Denver Catholic

9 DENVER CATHOLIC | JULY 23-AUGUST 12, 2016 PILLARS YEAR 1 (A JOURNEY THROUGH THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH) Holy Trinity Catholic Church 3050 W 76th Ave, Westminster Mondays 7:00-9:00pm Our Lady of Loreto Catholic Church 18000 E Arapahoe Rd, Foxfield Wednesdays 7:00-9:00pm St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church 6673 W Chatfield Ave, Littleton Thursdays 10:00am-12:00pm Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church 900 W Midway Blvd, Broomfield Thursdays 7:00-9:00pm APOLOGETICS FOR THE NEW EVANGELIZATION – PRACTICAL CATHOLICISM St. Patrick Catholic Church 6455 Brook Park Dr, Colorado Springs Mondays 9:30-11:00am St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 2746 5th St, Castle Rock Wednesdays 7:00-8:30pm Shrine of St. Anne Catholic Church 7555 Grant Pl, Arvada Thursdays 9:30-11:00am THE ART OF LIVING: MASTERING THE VIRTUOUS LIFE St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization 1300 S Steele St, Denver Tuesdays 9:30-11:30am Tuesdays 7:00-9:00pm 2016Œ2017 LOCATIONS REGISTRATION INFORMATION + All classes are subject to a minimum enrollment + You must attend an Information Session before class begins. For further details and to view a list of summer Information Sessions, visit: sjvdenver.edu/catecheticalschool CATECHETICAL SCHOOL DENVER CATHOLIC ST. J O H N V I A N N E Y T H E O LO G I C A L S E M I N A RY L AY D I V I S I O N Classes begin the week of September 12, 2016 No matter your home purchasing or refinancing needs, we have a home loan suited for you. Call: 303.424.5037 Click: www.nufcu.com or Come by one of our convenient locations. DISCLOSURE: *To qualify, you must finance a Home Loan between 6/1/2016 – 7/31/16. Member must mention promotion code Home16 for the $100 incentive. This will be automatically deposited into your NUFCU Savings account. Incentive is subject to a 60-day period pending verification and will be reported as dividend income; any federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the member. Offer valid for home purchases and refinance from another lender. Other offers or discounts DO NOT apply. All loans are subject to approved credit and loan-to-value requirements. Property inspection and other verifications may be required. Not all properties are eligible. Membership required. NMLS #644618 Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency NCUA Need a HOME LOAN? As an additional Thank You, pocket an extra $100 if you purchase a home, or we refinance your home loan from another lender.* (mention Home16) Local deacon's book helps men discern diaconate BY ROXANNE KING A geoscientist by training, Deacon Rex Pilger, 68, business manager for St. Joan of Arc Parish in Arvada, has been a deacon for 28 years. A decade of experience in diaconal forma- tion for the Denver Archdiocese led him to write a book, Every Man a Deacon? (CreateSpace, 2014) aimed at helping men discern whether they may have a call to the perma- nent diaconate. Married 42 years, a father and grandfa- ther, Deacon Pilger recently spoke to the Denver Catholic about his straightfor- ward, informative guide. The interview has been edited for space. DENVER CATHOLIC: Why did you write "Every Man a Deacon?" DEACON REX PILGER: We had a man (in diaconal formation) whose job was working with the poor. The priest he was working with said, "I believe you should be a deacon." He was already serving the poor and was a faithful Catholic, so why become a deacon? The answer is that the deacon in his very person is an expression of Christ himself. The deacon is an icon of Christ the Servant. I see a lot of men engaged in full- time ministry who would benefi t by becoming an icon of Christ the Servant. Their service, their min- istry would be sacramentalized. There would be an elevation and a deepening of the meaning of their ministry. There have been a number of men I'm aware of who were in full- time ministry and it transformed their ministry. They discovered entirely new ways to proclaim and live out the Gospel. DC: Who is the book for? RP: The target is men who are already active in Church ministry. Men who have already heard the call of the Lord to serve. Perhaps the Lord is calling them to a deeper, more eŠ ective min- istry [as] an icon of Christ the Servant. DC: How did you receive your call to the diaconate? RP: My wife and I were invited to the ordination of a deacon from our parish in Louisiana where were living at that time. At one point during the ordination Mass, we looked at each other and realized, This could be me. It became a very exciting journey. DC: What do you hope readers take away from your book? RP: A desire to discern their own calling, their own vocation, whatever that might be. The word vocation is sometimes misunderstood. We think, I'm a teacher, a truck driver, a policeman—that's my vocation. There was a priest many years ago who emphasized to me that my vocation is as a Catholic man—as a husband and father—that is my primary vocation. That by which I earn, which supports me and my family, is part of the ways in which the Lord blesses me in my vocation so I can meet the everyday needs my family and I have, but it's secondary to my religious vocation. Everybody has a "religious" vocation. It's not merely priests and nuns. Are you called to be a deacon? For the full interview, and to hear the personal discernment of Deacon Chris Byrne, go to denvercatholic.org EVERY MAN A DEACON

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