“Honey, I’d like to be a deacon…”

“Honey, I’d like to be a deacon…” April 20, 2015

Leaving Church

From CatholicPhilly.com comes this profile of one local couple—and a conversation that will be familiar to many deacons and their wives:

I was stunned when my husband, Donald, mentioned he was considering becoming a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church.

This really took me by surprise. Donald was raised in the South as a Baptist! He is now a convert to Catholicism. Donald has always been a considerate, loving husband and an excellent father of our four children, but I am a bit skeptical that Donald has the Catholic background to become ordained as a deacon. In addition, I am wondering, what would be required of me and our teenage children in this whole process?

We do not have any deacons in our parish, so I really do not know much about the diaconate or the consequences for the family. I want to support Donald with “his calling” (as he refers to it), but I am afraid to support something I fear may be out of his reach. Our children (two girls, ages 13 and 18 and twin sons, age 15) do not seem to have an opinion one way or another. They seem supportive, but will they resent time being taken away from their sports activities which include their father?

I am very independent and do not lean on Donald, but I also do not know what would be involved with me. Certainly, at the very least, I believe our family would probably come under the microscope in our church community … and what else awaits us?

The advice:

Ask, listen, discern and pray and then pray again! If you are truly being called by God to be a deacon, his plan for you and your family will become clear. “For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

Corinne and Donald, be aware that if admitted to diaconate formation and eventually ordained as a deacon, you and your family, through the grace of God, will most assuredly be changed. You will find yourself changing schedules and changing your life. You will encounter and touch other people’s lives, and you will be drawn closer to God, and you will love it!

“This I know: God is on my side. God, I praise your promise; in you I trust, I do not fear” (Psalms 56:10-11).

There’s more. Read it all. 


Browse Our Archives