Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

This past week you may have seen a deacon at Mass. Some Masses he served as a deacon, and others he came out to help distribute Holy Communion. Deacon Tim Banach is a transitional deacon, who is finishing his last year of studies at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. This is the same seminary I graduated from, and it is great to have another man from St. Charles in the house!

As an aside, the ‘transitional’ adjective in front of ‘deacon’ is the Church’s way of identifying that he is in formation to be ordained a priest. This is in contrast to ‘permanent’ deacons who are not on a path to priesthood.

There are three promises made by the transitional deacon during his ordination Mass: to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Obedience and Celibacy.

1. To pray the Liturgy of the Hours for the people of God. Prayer is at the heart of a life of service. This prayer, consists of psalms, petitions, and reading from both Scripture and Church fathers. Through this prayer, the clergy of the Church are praying at every hour of the day for the Church.
2. Obedience. To be ordained is to be configured to Jesus Christ. Thus, in obedience, the clergy live and make present the self-emptying love of Our Lord. It is through generously living this, that the bishop is able to care for the souls entrusted to him. How can a preist know he is doing God’s will? When he obeys the directives of the bishop, and serves in harmony with him.
3. Celibacy. This is what most gets people’s attention. Living celibacy generously is a great witness to the Kingdom of God! Here is a snippet of the ordination rite as pertains to celibacy:

   By your own free choice, you seek to enter the order of deacons…. By living in this state with total dedication…you will adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart; you will be more freely at the service of God and mankind, and you will be more untrammeled in the ministry of Christian conversion and rebirth. By your life and character you will give witness to your brothers and sisters in faith that God must be loved above all else, and that it is He whom you serve in others.

Deacon Tim will be with us for about 9 weeks this summer, and will also be back for Christmas and Holy Week! This adds a new joy to our parish taking part in the formation of future priests. Thank you for the warm welcome that I know you will extend to him.

pax,

Father John Mosimann