Deacons and Mothers

Friends of Faith:

As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. Acts 6: 1-7

I am constantly amazed at the timeliness of Scripture as today I write to invite you to celebrate with us Andy & Stan’s upcoming ordinations.

Andy will be ordained for service in the Order of the Diaconate on Friday, May 26^th at 7:00 p.m. in St. Raphael Cathedral in Dubuque. While for him this is yet another step (Transitional Deacon) on his path to the vocation of Priesthood (next year on May 26^th, 2018) it is an extremely important step as he will make his promises of obedience and celibacy. He will be assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in Marshalltown for the summer and return to Mundelein Seminary for his final year of formal formation.

Stan will be ordained as a Permanent Deacon on July 15^th (more details to follow). For us this has been a 4 ½ year journey taken together to be culminated with a new, more formal call, for Him to service and obedience to the Church. As he has been reminding me all weekend – “Do you realize we just went to our last formation class?” I don’t think I’ll fully realize that we won’t be sitting in a classroom at Covenant Hospital most Saturday’s until we don’t have to return to class in August.

So what does the call to diaconate have to do with mothers – and why was it so timely?

Yesterday’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles was the first call and ordination to diaconate in the formation of the Church for the very reason of taking care of widows and children – serving mother’s in their role as mother’s.

Many people don’t want to acknowledge this today, but men and women ARE really very different. Not only did God create us different in the human (biological) form, but He also created us for very different social and spiritual roles in the world and the Church. Men were given the role to be protectors and providers; women the role of the womb from which all are formed and then nurtured (biologically and/or spiritually).

And yet neither, male or female, are we, will we, or can we, be truly complete without the other AND without God. Every person has a mother AND a father for this very reason – no child can biologically be born without both. And ALL (men & women) are called to help all others become Holy and to take care of and serve each other.

The servant role is the role the Deacon of the Church has been called to and it’s not a coincidence, but rather by design that it is connected to mothers; both serving with an unselfish desire and dedication to build the Kingdom of God – His children.

God promised that He would take care of our every need – and if we connect the dots, and observe how mothers and deacons serve we are being very well taken care of within the wisdom of His Church.

The similarities and unity of the mother and deacon don’t stop in this one Scriptural passage. Deacons and mothers both have: many years of intense formal training; ongoing, informal, on the job training; jobs never quite completed; duties never fully realized; jobs that are ever-changing, and neither can possibly be thanked or appreciated enough. Most importantly both survive when and because they are guided by prayer!

Heavenly Father: Your creation is most perfect. Thank you for creating Mothers and Deacons to serve each other and for their constant work in serving so that others may come to know holiness. Continue to guide the Church to protect their roles and to form us as willing servants in their reflection. And please bless Andy, Stan and their classmates who will be ordained in the coming weeks. Amen.

You are all invited to attend either or both of the Ordination Masses. Please contact us if you have any questions.

May we all serve each other as unconditionally as our mothers and the deacons serve us.

Blessings,

Charlotte

The Joy of a Mothers Labor

Friends of Faith:

With Mother’s Day just around the corner it is a great time to think about the wisdom God uses in passing on His kingdom through the lessons of acceptance, patience and perseverance learned in motherhood and childbirth.

From Mary’s first yes in accepting God’s call to be the mother of Jesus, to her peace and joy in his birth, to her sorrow and suffering in seeing him unjustly accused and crucified, and then again to her joy, peace and glory in his resurrection God has given all mother’s (and all humankind) a powerful and encouraging role model.

Mary’s faithful example teaches us patience, trust, courage, and perseverance, in giving God control: in pain, in sorrow AND in joy; in the sacrifice of doing his will at whatever the cost.

“When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.” (John 16:21)

God has the power to do all, so that must mean He had a purpose in allowing Jesus to suffer for us and in making Jesus human thru Mary. Likewise, God has a purpose in each of our own sufferings: so that we learn to accept his grace and give him our trust.

The grace of God allows us as wives and mothers (fathers and friends) to accept and bear both pain and sorrow in the sacrifices we make while serving each other. The same grace of God that allows us to accept suffering will also allow us to be rewarded in His time (years, nine months, or tomorrow) with the joys of seeing God’s kingdom, through them.

Just as Mary said yes to God in being a mother, so then for the sake of all she bore the pain of her son’s death on a cross so that we might be saved. Think of her agony as she watched him die for our sakes. We have somewhat those same types of experiences and feelings of pain when our children are struggling in school, careers or relationships. But like Mary we must also trust God to lead them (and us) to the right conclusions.

And we are constantly being asked to give up and sacrifice time, talents and treasures to help others, to die to our selfish desires – that is what it means to be Christian, a follower of Christ, to act as Jesus did, to give up our life, our desires and our wants for the sake of others.

As a spouse we are asked to become a vehicle to help “deliver” our spouse to heaven – if we accept our role in God’s design we will be asked to make sacrifices for the sake of the other, and we will be rewarded with the joy of seeing Christ thru them.

And just as the birth of a child (the end result of God’s grace) create joy, so too does the end result of other situations given over to God: a healing after an illness; a “thank you” after an act of service; or a conversion of heart/Spirit after soul searching or sin. Each act of kindness done with a heart of giving, in a Spirit of humility, can create joy – both for the person that sacrifices or gives up, and for the person that suffers or for the one who has been healed.

Like a woman who bears the pain of pregnancy and childbirth we will ultimately be rewarded with new birth, the joy of being a child of God in heaven.

Heavenly Father, We are your children, given by you to help others find joy in you. Help us to have patience in bearing the pain created by our own sins. Help us to be willing to sacrifice and bear pain for the sake of others. And may we be blessed by the encouragement of finding your joy in our lives. Thank you for the gift of all mothers and for Mary’s powerful example to each of us. Amen.

I think God’s most visible example of His love is the role and the outcome of a mother’s labor of love – the joy of a child—new life created and found through self-sacrifice and pain.

May all who labor find the joy of new birth in Jesus Christ,

Blessings,

Charlotte

Monday Morning Reflection