Yesterday was both a joyful and an emotional day for me. As my three dear friends. Bill Bancroft, Bill Bone, and Syl Frazzini, III were ordained into the Permanent Diaconate at St. Columba Cathedral. I have shared the last twenty years of my life with these good men, both the good times when we laughed together as well as the sad times when we cried. I have had the privilege to have become close to their parents, spouses and children. These encounters will always be a blessing to me and my family. I am sure many of you too, can relate to a similar experience in your encounters with them over the years.
All of us certainly have a reason to rejoice with these new deacons and their families as they continue their journey of faith and mission. The love, prayers and support that our parish has extended to them has been instrumental in their decision to answer God’s call to the diaconate. I am positive if you ask them, they would agree that the love and support that our parishioners extended to them made a huge difference throughout their diaconate formation.
There are many ways to define stewardship. There have been many books, webinars and workshops that are designed to assist churches to adopt a stewardship spirituality. I am sure many of these tools are very effective. But I truly believe that if I was asked to define stewardship in one word, that word would be love…the love of God and his Church, the love of family and the love of one another. May our love continue to lead others to Christ through the priesthood, diaconate and religious life and may all of us continue to love our neighbors as ourselves.
God bless, Deacon John