The journey nears an ending yet a new beginning

If you have followed this blog even casually you will know that I enjoy assisting our aspiring Deacons while in the formal stage of their formation journey.  I say formal to distinguish between the scheduled classes, seminars and workshops as opposed to the self-formation and discernemnt that is a all the time reality for those called to the Permanent Diaconate.  Our class of 2012, the 20 men and their wives, have been in the classroom since January 2009, after a year of inquiry and initial discernment.  They have had classes, among others, on the Scriptures, the Catechism, Social Justice, Homiletics, Canon Law and directed Spirituality.  They arrive at their last class tomorrow.  And last night, having already completed their final pre-ordination retreat, they gathered to sign their formal documents to become Deacons and to declare their various oaths as prescibed by Canon and particular law.

The event was held within a prayer service and reflection held inside Infant Jesus Church in Harvey, La.  This parish site is also home to our diaconate center.  The men and their wives were supported by Deacons from almost every decade of our Community.  It was a special night with both spiritual significance and the certain reality that ordination is now just 2 weeks away.

Several of the Deacons and wives present in support read from a special reflection that our director provided from a Bishop in the midwest.  Here is that reflection now:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent

enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of

saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church's mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an

opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master

builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw

*This prayer was composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw, drafted for a homily by Card. John Dearden in Nov. 1979 for a celebration of departed priests. As a reflection on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Romero, Bishop Untener included in a reflection book a passage titled "The mystery of the Romero Prayer." The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him.