Joyful reunion: Diocese marks 40 years of permanent diaconate

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
WORCESTER – Permanent deacons were challenged to promote family life and go out into the world, fired by the examples of Jesus and local clergy.
Father Warren Savage was speaking for the 40th anniversary of the permanent diaconate in the diocese Saturday at St. Joan of Arc Parish.
A priest of the Diocese of Springfield, he was keynote speaker at a dinner at which Worcester’s bishops, and deacons celebrating significant anniversaries of ordination, were given certificates of appreciation.
Among attendees were two of the permanent deacons from the 20 who were ordained in the first class, June 24, 1978.
About 60 deacons assisted at the Mass celebrated by Bishop McManus and several priests. They renewed their commitment to diaconal service and blessed and applauded their wives. The choir was made up of some of the wives, one of their daughters, and the wife of a deacon candidate.
At Mass “you could feel the power and the strength of all the voices of the deacons and their wives,” said Deacon Thomas J. Varney.
In his homily, Bishop McManus made a connection between the deacons and Elijah and Elisha, who called people to conversion.
He told the deacons their vocation is a gift and a mystery, a grace given to some men.
Talking about the importance of embracing Christ’s cross, the bishop said Elisha had to leave the only life he knew to accept his prophetic vocation. He said deacons and their wives and families have made great sacrifices too and thanked them.
“You cannot give what you do not have,” Bishop McManus said, and urged the deacons to read the Word of God and love the Eucharist.
He called for building up the Body of Christ and praying for an outpouring of grace “that you and I will have that disposition of service.”
Father Savage also urged them to service.
“Being in Jesus is being in joy,” he said. “Look joyful. Perhaps the joy in your face will attract people to what’s inside.”
He said Jesus taught, prayed and served the needs of the poor, which is now called “ministry of the Word, ministry of worship and ministry of service.”
“Deacons, you are the mustard seed,” he said. “You’re part of a big tree, but yet you’re still a seed, planting for the future.” He talked about the importance of them working with others, doing things in communion.
He challenged them to show love to the world and bring “all the birds” to the tree. The Church has always been in the ministry of evangelization, he said. He said Jesus did most of his ministry outside the synagogue.
“You spend most of your time in Church where?” he asked, and answered, “In the world.”
Some might say, “But I’m near retirement,” he said. But, he countered, “We have an ageless Holy Spirit.”
Father Savage said they are to lead people to holiness, to where they can encounter Jesus, and are to be visible.
“Visibility means it’s a way of life – the love, the compassion, that emanates from your being,” he said. Prayer and their wives help with that, he said.
He said people need to see them as good husbands and fathers.
“Very few deacons get up and talk about family life,” and very few are involved in marriage preparation, he said. He said the bishop shouldn’t have to pay anyone to do marriage preparation, given all the deacons available.
“When we lose the family, we lose the Church,” he said. “The Church depends upon you to promote the domestic Church.” He asked how people will recognize the table at Church if they don’t experience family meals at home.
Challenging them to reach out to the poor, Father Savage told of being a student at Assumption College and working with Msgr. Francis J. Scollen, now pastor of St. Peter Parish and St. Andrew the Apostle Mission.
“He lived more on the street than he did in the rectory,” Father Savage said.
He also mentioned working with Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley at McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys and Bishop Harrington in Urban Ministry.
“I know more about Worcester than you do … in the streets,” he said, and said the majority of priests were in the streets then.
He spoke of the importance of welcoming the stranger, paying attention to the widow and eradicating global poverty and racism.
“You can’t be a priest or a deacon and not like people,” he said. “Because everybody’s a mystery, you can’t judge people. … Walk with great reverence and respect everywhere.”
“It was a great celebration,” said Denise Briggs, whose husband, Roy, is a deacon. “Being happy and joyful – that’s what it’s all about.”
“I like being able to see a lot of the deacons I normally don’t get a chance to see,” said her husband.
  Nissa Gadbois, whose husband, Brian, is a deacon, expressed a similar sentiment: “These events are the best ever – it’s like a family reunion.”

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