HOMILY
Ordination to the Diaconate – 25 May 2024
Jeremiah 1:4-9; Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; John 15:9-17
By the grace of God, we call forth our brothers Thomas Dzwonczyk and Andrew McCarroll to the Order of the Diaconate for service of the People of God in this local Church of the Diocese of Scranton. For this great gift, join me in giving thanks.
First, we offer thanks to God for the unique call to ministry and service that he has planted in the hearts of these two men – an invitation built upon the universal call to holiness which all of us have received in Baptism.
We offer thanks as well to their families and friends and especially their parents, Tom and Stephanie and Todd and Judy. How grateful we all are for your commitment, your example, your support and the gifts of your sons to the Church.
To the parishes and schools that Tom and Andrew have attended over the years, particularly Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, represented today by Father Larry Terrien, to our diocesan vocation team led by Father Alex Roche, to Monsignor David Bohr and to all of the priests, deacons, religious, and faithful who, through your example and concern have helped to prepare these men for ministry in the Church, please know how grateful we all are to you.
Finally, as many of you know, both Tom and Andrew were fortunate enough to spend a pastoral year during their formation for ministry in two wonderful parish communities. To Father Joe Evanko and the people of Saint Jude and Saint Mary Parishes and to Father Glenn McCreary and the faithful of Saint Boniface and Saint Lawrence Parishes, thank you for your support in bringing these men to this moment in their lives and in the life of our Church.
For you see, for all the formation that they have and will continue to receive as they prepare for diaconal and eventually priestly ministry, at the heart of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is a ministry that fundamentally looks outside of the one to whom it is given.
Tom and Andrew, quite simply, you are not being ordained today for your own well-being. The very nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, when authentically embraced, demands that you – and all of us as deacons, priests and bishops – focus on those whom we have been called to serve. For as meaningful and significant as this moment may be for you personally – and it should be – the sacrament that you will receive is not given solely for your personal sanctification and satisfaction. Because the Sacrament of Holy Orders is rooted so intimately in the life of Jesus, it demands that you make the example of his life your own. … And his life was integrally bound to the People of God whom he was born to save.
Pretty soaring rhetoric, wouldn’t you agree? … Words that you’d expect me to share on this day of your ordination to the diaconate. … Words that I’m quite certain many would conclude are well beyond our capacity to embrace. … But words that also reveal the mystery and power of God at work in our lives.
Jesus articulates the nature of your calling very clearly in the gospel. Listen again to what he says, “Love one another as I love you.” … “Love one another as I love you.” … The force of Jesus’ words “as I love you” is displayed by nothing less than the cross. And it’s the cross that becomes the measure of the depth of our love and our willingness to embrace the command of Jesus.
Jesus calls us to a selflessness in our love that knows no qualifications, conditions or limitations. Faced with such a command, it is no surprise that the first and daily challenge that we face as disciples is choice. Jesus chose to lay down his life for us. He did so freely because there was no greater way to show the depth of his love. … For us – and for you, Tom and Andrew – despite your calling by the Lord himself, love is still always a choice that you and each of us must make time and time again. … Love costs. … But it is worth the investment.
A year ago, Tom, Andrew and I traveled to Ghana, Africa, for two weeks. The three of us spent a week together in the Diocese of Sunyani, home to many priests currently serving in the Diocese of Scranton and then for the second week, I headed to the Ghanaian capital of Accra for a meeting while they remained in Sunyani to experience its life and ministry.
I suppose having to live, travel and put up with me for an entire week is testimony to their commitment and reason enough to ordain them today. It was, however, what I saw in photos and heard from their hosts once I had left them that touched me the most about our brothers and gave me hope for the choices that I pray they will make each day to love. With a genuine sense of enthusiasm and gratitude for the opportunity to engage, to serve and to care for the lives that they experienced, albeit briefly, Tom and Andrew reflected so well the words of Saint Paul proclaimed a few moments ago from his letter to the Church at Ephesus. “Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace … one Lord, one faith, on baptism; one God and Father of us all.”
Tom and Andrew, if you want your ministry as deacons to be fruitful, you know what you need to do. Stay rooted in the Lord’s life and love. Give yourself – whole and entire – to the ministry entrusted to you this day – not only by working hard – but by leading a life of holiness and intimacy with Christ. And seek to live with integrity a life of celibacy, obedience and simplicity – a life that is characterized by the way of thinking and acting that is proper to Christ.
Your service to the People of God as deacons is a threefold ministry: service to the Word of God – service at the altar of the Lord – and service to the poor. Let’s reflect a bit on the ways in which you are called to serve.
As a deacon, you will proclaim the Gospel, preach homilies, convey the needs of the people of God in the General Intercessions and offer many other forms of instruction. You are to be an agent of the New Evangelization and proclaim Christ to the world. In receiving the Gospel of Christ, remember that your role is to proclaim the truth of the message of Jesus – a truth that you must first come to know and experience in your heart in order to convey it with authenticity.
As a deacon, you will also serve at the altar of the Lord, preparing it for the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice, distributing Holy Communion to the faithful, as well as to the sick and homebound. You will baptize, preside at weddings and funerals and other prayer services. … Be a good servant of the Church’s sacramental life and help God’s people to grow in their faith. Always point to Jesus who is our life and our hope. And for as much as you seek to invite others to open their eyes in wonder and awe of Lord’s gift of himself, never become so immersed in the routine of ministry that you fail to marvel at the treasure that you have been given as a servant of the incarnate Lord.
Finally, as deacons, you are called to be the living expression of the charity of the Church. To you, then, is entrusted the ministry of charity that is at the very origin of the deacon. In an address to the deacons of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis reminded them – and us – of the heart of the ministry you will share. “Let us remember that for the disciples of Jesus, to love is to serve and to serve is to reign. Power lies in service, not in anything else.”
In short, God’s People are looking for meaning, purpose and peace in their lives – and they will look to you to see Jesus. They will look to see Jesus in your prayerfulness – in your words – in your hard work – in the simplicity of your life – and in your love. … In return for all that you give them, they will walk with you, they will pray for you, and they will support you every step of the way.
So, Tom and Andrew, “have no fear,” as Jeremiah the prophet proclaims. Proclaim your intentions before the People of God and trust that God who has begun the good work in you will bring it to fulfillment.