Two Dominican friars from our Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus will be ordained to the diaconate on 27 February 2010 at St. Dominic’s Church in Benicia, California. Brothers Boniface and Mark Francis will enter into the apostolic ministry of deacons by their reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders, through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Catholic Church. As deacons, these Dominicans will share in Christ's mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with a character that cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the “deacon,” or servant of all.
As the ordination of my brothers approaches, I cannot help but reflect upon my own ordination to the diaconate over a year ago in January 2009 and the great and surprising joy I have experienced in my ministry as a deacon. I say “surprising,” because I had a tendency to think of my ordination to the diaconate as a mere step towards priesthood. Many times over I have been chided and corrected in this inadequate view by my own experience of diaconal ministry, which experience has been unfathomably rewarding. Perhaps of greatest significance to me as a friar of the Order of Preachers has been the gift of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and preaching the Word in the celebration of the Eucharist. After all, this proclamation and preaching are especially fitting for the sons of St. Dominic, whose conception of the vita apostolica means men on mission, proclaiming and preaching the Good News of salvation.
But there are so many moments and images I will not forget. There is nothing quite like the happiness of sharing in the bliss of a young couple as you stand before them to witness their marriage. Imagine the awe as you assist the priest in the Elevation for the first time, or lift the weighty monstrance to offer Benediction. Even helping with the dishes after a meal seems to take on a particular significance!
It has also been an immense privilege for me, as a Byzantine Ukrainian Catholic, to serve Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Fatima in San Francisco. Indeed, I am not the only deacon who has expressed just the slightest regret that priesthood will mean the end of fulfilling the awesome and wonderful duties of the diakonos in the great Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom!
God willing, my classmates and I will be ordained to the presbyterate in June 2010, and I can only thank the Lord for such a gift. I pray I will remain grateful, too, for the magnificent gift of my diaconate, and that I will always have a heart for diakonia—service. Finally, I entreat our Lord to abundantly bless the ministries of my brothers Boniface and Mark Francis as they enter into his humble labor.