Permanent Diaconate Ordination
CMOQ
May 9th, 2026
I. “Let Them Be Tested”
A. Dear brothers, soon to be ordained,
In the reading from 2nd Timothy,
St. Paul sets forth the virtues that should characterize deacons of the Church.
A deacon should be serious, intent on doing the Lord’s work.
A deacon should be straightforward in speaking and dealing with others.
A deacon should be temperate with regard to food, drink, and money.
A deacon should profess the faith without reservation.
A married deacon should love his wife
and together foster the lives of their children in an orderly household.
After setting the bar rather high, St. Paul adds,
“And let them first be tested;
then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons.”
B. Moments ago, I asked Fr. Foppiano –
“Do you know them to be worthy?”
He answered: “After inquiry among the Christian people
and upon the recommendation of those concerned with their formation,
I testify that they have been found worthy.”
My question and Fr. Foppiano’s reply were not just a matter of ritual,
but a reflection of the formation process you have undergone.
With the support of your wives and families,
you have sought to strengthen your human formation,
so that your personality will be a bridge to Christ.
You have sought to develop and strengthen your spiritual life,
so that you will radiate the truth and love of Christ in your life and ministry.
You have dedicated yourselves to attaining
a more profound understanding of the faith you will profess and preach.
And you have sought to develop a heart open to the needs of others,
especially the poor, the sick, the imprisoned—the whole range of human need.
C. And you have indeed been tested,
not only with the kind of tests taken with “blue books” –
but in moments of prayer when God searched and tested your heart,
in conversations with your formation teams,
your pastoral supervisors, and not least, your wives and families.
And you have been found worthy to take this step –
to live up to the expectations that St. Paul sets forth for deacons.
Having met with you and your wives, I most willingly ordain you.
II. Prayer and the Laying On of Hands
A. I am about to ordain you according to the Church’s ancient Tradition.
After you promise to shape your life in accordance with God’s gift,
and after we ask the saints to intercede for us,
I will place my hands upon your heads
as I invoke the Holy Spirit to come upon you with his seven-fold grace –
so that you will be strengthened to do the work of ministry.
B. In and through the ministry you are to about undertake –
preaching the Word, assisting at the altar, and doing works of charity –
you are to bear witness to the Christ
“who came to serve and not to be served, to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In this way you will confirm the faith of many,
and lead many others to encounter Christ
so as to become active members of his Body, the Church.
C. Be assured of this:
your time of testing is not over; it’s only just begun.
Ministry will test and challenge you in unexpected ways
as you step out of your comfort zone and encounter human need in many forms.
You will be stretched as you give yourselves
to your families and to the wider family of the Church.
III. The Gold Standard
A. But what will be the criterion, the standard, by which you are tested?
The “gold standard” in ministry is love –
not self-centered love but the self-giving love of Christ
who is the source of all consecration and ministry.
“No one has greater love than this,” Jesus said,
“than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And he adds:
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
The love which Jesus and his Father share in the Holy Spirit,
the love which Jesus poured forth from the Cross –
this is the criterion for your preaching, your service at the altar, your charity.
This is the love that is the source of your ministry
and it is to this love that you are to bear witness, day by day and year after year.
B. Jesus now draws you close to himself to confides what is in his heart.
You are to be his friends, his co-workers.
Nurture that friendship with daily prayer. Open your hearts to his love,
for then it is that your lives and ministries bear the good fruit of the Gospel.
For then it will not be you who are speaking and acting
but Christ who will speak and act through you;
thus will you help build up the Church in love.
IV. Ministry in Communion
The diaconal ministry is not lived in isolation.
You live this vocation in closest union with your wives and families,
in communion with God’s People, and
in communion with your fellow deacons, with priests, and with me, your bishop.
Remember, the Lord prayed that his followers be one that the world may believe.
And as each day dawns, allow the Spirit to fill your hearts with the love of Christ,
that you may be “effective in service, gentle in ministry, and constant in prayer.”
And may God bless you and keep you always in his love!