So 17 years ago, May 19, 2007, this happened.

It seems a lifetime ago — and only yesterday. How did that happen?

When I look at the men in that procession, walking into the basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, I see the faces of some who now serve at the table of the Lord in Paradise. I pray they continue to walk with me as they did that morning, and that they will continue to pray for all of us striving to do what we were ordained to do on the May morning 17 years ago — to believe, to teach, and to practice what we teach. Happy anniversary, guys, to all in my class and to my brother deacons celebrating this day around the world!

I’ll say this: when it comes to being a deacon, Clarence’s message to George Bailey is spot-on. It’s a wonderful life.

One year before I was ordained, Pope Benedict had something to say to the deacons of his diocese, Rome. I carry these words in my heart today:

Dear Roman deacons, by living and witnessing to God’s infinite love, may you always be, in your ministry, at the service of building the Church as communion. In your work you are sustained by the affection and prayer of your families. Your vocation is a special grace for your family life, which in this way is called to be ever more open to the will of the Lord and to the needs of the Church. May the Lord reward the availability with which your wives and children accompany you in your service to the entire ecclesial community.

May Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord who gave the Saviour to the world, and the Deacon Lawrence who loved the Lord to the point of giving up his life for him, always accompany you with their intercession.

Finally, that icon on my ordination card at the top of this post depicts St. John the Evangelist, dictating his writings to St. Prochorus, deacon and scribe, in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. This day, while celebrating both Pentecost and my ordination anniversary, I will head to the airport with my wife to lead a group on a pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey, where we will visit the spot depicted on that card.

The journey goes on. The Spirit continues his work. What a wonder it is.

Ad multos annos!