Photo: Gregory L. Tracy
From The Boston Pilot (h/t to Deacon Matt Porter!):
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley ordained eight men as permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Boston in a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Oct. 3.
The newly ordained are Deacons Jared Auclair for St. Michael Parish in Hudson; Ronald Dowding for St. Mary Parish in Holliston; Anthony Foti for St. Patrick Parish in Stoneham; Paul Key for the Sts. Mary and Joseph Collaborative in Kingston and Plymouth; Donald Larose for Holy Family Parish in Duxbury; Stephen May for St. Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood; John Minch for St. Veronica Parish in Burlington; and Peter Richardson for All Saints Parish in Haverhill…
…In his homily, Cardinal O’Malley spoke about the formation of the diaconate as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, emphasizing their mission to “be healer and reconciler.”
“Like the first deacons, these men being ordained today are being called to be icons of Christ the Servant, healers in a divided world, messengers of hope and mercy to all those who are suffering,” the cardinal said.
He briefly recounted the story of St. Lawrence, a deacon who was martyred in Rome during the third century. When the authorities demanded that he turn over to them the Church’s treasures, he showed them the poor and said that they were the Church’s treasures.
“It is our hope that our new deacons will discover that indeed the poor are the treasure of the Church and that they have a special claim on our love and devotion,” Cardinal O’Malley said.
“Christ’s hands were strong and calloused, they were accustomed to hard work and yet they were gentle hands that brought comfort and consolation.”
He pointed out that one of the tasks of the deacon is to bury the dead and console the grieving, “by transmitting the certainty of Christ’s promise of eternal life.”
“Particularly, during this time of pandemic, we have come to appreciate how important is this ministry of burying the dead and consoling their loved ones,” Cardinal O’Malley said.
He urged the new deacons to be “the hands of Christ.”
“Christ’s hands were strong and calloused, they were accustomed to hard work and yet they were gentle hands that brought comfort and consolation,” he said.
Cardinal O’Malley called the deacon Philip’s interaction with the Ethiopian eunuch an example of one-on-one ministry.
“Sometimes that personal contact with an individual is what allows that person to experience God’s grace and mercy in their lives,” he said.
The cardinal said that the Church has always evangelized in two ways: by announcing the Kerygma, and through the witness of the community of faith.
“As a deacon, your role in helping to shape our communities in that spirit of fraternity, hospitality and service, will help our communities to be beacons of faith, where people will feel not judged or rejected, but forgiven, accepted, appreciated, and welcomed into a loving community,” Cardinal O’Malley told the elect.
Congratulations, brothers, and welcome! Ad multos annos!
