Denver Catholic

12 JULY 22-AUGUST 11, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese CHRIST ON THE MOUNTAIN CATHOLIC CHURCH and its parish community wish to recognize and express our heartfelt appreciation to Deacon Mickey Webre & Deacon Mike Fletcher for their dedicated service to our parish. May God continue to bless you and your families! T V U W T O O U R W O N D E R F U L D E A C O N S … Deacon Harold Kimble and Deacon John Riviera We are so grateful for your faith, commitment and service in the work you do with us. May God bless you both abundantly. From the Sta and Communities of: Our Lady of the Valley – Windsor and St. Mary – Ault BY THERESE BUSSEN T he calling and ministries of the diaconate are as varied as the men who serve in it. For Deacon Don Tracy, the call to the diaconate was a long one, and his first years as a deacon didn't match his expectations. "Feeling unsettled with a restless heart for many years, I did not under- stand at the time that I was experi- encing the first stirrings of my call to the diaconate by the Holy Spirit. As I searched to find the peace that was missing in my life, I went down sev- eral false paths, believing that a career change to one of the service-oriented professions would give me the tranquil- ity I desired," Deacon Tracy said. "I eventually discerned that I should not change careers…but those feelings came to a head when I joined a men's group called 'That Man Is You.' I felt as if I were being turned inside out and sought the help of deacons for guidance. With their assistance, I began to discern that my restless heart came from God calling me to the diaconate," he added. But shortly after becoming a deacon, his first ministry became caring for his wife, who was diagnosed with cancer shortly after his ordination. "For the next two years, my life was far di›erent than the deacon brothers I was ordained with who were begin- ning ministries in their parishes and for the people of the archdiocese," Deacon Tracy said. "Instead, my ministry as a husband and deacon was to care for my wife through what seemed like count- less medical appointments and hospital stays. And when my dear wife entered her final weeks on earth last year, I did everything I could think of to help her get to heaven." His ministry to his wife as she passed from this world to the next profoundly changed his life — now, he hopes to begin a ministry to those who are strug- gling through illness or are grieving the loss of loved ones. Deacon Tracy's ministry to his wife in the first two years of his diaconate was just one way he was personally called to serve; many deacons, in addi- tion to assisting the pastors in their parish, do much more than we realize. On average, the 207 deacons spend 60 hours a week serving, between their normal jobs and ministries, according to Deacon Joseph Donohoe, director of deacon personnel at the Archdiocese of Denver. Deacons assist the priest by minis- tering baptisms, witnessing marriages, performing funerals and burial services, distributing Holy Communion and preaching homilies. Outside of this, they also assist in teaching RCIA, baptism preparation, marriage preparation, Bible studies, funerals, retreats, parish missions, visiting prisons and juvenile detention centers, bringing communion to sick patients in hospitals or hospice, visiting the elderly, working with immigrants and working in homeless shelters. "We're active in [sacraments], but we also have an obligation as deacons to respond to the archbishop in areas of ministries outside of the parish," Deacon Donohoe said. "And this is in addition to their secular work and family obligations. So they're very ded- icated, and they do this for love of God. They're not paid, their obligation is to the archbishop and the Church." Deacon Kevin Heckman of Blessed Sacrament Parish spends much of his ministry in Children's Hospital. After getting a job there in 2009, he intro- duced himself to the hospital chaplain and asked if there was anyone doing Catholic ministry or communion ser- vice, and the chaplain "jumped at it." "I developed a relationship with the chaplains and got called to visit patients and bring communion to people. I've done about 50 emergency baptisms and praying with families. It's been really rewarding, and I know that I have a spe- cial call to hospital ministry," Deacon Heckman said. Deacon Heckman has had the priv- ilege of praying with a mother and her stillborn baby — just one of many expe- riences that he "won't ever forget" in his service as a deacon. So what does the call to the vocation of the diaconate look like? It's di›erent for everyone, Deacon Donohoe said. "Some guys get beat over the head. Others are less clear, it's really just a continuous conversation with God, wanting to do his will. And if his will calls them to the laying on of hands by the archbishop, then he allows God to lead him in that direction," Deacon Donohoe said. If a man feels what he suspects may be a call to the diaconate, the process of discernment is years-long, similar to that of a priestly or religious vocation. "They need to be called by God, and they need to be called by the Church. So it's a four-year process, from the time of the applications to the time they're ordained, and it's a discernment pro- cess," Deacon Donohoe said. "There's an intense amount of prayer involved, as well as a looking into their soul and spirit to discover what God is calling them to. Sometimes God is just calling them to the formation, and not ordination, and many times, they are called to ordina- tion. It's really a powerful experience." The stories of Deacon Tracy and Deacon Heckman are just a few of many men who are o›ering their lives to Christ through their vocation as a deacon. Serving for love of God The ministry of deacons in the diocese

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