in the vocations of Deacons Green and Quera. 

Earlier, while ending his homily, the archbishop had encouraged the men to have a love for the poor as did martyr-saints Cosmas and Damien, brother physicians in third-century Syria who were called the “moneyless ones” because they refused payment for their services.  And he had declared that if the men could be like St. John Vianney, “the whole world would be converted.”

“Remember St. John Vianney,” the archbishop urged. “Remember Sts. Cosmas and Damien.”