‘Remember the awesome privilege you have to hold the chalice of Christ’s blood,’ archbishop extolls newly ordained deacons
DETROIT — God has three more co-workers to continue the work of salvation in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Deacons Michael Heard, Sidney Johnson and Alan Pionk were ordained to the permanent diaconate Oct. 1 by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, where the archbishop told the men they are continuing a line of service that has its roots in the earliest days of the Church.
“In the liturgy, it is Christ who acts,” Archbishop Vigneron said in his homily. “We are all with him; we are part of His body. We enter the action, but our head takes the initiative. The Second Vatican Council says it is Christ who baptizes; it is Christ who will make you deacons today. Because in the sacred liturgy, we have the continuation of the same deeds that go all the way back to the very beginning of human history.”
Archbishop Vigneron highlighted the readings from Jeremiah and the Acts of the Apostles, in which the apostles appointed the first deacons, men set aside to preach the Gospel and care for the daily needs of the people of God.
“What we do is just what is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “The Church in Detroit is as rich in this gift as the Church in Jerusalem. We have what they have. They had the apostolic ministry, the ministry of priest and the ministry of deacon. What Christ does today is give us the priestly order of bishops, priests and deacons to be colleagues and coworkers — one might say wingmen, coworkers in the work of serving the people of God. For that we join in thanks and praise.”
After the homily, the candidates presented themselves before Archbishop Vigneron to declare their wishes to enter the Order of the Diaconate, vowing obedience to him and his successors.
After the candidates made their declarations of obedience, Archbishop Vigneron said the Prayer of Ordination, which establishes the biblical history of the diaconate, and the roles and responsibilities deacons have in serving the Church.
The newly ordained deacons were then vested in a diaconal stole and dalmatic before receiving the book of the Gospels.
“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach,” Archbishop Vigneron said to each of the three deacons.
Deacon Pionk delivered a thanksgiving address after Mass, thanking the archbishop, priests, deacons and professors who were instrumental in their formation.
“My deacon brothers, Michael, Sidney and I have many thanks to offer today,” Deacon Pionk said. “So many, in fact, we’re not able to mention all, and many we are simply unaware of — those, in our Father’s wisdom, He placed in our path, to help us get to this day. And there were many we do not even know their names.”
Many individuals accompanied and formed their call to the diaconate, particularly the deacons’ wives, Deacon Pionk said.
“To the ladies whom God set aside for each of us, whom without, we would not be here today — Deacon Mike’s wife, Rolanda; Deacon Sidney’s wife, Erinn; and my wife, Darcy — I speak for myself and my brothers in saying, we are not us without you,” Deacon Pionk said. “Thank you for God’s providence in placing you in our paths.”
After Deacon Pionk’s address, Archbishop Vigneron announced the new deacons' first pastoral assignments: Deacon Heard has been assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington; Deacon Johnson will serve Christ the Redeemer Parish in Lake Orion; and Deacon Pionk will join St. Christopher Parish in Marysville.
The day was a culmination of many years of discernment, formation, and accompaniment that led each man to become servants of the Lord’s table.
“This day is a very special,” Rolanda Heard, wife of Deacon Michael Heard, told Detroit Catholic. “I’m very pleased that he finally said 'yes.' I believe God has been tugging on his jacket for a long time, and he finally said ‘yes,’ and I support him.”
Rolanda Heard reflected on how she and her husband both went through a formation process during her husband’s diaconal studies.
“The Scripture that I put on his stole was, 'The Master has need of it.' It was out of the Palm Sunday Scripture, Luke 19:31, and I told Michael he is the ‘it,’” Rolanda Heard said. “That is what he is going to bring to the diaconate: his meekness, meeting people where they are, his love of family, and his love of the word of Christ.”
For Erinn Johnson, the day was a joyous occasion, recalling how her husband, a convert, approached her after Fr. Jacob VanAssche of St. Damien of Molokai Parish in Pontiac suggested he consider becoming a deacon.
“It was rewarding and enriching, the entire process that led us here,” Erinn Johnson said. “During the formation process, I got to meet this entire sisterhood of deacon wives. To have this sisterhood of other women who have experienced it is wonderful. They encourage you, support you and give you the knowledge that this is truly where God wants you and your husband to be.”
It is God who calls men to the diaconate, and it is God who ordains men to become deacons to show that the work of human salvation is still ongoing, Archbishop Vigneron said in his homily.
“In the fullness of time, God sent the Holy Spirit in the power of Jesus to remake the world so we, members of His holy body, could be agents for the new creation,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “You, my brothers, as deacons, will be leaders in our Church so that the people of God will do the works that will glorify God — not only in the 21st century, but for all eternity."
Finally, as a final reminder of the awesome role deacons have in the church, Archbishop Vigneron extolled what it is they will be holding each Sunday at the altar, and what it means for human salvation.
“Please remember, every time at the great doxology at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, when you are privileged to lift up the chalice, that in that chalice is the very blood that flowed from Christ on the cross," Archbishop Vigneron said. "This is your particular grace and privilege: to be ministers of this blood of the lamb, by which the world is ransomed from the evil one and given to eternal life.”
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