permanent diaconate

Local Men Called to Candidacy for Permanent Diaconate

HERALD Staff Report
(From the Issue of 1/18/07)

During a 2:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday Jan. 28 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, 20 men will participate in a Call to Candidacy ceremony toward the permanent diaconate. After Sunday’s Mass the men who are now aspirants will be considered candidates.
“Permanent deacons are a great contribution to the Church,” said Father Frank Ready, who serves as the coordinator for formation for the aspirants. “They are needed to fulfill the total picture,” he continued, adding that permanent deacons serve as “a bridge between the people and the liturgical sacrifice.” The call to become a permanent deacon, Father Ready carefully explained, comes from God, not the person himself.
Upon being called to candidacy, the men will begin a four-year program where they will be immersed in classes focusing on theological, pastoral and spiritual formation. The priest stressed the importance of the pastoral, intellectual, spiritual and human dimension of formation. One needs all four of these types of formation in order to become a deacon, Father Ready said. The 20 men who will be called to candidacy were selected by a diaconate committee who made recommendations to Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, who will preside over the celebration on Sunday.