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Eight Men In
New deacons to model Christ in holy service to community
By Andrew Junker
The Catholic Sun
Richard Gonzalez arrived from Kingman Nov.14, a day before he was to be ordained a deacon. He went to Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral early in the morning for a run-through of the ordination Mass with the seven other candidates.
The practice went without a hitch, but what Gonzalez really took away from that morning was confirmation that he was right where God wanted him to be.
“I saw the students of the Catholic school there,” he said. “To me, they looked like babies for God, and I thought, God is calling me for these babies. They need peace in the world. It was good inspiration.”
It was also apt for Deacon Gonzalez, seeing as how he runs the youth ministry program at St. Mary Parish in Kingman. He took over the role in September and went about preparing classes for confirmation.
He soon found out that some of the children and teens hadn’t yet been baptized, so he has also started preparing classes for that sacrament.
And now that he’s a deacon, he could even administer it himself.
A very spiritual day
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ordained eight men deacons at the cathedral Nov. 15, and told the candidates why their ministry was so important.
“Dear sons and brothers, you are to be raised to the order of the diaconate,” the bishop said. “People need to encounter Christ and hear His words of eternal life.”
The men approached the seated bishop one by one, placed their hands in his and promised their fidelity to him and his successors.
“It was a very spiritual day,” said Deacon Alan Hungate, one of the ordinands. “I think all of us could feel the Holy Spirit, but words can hardly express it.”
Deacon Jesus Morales agreed.
“It was something beautiful that I can’t describe in words,” he said. “People ask what happened when the bishop took my hands. I don’t know what happened to me. They try to prepare you for it, but …”
Deacon Morales was also greatly moved when the candidates lay prostrate on the cathedral floor while the congregation prayed the Litany of the Saints.
“When I finally got up, I could feel my eyes watering,” he said.
Bishop Olmsted told the new deacons, “The Lord has set an example, that just as He has done, you should do. Serve the people in love and joy as you would the Lord.”
The notion of service to the Church and the larger community is paramount to the diaconate. Deacons serve at the altar along with priests, preach the homily and distribute Communion. They can also perform baptisms and officiate at weddings and funerals.
“The diaconate is all about service,” Deacon Hungate said. “Certainly funerals, rosary services and committals are important to the people and give them a lot of comfort when they’re struggling.”
Deacon Hungate has been assigned to lead the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults program at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Scottsdale. He’s still waiting to find out his preaching schedule, but he’s sure he’ll be comfortable at the pulpit.
“They’ve worked at preparing us,” he said.
Years of preparation
Ordination day was a day of new beginnings for the eight candidates. But it also brought a close to the long journey of formation required of deacons.
For many, that journey took five years and many classes at the Kino Institute. They took theology and philosophy courses, but also learned pastoral applications of those topics.
Years of formation could take a toll on the candidate, many of whom also had to juggle fulltime employment. That’s where the family’s support came in, Deacon Morales said.
“I had to steal from [my family] all the weekends,” he joked about the classes that were often scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. “But they always gave me support. They always understood. My wife said, ‘If that’s what you want, I’m going to support you.’”
Deacon Morales’ daughter Nidia understands well the sacrifices families have to make when their father or husband is in the middle of formation.
“I don’t think people realize how it’s a journey for the entire family,” she said. “If you’re going to get to ordination, it really takes the family to come together and really want it.”
Nidia said she had to learn how to “share” her father with the community. But when he started doing hospital ministry, she saw the difference he was making.
“He would get to the hospital and find people who were so grateful that he was there and would just ask him to pray for them,” she said. “Just to know his impact was all the compensation my family needed.”
Sometimes, the wives of the deacons also get involved in the formation themselves. They are invited to attend many of the classes alongside their husbands.
Deacon Hungate’s wife Mary went to almost all of the classes with him and proved to be an invaluable support.
“I doubt very much I would have been able to sustain all of that without her love and support,” he said. “It’s a long journey. It’s certainly God’s call, but you live in the secular world.”
Andrew Junker/CATHOLIC SUN
The eight candidates for the diaconate line up before Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted during a Nov. 15 ordination Mass at
Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. The day was a culmination of years of formation in Church teaching for the deacons.
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