The Month of November
As I am sure you know, the Church sets aside the month of November as a time to especially remember and pray for all those who have died. As the month began, we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, that is, we honored all those who have arrived home in heaven, the ones we know about (those formally canonized by the Church after sufficient evidence) and those who remain anonymous to the world but oftentimes known by us. All Saints was, of course, followed by All Souls which is set aside to pray for all those who have died that they may experience God’s healing touch and purification so as to be ready to enter the heavenly liturgy.
At St. Thomas Aquinas, we are remembering all those who have died in our “Book of Remembrance” which can be found in the vestibule. We will be praying every day for all those in the book and their families. Please take a moment to mark down your loved ones. Also, as I mentioned at some Masses recently, we have a great deal of open Mass intentions in November and beyond. This is a precious pious practice of the Church that stretches back to her very beginnings. Having the Mass offered specifically for people is one of the most charitable actions we can possibly do. Why? Because the Mass is how Jesus taught us to “worship in Spirit and Truth.” Instead of just our private prayer, the whole Church’s prayer is united with the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ and offered to the Father. There is nothing greater that you can do for someone. I want to encourage everyone to consider taking up this beautiful practice by contacting Terry Shroba in the front office.
Deacons
As I am sure you have noticed, we have a “transitional” deacon, David Nix, assigned to our parish for the school year. Deacon David, as he prefers to be called, is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Denver and, God willing, he will be ordained a priest in May. It is a privilege to have him here with us and to help in his training. Also, I wanted to let you know that I have officially petitioned the Archdiocese to assign a “permanent” deacon to St. Thomas Aquinas to help us, especially me and Fr. Peter, with the increasing pastoral workload. I expect that my request will be granted sooner than I anticipated. The permanent diaconate, originally founded by the Apostles in Acts 7, was restored to the Church at the Second Vatican Council as part of its plan for renewal. It is a great gift, yet it has not been a part of our parish experience for some time. I have tried to recruit members of our own parish to pursue a vocation to the diaconate since I arrived but so far have not had any luck. Permanent deacons are usually married men who feel called to give their lives to the Church as a servant. If anyone is interested in knowing more, please see me!
The Body of Christ, like the human body, is made up of various parts with various functions. As St. Paul says “the hand cannot say to the foot ‘I do not need you.’” Each of us is part of the Body of Christ with our own functions and duties, and the Body is multifaceted. A deacon is ordained to act in the “person of Christ the servant” toward the Church. This is what the word diaconus means, servant.
A deacon is supposed to be a servant of three things specifically: the Altar, the Word and Charity. I’d like to focus on the first two at this time. There are certain functions in the liturgy that belong to the deacon, just as there are certain things that belong to laity and to the priest. The liturgy is symphonic, each section doing its part to make it beautiful. In the absence of a deacon, some of his parts are taken up by the priest such as the Penitential Rite, the reading of the Gospel, the invitation to the Kiss of Peace and the Dismissal while other parts are taken up by the laity such as the carrying of the Book of the Gospel in the procession and the Prayers of the Faithful. Once a deacon is present, however, the deacon rightly takes up these parts. I say all this lest anyone think that the deacons are being “clerical” or “stealing the parts of the laity.” Rather, he will be fulfilling his proper role, making the liturgy richer and as I said before symphonic.
There is, of course, a great deal more I could say but I’ve run out of room. Having deacons at the parish will be wonderful in innumerable ways. I know you will do everything possible to make Deacon David and any future deacons welcome at St. Thomas Aquinas.
