Deacons receive 'a new way of relating to Jesus,' archbishop tells jubilarians

Dozens of permanent deacons and their wives celebrate milestone anniversaries of ordination during special Mass at seminary

DETROIT — Forty permanent deacons celebrated 860 years of combined service on Sunday, Oct. 27, during a special Mass at Sacred Heart Major Seminary with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, followed by a celebratory dinner.

Alongside their wives, the deacons renewed their commitment to their vocation of service at the altar and among the people of God.

Celebrating his 45th anniversary, Deacon Brian Carroll from St. Mark Parish in Warren said that the decades-long journey has helped him grow in mercy and compassion.

“I heard a priest once say, and I apply it very much to myself, that the Lord calls to ordained ministry those men that he knows would never make it as a layman,” Deacon Carroll told Detroit Catholic. “You know, when a mother has half a dozen kids, and one of them is acting up, who does she invite into the kitchen to help her make cookies? The one that's acting up. I thought that was a bit of wisdom.”

Deacon Stanley Avery, who celebrated 15 years in the diaconate alongside his wife, Ramona Avery, said being able to serve in the diaconate has helped to grow their faith together as a couple.

“I know God is real because he brought me this far — 15 years,” said Deacon Avery, who serves at St. Mary, Our Lady Queen of Families Parish in Center Line. “It has been a journey that opened up my faith a little more.”

“This has helped me to be more patient and understanding and just to try to see the face of Jesus in situations that really require that,” Ramona added.

In his homily, Archbishop Vigneron congratulated the jubilarians and thanked them for their sacrifice and service. Referencing the Gospel reading about Bartimaeus, the blind man whose sight was restored by Jesus, the archbishop drew parallels between the blind man in the Gospel and the journey of every Christian disciple.

“Every disciple is like Bartimaeus, someone who comes to Jesus the master and says, ‘Lord, I want to see,’” Archbishop Vigneron explained. “The story of Bartimaeus proclaimed throughout the Church on this Lord's Day is really every Christian’s story: I am Bartimaeus, you are Bartimaeus.”

Because we have been healed of the blindness that comes from being without faith, we see the world around us differently, Archbishop Vigneron said, adding that through ordination, the deacons were made different and able to see more clearly through the eyes of faith.

“Through the imposition of the bishop's hands and the consecratory prayer, you are different — you have been consecrated for a very particular mission,” Archbishop Vigneron said to the deacons. “(You see) a new way of relating Jesus, a new way to think about the limitations you bring to your ministry, a new way to think about everybody you meet. We have a new way of thinking about ourselves; we are instruments to the kingdom of God.”

Archbishop Vigneron gave thanks for the grace in the lives of the deacons, noting that with grace comes the responsibility to share the grace with others.

“Faith helps us recognize that we are not just the recipients of these great graces, but that we are agents of the kingdom of heaven,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “Everyone who has received grace is responsible for sharing the grace. Jesus said, ‘From everyone to whom much was given, much will be expected.’”