The Deacon's Bench
From the Clarion Herald newspaper:
There were so many men to be ordained as permanent deacons Dec. 1 at St. Louis Cathedral – 20 in all – that the carpeted sanctuary was not big enough to accommodate them for the centuries-old liturgical ritual of lying prostrate in front of the altar for the Litany of Supplication.
Instead, the men prostrated themselves in a single line on the marble floor in front of the sanctuary – a sign of their submission to God’s will – as God and the saints were invoked.
“This is a glorious day in our local church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans as we come together to recognize that God has called 20 men from among us to be deacons of the church and to serve in the name of Christ,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said at the beginning of the two-hour Mass of Ordination.
The archbishop used the theme of an entire village raising a child as an analogy for the numerous influences on the deacons – wives, families, friends, priests, religious and lay persons – who led them to discern a vocation to the permanent diaconate.
“These men come before us today because of many, many other people,” Archbishop Aymond said. “It is the love care and influence of many individuals who made this day possible. It may not take an entire village to raise a deacon, but it takes the ministry of love and care of so many.
“We say a very profound thank you, especially to the wives of these men … whose support and consent are necessary to make this day possible.”
Read more. Congratulations and welcome, brothers. Ad multos annos!
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