Denver Catholic

12 MARCH 11-24, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Independent & Assisted Living Nursing • Medicare Rehabilitation In-Home Care • Out-Patient Therapy There is a place that's just waiting for you to experience senior living as it should be — St. Andrew's Village. Acting your age is not a requirement. Acting how you feel is always encouraged! Whether splashing in the pool, enjoying our Happiest Hour with friends and neighbors, or an evening of fine dining where our staff knows your favorite drink, you'll feel years younger and enjoy every minute of it. Ask about a Priority Reservation. Call 303.695.8100 for lunch and a visit! Click StAndrewsVillage.net Feeling Young at Heart? We know just the place. . . EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Around the Archdiocese BY DENVER CATHOLIC STAFF A s is tradition in the Archdiocese of Denver, several men were ordained to the transitional diaconate Feb. 25, the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, moving one step closer toward the priesthood. Three of the men – Angel Perez Brown, Roberto Rodrigiez and Tomislav Tomic – attend Redemptoris Mater Mis- sionary Seminary here in Denver, while one man – Darrick Leier – attends Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Boston. In his homily to the men, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila reminded them that as deacons, they are called to follow in the example of Christ and live their lives as servants of the people. He cited one of the readings of the day from the book numbers, which describes the Lord set- ting aside the tribe of Levi to be assis- tants to Aaron the priest. "With that, he charges [the Levites] with certain duties and responsibili- ties," Archbishop Aquila explained. "We see the see the same in the diaconate, as we see the seven set aside in the Acts of the apostles. That tradition has carried on in the diaconate, as men who are set aside to serve." "You will be called as deacons in that service to be like Christ and to proclaim and give your life as servants – not to be served, but to serve," Archbishop Aquila said. DEACON DARRICK LEIER Deacon Darrick Leier delivered his fi rst homily as a deacon at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, the parish where his vocation began. Deacon Leier was born and raised in a "loving, devout Catholic family," he said, but abandoned his faith when he left to go to college. "When I left home to go to college, I was one of those young people who didn't go to church anymore," he said. "I became secularized and everything that goes along with that." That all changed fi ve years ago, though, after Leier lost his mother to a year-long battle with cancer. Before her death, Leier made a promise to his mother and to God that he would start going back to church. "Through that sorrowful experience, the Lord gave me the grace to run to him," he said. After 18 years of being away from the Church, Leier was led to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, where he received the sacrament of reconciliation. He dove back into his faith after that. He began attending Catholics Come Home classes, led by Deacon Jerome Durnford. After 12 weeks of being in the classes, Deacon Durnford saw a change in Leier, and asked him if he'd ever considered the priesthood. While reluctant at fi rst, Leier discerned for a year and a half and entered seminary in 2013. The seed for Leier's vocation to the priesthood was planted on his mother's birthday. Last year, during a brief period of wrestling with whether or not the priesthood was really God's will for his life, the Lord gave him a sign that he couldn't deny. "The Lord placed this thought in my head: 'When is your ordination?' I saw that it was Feb. 25," he said. "I almost dropped my phone, my jaw probably hit the fl oor, because guess what day that is: my mother's birthday." Leier was ordained to the transitional diaconate on his mother's 80th birthday. DEACON TOMISLAV TOMIC Deacon Tomislav Tomic was born and raised in a village in Bosnia. He is the youngest of nine children, and comes from a large family with several priests. "I had access to the priesthood from my childhood," he said. Tomic was raised in a Catholic family, had a simple upbringing and lived a simple life. Around the time he graduated high school, the Bosnian War had broken out. Four days after grad- uating, he enlisted in the military for a period of three years. After fulfi lling his military duties, Tomic found himself feeling extremely isolated in his life. "I felt completely alone. Immense solitude," he said. "I went to God, asking him, 'What is the meaning if my life? Why did I survive the war when my life is meaningless?'" Around that time, the pastor of his parish invited him to a Neocatechume- nal Way gathering. This had a profound e' ect on him; "It was the fi rst time I actually connected all this knowledge that I [learned] from catechesis to my own life," he said. He began to see that the frustration and isolation he was feeling in his life were "very meaningful for God," and that God would use them to fulfi ll his plan for Tomic's life. After a brief rela- tionship to see if he was called to mar- ried life, Tomic eventually submitted to the Lord's call for him to the priesthood. Tomic had never planned to move away from his village in Bosnia, but he ended up here, in Denver, where he feels at home. He said that entering seminary Four men ordained to transitional diaconate

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