Deacons Jaskowiec, Robeck, Sienkowski and Stephenson called by Christ to the diaconate long before they were born
DETROIT — Four men were ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Archdiocese of Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 5, surrounded by their family, friends and fellow deacons at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The cathedral was packed full in celebration of Deacons Christopher Jaskowiec, Charles Robeck, Mark Sienkowski, and Arvin Stephenson, who, following their ordination at the hands of Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, received their first assignments: at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit; St. Fabian Parish, Farmington Hills, St. Isidore Parish, Macomb Township; and St. Augustine Parish in Richmond, respectively.
The diaconate order is a gift from God so that priests and bishops can have worthy coworkers in the kingdom, Archbishop Vigneron said in his homily.
“Strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit — that is, by the imposition of the bishop's hands and the consecration prayer — (the ordained) will help the bishop and his priests in the ministering of the word of the altar and of charity, showing themselves to be servants of all,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “And so the diaconate order to which you are about to be consecrated has three dimensions: service of charity, service of the word and service of the liturgy, especially at the altar.”
The three dimensions of the diaconate order cannot be separated, and this is made clear when the deacons, ministers of the chalice, become “trustees” of the life force of the Son’s love, the archbishop said.
“The chalice contains the most eloquent and potent word that God has ever spoken,” Archbishop Vigneron explained. “It is, as the letter to the Hebrews says, ‘the blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.’ This blood of which you are about to be made trustees is the most powerful sign of how our Savior, our Lord, has loved us to the very end — how he has loved us with a love greater than any man has ever had by laying down his life for us, his friends. You are, to put it simply, trustees of the Paschal love of our savior Jesus Christ.”
In all three services, the deacons will always witness to the paschal love of Christ, Archbishop Vigneron said.
The archbishop emphasized that all three men were called on mission to serve Christ as deacons long before they were born.
“We are reminded that our four brothers have been known from before their conception, and that for this, they were created. You are given, then, hearts destined to speak to other hearts from your heart to offer the Paschal love made present in the precious blood of Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “We understand that for you four men, your coming forward, your leaving the pew, your stating, ‘present,’ is a way to accept an invitation to be on mission — to accept the invitation to speak and express the Paschal love of Jesus in any form of your ministry.”
Alongside three of the four deacons stood their wives, also now on mission. Pamela Stephenson said she is excited and anxious for this new stage as she and Deacon Stephenson will be serving at St. Augustine in Richmond.
“I have always been very active in the Catholic Church, so look forward to moving on to Richmond and seeing what I can do there,” Pamela Stephenson said.
Stephenson was touched by the number of people who showed up to support her husband and the other deacons, adding that she is excited for Deacon Stephenson to begin his ministry.
“He will make a great deacon because he listens well to people and is very empathetic,” Pamela Stephenson added. “He takes the time and wants to help where he can, whether it be actively doing something or physically being there listening.”
Carol Sienkowski, who will join her husband on mission at St. Isidore in Macomb, said Deacon Sienkowski's pursuit of the diaconate didn’t surprise her.
“One thing about Mark is he has a good relationship with the Holy Spirit — he hears the Holy Spirit — he is good at listening, and he heard this call,” Carol Sienkowski said. “I am so so proud of him.”
In his address of thanksgiving at the end of Mass, Deacon Jaskowiec acknowledged the countless people who walked alongside him and his brother deacons toward this day of ordination, likening God’s plan to a tapestry.
“All of us are part of a great and beautiful tapestry that God is crafting — each one of us is a thread that is a part of that tapestry, pulled through the backing that holds that tapestry together,” Deacon Jaskowiec said. “These threads are woven together, and, from our perspective, we can only see the back of the tapestry.”
God sees the whole picture, Deacon Jaskowiec added, and even if all we see are the knots, broken threads and messy parts, God sees the beautiful picture on the right side.
“God is the weaver, and the people of God are the threads, and everyone here, as well as a great multitude of others, are the threads that comprise this tapestry that has brought the four of us to this day where we have received the sacrament of holy orders,” Deacon Jaskowiec said. “For God has chosen us and has called each of us, and with the help of many others, we have responded to His call.”
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