26th Sunday in Ordinary Time--Deacon Collection
September 26, 2004
“Woe to the complacent in Zion!”
We know that whenever the Lord spoke through the profits and he started with the word “Woe”, what followed was probably not going to be a good thing. In the first reading today, He’s saying “Woe to the complacent of Zion“, the northern kingdom of Israel. He goes on to warn them of what is to come if they don’t change their ways. But this happened an awfully long time ago, about 3,000 years give or take a few hundred. Suppose we put this first reading into a modern context.
Do you ever watch “The Simpsons?” If, not, do you at least know who the characters are? OK, suppose we rewrite Amos’ words as they would relate to this 21st century cartoon show:
“Woe to you, Homer Simpson. You recline on the couch, remote control in one hand, Duff beer in the other. You eat Krusty Burgers by the bag and waste time hanging out with your friends at Moe’s tavern. You sing along with the oldies on the car radio with a voice that even a mother couldn’t love. You had better change your ways or you’re going to be sorry.
We know from history that the northern Israelites did pay for their sins. The northern kingdom was captured and destroyed by the Assyrians. Homer is always getting in trouble, but nothing quite that serious.
In one episode, Homer splits his pants getting ready for church and decides to stay home. He says that if God wanted people to worship Him for an hour a week, he should have made the week an hour longer. One thing leads to another and after a few Sunday mornings reclining on the couch, Homer decides to start his own religion. He says that his church has the advantage of no hell and no kneeling.
To make a long story short, a few weeks later, Homer is at home on Sunday morning, watching television while the family is at church and he falls asleep. His lighted cigar sets the couch on fire, which spreads to the entire house. Homer is convinced that it’s divine retribution and falls to his knees and asks for God’s forgiveness. He wants God to tell him what He wants him to do now, saying, “O Spiteful One, show me who to smite, and he shall be smoten.”
But Homer is really a loveable guy and the truth is that he and his family spend more time in church and asking God for help than just about any other family on television. The show makes fun of religion, but it never makes fun of God.
I can relate to Homer, because at one time I stayed home on Sunday mornings while my family went to mass. I never went so far as to start my own church, but I did spend a lot of time on the couch with the remote control. As you can see, I spend my weekends a little differently now.
That brings me to what I really want to talk to you about. Today, in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, there are 270 men who have decided to get up off the couch, lay down the remote control and do something for God and His church. They call us called permanent deacons.
Sometimes people ask, what exactly is a deacon? Other than reading the Gospel and preaching the homily, what do you do? In an emergency a lay person can perform a baptism, and at a wedding, it’s actually the bride and groom who perform the sacrament. What’s the big deal?
Well, first, like a priest we receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the laying on of hands, we receive a special grace that marks us permanently as a minister of Christ, especially Christ the servant. While the priest is first and foremost a minister of the Eucharist, deacons are ministers of service.
By assisting the priest at mass, we’re supposed to be a reminder to you that we’re all called to serve one another. That’s why the deacon is the one who proclaims at the end of mass, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
Along with our work in the parish, many of us have other ministries as well. I’m one of two deacons who assist the chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kirkwood. Other deacons serve the homeless and those in prison. Deacons are involved in campus ministry and even at the chapel at the airport. But, again, lay people can do those things too. What makes a deacon different?
One big difference is that a lay person can stop anytime he or she wants to. If you get tired of volunteering at the hospital, or being a lector, or doing anything else for the church, you can just quit. Deacons, on the other hand, are assigned by the Archbishop. We pretty much get to choose our ministry, but it has to be approved by the Archbishop. Each year we fill out a “ministry agreement” where we, along with the pastor and anyone else we report to, agree on what we’re going to do for the next twelve months. If you read the review, you may have noticed a little box called “Archbishop’s Appointments”. If a deacon’s assignment is changed, it shows up in that little box. We can quit an assignment, but we have to get permission form the Archbishop and then see our names in the paper.
That one’s easy to explain. The thing that’s more difficult to describe is the grace of the Holy Spirit that is conferred at ordination. I can feel and see the Spirit’s presence in my life. There is a spiritual strength that wasn’t there before ordination. I constantly find myself in situations where I can be of help to people.
As an example, just this past Tuesday I was at St. Joseph’s. My job there is to do what are called “initial visits.” Our goal is to visit each patient at least once. If I find that there’s a serious need, then I refer the patient to the chaplain, or someone else who really knows what they’re doing. I rarely see a patient a second time, or see a patient that’s already been seen. Anyway, Tuesday evening, I got on the elevator with a patient. She’s in her early forties and was dragging her IV tree back to her room. She asked me if I was a priest and I told her “no” that I’m a deacon. She asked me if I would come and see her and I said I would.
When I checked my list, I saw that someone had already visited her. If I hadn’t run into her in the elevator, I wouldn’t have gone to see her. When I did go visit her, I learned that, among other problems, she’s anorexic. A lot of you know that my daughter, Megan, has struggled with that disease, so I know a little bit about it. Megan’s doing well now, but she was very sick for a long time.
Without going into a lot of details, the patient was very down, and I think I was able to help her. She asked me about Megan’s recovery and how she’s doing now. I told her Megan’s story and that she is now a student at Mizzou, majoring in nutrition and diet, hoping for a career helping young people with eating disorders. The story definitely cheered the patient up and she told me that maybe she would look into ways of helping others.
You can say it was a coincidence that I ran into this woman in the elevator. You can say it’s a coincidence that I had a daughter with a story that helped her. You can say it was just luck. But this kind of thing has happened to me too many times for me to believe it’s anything but the Holy Spirit working through me to help people who are in need. And other deacons will tell you the same thing.
Being ordained is a lot like being married. When Jan and I were married almost 36 years ago, we made a lifelong commitment to one another. Has it been easy? Of course not. Anything worth doing usually takes effort. But the sacrament of marriage confers a special grace that helps a couple get through the hard times. When I became a deacon, I made a similar commitment to the church. Being a deacon, like being a husband or wife, is about putting the other person’s needs first.
Married deacons always have to remember that we were husbands first. The marriage is always supposed to come before the ministry. In fact, I couldn’t have been ordained without Jan’s written permission. That’s the way the church wants it. But in practice, it doesn’t always work out that way. Our wives are a very important part of what we do.
So, you’re probably asking yourself, “Ok, deacon. What’s all this got to do with me?”
Well, today I’d like to ask you to do three things. First, pray for Mike Coppage and me, for the other 203 ordained deacons in the Archdiocese and for the 65 men who are currently in formation. We need all the help we can get.
Second, if you are a man over the age of 35, ask God what He wants you to do with your life. Becoming, and being, a deacon are not easy. It takes five years of study to prepare for ordination and a lot of time and effort after. But, if that’s what God wants you to do, the rewards far outweigh the cost. If you have any questions, Deacon Mike or I would be glad to talk to you.
And, finally, you may have noticed that you have an envelope in your packet for a special deacon collection next weekend. I mentioned the cost of preparing for ordination. You may not realize that a large part of the cost of training is paid by the candidate himself. It includes classes, books, travel and other incidental expenses. We don’t want money to be the reason for someone not answering the call. The ADA used to cover the cost of running the program, but that’s no longer true. We still receive funds from the ADA, but not enough to fully fund the program. We need your help.
What do you get in return? In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the 205 active deacons provide over 12,000 hours of service each month. That’s 144,000 hours per year, or the equivalent of 72 full-time employees working for the Archdiocese, most without pay. Those 72 full-time employees would cost the church over $2,000,000 per year!
Closer to home, I think Father Gary would agree that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to run this parish, teach at DuBourg and minister to the students at Webster University without help. It’s just not possible to be in more than one place at a time. By doing the things that we’re able to do, Mike and I help make it possible for Father to do the things that only a priest can do.
As long as there is a shortage of priestly vocations, deacons will be asked to help keep parishes open and active.
So, please be as generous as you can next weekend. But, your prayers are the most important thing. Pray for those of us who are already ordained and for those in formation. And, please pray for our families, too. They have to put up with a lot. Even though the family is supposed to come first, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.
I couldn’t do what I do without my family’s support. Jan’s there for me (and for you) spiritually and emotionally every day. Plus, she keeps things going at home when I’m out being a deacon. My kids have been very supportive, even when they know I’m talking about them in my homilies. Most important of all, Jan’s prayers and her good example are the reason I’m in church this morning, not home reclining on the couch.
“Woe to the complacent in Zion!”
We know that whenever the Lord spoke through the profits and he started with the word “Woe”, what followed was probably not going to be a good thing. In the first reading today, He’s saying “Woe to the complacent of Zion“, the northern kingdom of Israel. He goes on to warn them of what is to come if they don’t change their ways. But this happened an awfully long time ago, about 3,000 years give or take a few hundred. Suppose we put this first reading into a modern context.
Do you ever watch “The Simpsons?” If, not, do you at least know who the characters are? OK, suppose we rewrite Amos’ words as they would relate to this 21st century cartoon show:
“Woe to you, Homer Simpson. You recline on the couch, remote control in one hand, Duff beer in the other. You eat Krusty Burgers by the bag and waste time hanging out with your friends at Moe’s tavern. You sing along with the oldies on the car radio with a voice that even a mother couldn’t love. You had better change your ways or you’re going to be sorry.
We know from history that the northern Israelites did pay for their sins. The northern kingdom was captured and destroyed by the Assyrians. Homer is always getting in trouble, but nothing quite that serious.
In one episode, Homer splits his pants getting ready for church and decides to stay home. He says that if God wanted people to worship Him for an hour a week, he should have made the week an hour longer. One thing leads to another and after a few Sunday mornings reclining on the couch, Homer decides to start his own religion. He says that his church has the advantage of no hell and no kneeling.
To make a long story short, a few weeks later, Homer is at home on Sunday morning, watching television while the family is at church and he falls asleep. His lighted cigar sets the couch on fire, which spreads to the entire house. Homer is convinced that it’s divine retribution and falls to his knees and asks for God’s forgiveness. He wants God to tell him what He wants him to do now, saying, “O Spiteful One, show me who to smite, and he shall be smoten.”
But Homer is really a loveable guy and the truth is that he and his family spend more time in church and asking God for help than just about any other family on television. The show makes fun of religion, but it never makes fun of God.
I can relate to Homer, because at one time I stayed home on Sunday mornings while my family went to mass. I never went so far as to start my own church, but I did spend a lot of time on the couch with the remote control. As you can see, I spend my weekends a little differently now.
That brings me to what I really want to talk to you about. Today, in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, there are 270 men who have decided to get up off the couch, lay down the remote control and do something for God and His church. They call us called permanent deacons.
Sometimes people ask, what exactly is a deacon? Other than reading the Gospel and preaching the homily, what do you do? In an emergency a lay person can perform a baptism, and at a wedding, it’s actually the bride and groom who perform the sacrament. What’s the big deal?
Well, first, like a priest we receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. Through the laying on of hands, we receive a special grace that marks us permanently as a minister of Christ, especially Christ the servant. While the priest is first and foremost a minister of the Eucharist, deacons are ministers of service.
By assisting the priest at mass, we’re supposed to be a reminder to you that we’re all called to serve one another. That’s why the deacon is the one who proclaims at the end of mass, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
Along with our work in the parish, many of us have other ministries as well. I’m one of two deacons who assist the chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kirkwood. Other deacons serve the homeless and those in prison. Deacons are involved in campus ministry and even at the chapel at the airport. But, again, lay people can do those things too. What makes a deacon different?
One big difference is that a lay person can stop anytime he or she wants to. If you get tired of volunteering at the hospital, or being a lector, or doing anything else for the church, you can just quit. Deacons, on the other hand, are assigned by the Archbishop. We pretty much get to choose our ministry, but it has to be approved by the Archbishop. Each year we fill out a “ministry agreement” where we, along with the pastor and anyone else we report to, agree on what we’re going to do for the next twelve months. If you read the review, you may have noticed a little box called “Archbishop’s Appointments”. If a deacon’s assignment is changed, it shows up in that little box. We can quit an assignment, but we have to get permission form the Archbishop and then see our names in the paper.
That one’s easy to explain. The thing that’s more difficult to describe is the grace of the Holy Spirit that is conferred at ordination. I can feel and see the Spirit’s presence in my life. There is a spiritual strength that wasn’t there before ordination. I constantly find myself in situations where I can be of help to people.
As an example, just this past Tuesday I was at St. Joseph’s. My job there is to do what are called “initial visits.” Our goal is to visit each patient at least once. If I find that there’s a serious need, then I refer the patient to the chaplain, or someone else who really knows what they’re doing. I rarely see a patient a second time, or see a patient that’s already been seen. Anyway, Tuesday evening, I got on the elevator with a patient. She’s in her early forties and was dragging her IV tree back to her room. She asked me if I was a priest and I told her “no” that I’m a deacon. She asked me if I would come and see her and I said I would.
When I checked my list, I saw that someone had already visited her. If I hadn’t run into her in the elevator, I wouldn’t have gone to see her. When I did go visit her, I learned that, among other problems, she’s anorexic. A lot of you know that my daughter, Megan, has struggled with that disease, so I know a little bit about it. Megan’s doing well now, but she was very sick for a long time.
Without going into a lot of details, the patient was very down, and I think I was able to help her. She asked me about Megan’s recovery and how she’s doing now. I told her Megan’s story and that she is now a student at Mizzou, majoring in nutrition and diet, hoping for a career helping young people with eating disorders. The story definitely cheered the patient up and she told me that maybe she would look into ways of helping others.
You can say it was a coincidence that I ran into this woman in the elevator. You can say it’s a coincidence that I had a daughter with a story that helped her. You can say it was just luck. But this kind of thing has happened to me too many times for me to believe it’s anything but the Holy Spirit working through me to help people who are in need. And other deacons will tell you the same thing.
Being ordained is a lot like being married. When Jan and I were married almost 36 years ago, we made a lifelong commitment to one another. Has it been easy? Of course not. Anything worth doing usually takes effort. But the sacrament of marriage confers a special grace that helps a couple get through the hard times. When I became a deacon, I made a similar commitment to the church. Being a deacon, like being a husband or wife, is about putting the other person’s needs first.
Married deacons always have to remember that we were husbands first. The marriage is always supposed to come before the ministry. In fact, I couldn’t have been ordained without Jan’s written permission. That’s the way the church wants it. But in practice, it doesn’t always work out that way. Our wives are a very important part of what we do.
So, you’re probably asking yourself, “Ok, deacon. What’s all this got to do with me?”
Well, today I’d like to ask you to do three things. First, pray for Mike Coppage and me, for the other 203 ordained deacons in the Archdiocese and for the 65 men who are currently in formation. We need all the help we can get.
Second, if you are a man over the age of 35, ask God what He wants you to do with your life. Becoming, and being, a deacon are not easy. It takes five years of study to prepare for ordination and a lot of time and effort after. But, if that’s what God wants you to do, the rewards far outweigh the cost. If you have any questions, Deacon Mike or I would be glad to talk to you.
And, finally, you may have noticed that you have an envelope in your packet for a special deacon collection next weekend. I mentioned the cost of preparing for ordination. You may not realize that a large part of the cost of training is paid by the candidate himself. It includes classes, books, travel and other incidental expenses. We don’t want money to be the reason for someone not answering the call. The ADA used to cover the cost of running the program, but that’s no longer true. We still receive funds from the ADA, but not enough to fully fund the program. We need your help.
What do you get in return? In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the 205 active deacons provide over 12,000 hours of service each month. That’s 144,000 hours per year, or the equivalent of 72 full-time employees working for the Archdiocese, most without pay. Those 72 full-time employees would cost the church over $2,000,000 per year!
Closer to home, I think Father Gary would agree that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to run this parish, teach at DuBourg and minister to the students at Webster University without help. It’s just not possible to be in more than one place at a time. By doing the things that we’re able to do, Mike and I help make it possible for Father to do the things that only a priest can do.
As long as there is a shortage of priestly vocations, deacons will be asked to help keep parishes open and active.
So, please be as generous as you can next weekend. But, your prayers are the most important thing. Pray for those of us who are already ordained and for those in formation. And, please pray for our families, too. They have to put up with a lot. Even though the family is supposed to come first, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.
I couldn’t do what I do without my family’s support. Jan’s there for me (and for you) spiritually and emotionally every day. Plus, she keeps things going at home when I’m out being a deacon. My kids have been very supportive, even when they know I’m talking about them in my homilies. Most important of all, Jan’s prayers and her good example are the reason I’m in church this morning, not home reclining on the couch.
posted by Mike at 7:47 PM
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