{"id":5096,"date":"2011-07-10T18:12:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-10T22:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/deaconsbench\/?p=5096"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:40:30","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:40:30","slug":"once-a-deacon-always-a-deacon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/07\/once-a-deacon-always-a-deacon\/","title":{"rendered":""Once a deacon, always a deacon…""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Those are the words of an 86-year-old retired deacon, profiled in the Catholic Review<\/a><\/strong> from the Archdiocese of Baltimore:<\/p>\n

When Oak Crest commemorated National Volunteer Appreciation Week recently with an award ceremony for the Parkville retirement community\u2019s volunteers, Deacon Harry O\u2019Neill didn\u2019t want to attend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe only way they got me there was by asking me to offer the opening prayer,\u201d he said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Of the 100 recipients of the Presidential Service Award, Deacon O\u2019Neill, along with two other volunteers, was particularly singled out for his tireless service to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe award was a nice thing, but anything I\u2019ve done is simply a part of my ministry,\u201d said the 86-year-old retired deacon who was ordained in 1983.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not quite how Oak Crest\u2019s Catholic staff and volunteers see it. When he was honored for his 15 years of service during a Saturday evening Mass in May, his gift of a Luna holder (a glass and gilded metal container which holds the Host securely in place in a monstrance) was accompanied by a collective tribute: \u201cWe praise and thank God for this good man, Deacon Harry O\u2019Neill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly half of the 900 Oak Crest residents are Catholic, and it has been Deacon O\u2019Neill\u2019s job, as one Catholic staff member put it, \u201cto keep us all on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is particularly recognized for his ministry to the assisted living residents of Oak Crest\u2019s Renaissance Gardens, bringing them Communion and working with representatives of other faiths to make sure special services are available to those who cannot go to the community\u2019s chapel.<\/p>\n

And he always assisted the Oak Crest Catholic Chaplain, Sulpician Father Joseph J. Bonadio, at the community\u2019s four weekly Masses.<\/p>\n

A bad back and other health issues have severely restricted Deacon O\u2019Neill\u2019s mobility these days but, climbing aboard his electric scooter, he still manages to help wherever he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a deacon, always a deacon,\u201d he said, flashing his infectious grin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more about his life and his vocation right here.<\/a><\/strong> Keep on keepin\u2019 on, Deacon!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those are the words of an 86-year-old retired deacon, profiled in the Catholic Review from the Archdiocese of Baltimore: When Oak Crest commemorated National Volunteer Appreciation Week recently with an award ceremony for the Parkville retirement community\u2019s volunteers, Deacon Harry O\u2019Neill didn\u2019t want to attend. \u201cThe only way they got me there was by asking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[11171],"class_list":["post-5096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deacons","tag-deacons"],"yoast_head":"\n"Once a deacon, always a deacon..."<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Those are the words of an 86-year-old retired deacon, profiled in the Catholic Review from the Archdiocese of Baltimore: When Oak Crest commemorated\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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