They were ordained today by Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer. They are:

Orlando Caicedo Mora
John Campbell
Dr. Henry Obilo Ohaya
David Stenzel
Carl Taylor
Chris Waken
Avery Daniel, ordained a transitional deacon
The archbishop wrote about the diaconate this week in his newspaper column: 

The Apostles assured the first deacons that when they acted out of love, the Spirit of God would be with them in their struggles to find the words and the courage to confront evil and hurt and to challenge those who threatened to harm them and those they loved.

All of us have seen this kind of perseverance in parents who continue to love their sons and daughters despite the messes they make of their lives; in couples who will not quit on each other but work together to mend their marriage; in those quiet, committed souls who do their jobs conscientiously not because of the money or demanding supervisors, but because they know their work matters.

The Order of Deacon provides them and the church an opportunity to benefit from the grace of the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Jesus uses diaconal ministry to save us from abandoning people because they are too difficult for us to accept and welcome. A deacon of the Catholic Church is not primarily a psychologist, social worker or counselor. A deacon is one who, like his master, goes out to the poor, the lowly, the rejected and those in the shadow of death.

He does so, not at a distance, but through identification: he becomes poor with the poor, he suffers with those who suffer; he enters into the hopelessness of the desperate in order to convince them that nothing can ever come between them and the love of Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium: “Any Church community, if it thinks it can comfortably go its own way without creative concern and effective cooperation in helping the poor to live with dignity and reaching out to everyone, will also risk breaking down, however much it may talk about social issues or criticize governments. It will easily drift into a spiritual worldliness camouflaged by religious practices, unproductive meetings and empty talk.” Deacons are ordained to share their love with Christ and his church. They should call upon Mary, the virgin mother of God, and Joseph, her most chaste spouse, to bless the good work they do. They should strive to imitate their examples of faith and courage. Mary simply said, even in her moment of doubt and uncertainty, “I am the servant of the Lord.”

There’s much more. Read on. 

Congratulations, brothers, and welcome! Ad multos annos!

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