Austin to ordain 11 deacons—including a former congressman—UPDATED

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:47 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Austin to ordain 11 deacons—including a former congressman—UPDATED 2015-03-13T16:47:11-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is this a first? I could be wrong, but I’m not aware of any other former U.S. congresmen ordained to the diaconate.

Details:

Bishop Joe Vásquez will ordain 11 men to the permanent diaconate April 13 at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Cedar Park.

Permanent deacons serve the church in the three-fold ministry of word, liturgy and charity. They proclaim, preach and teach the Gospel; baptize infants and witness marriages; and conduct wake, funeral and Communion services.

Men exploring the permanent diaconate must have strong faith, be at least 35 years of age, and feel called by God to serve the church. They and the church test this call through a process of discernment that continues throughout the five years of formation.

Diaconal formation begins with a year of aspirancy, during which the men are evaluated for their potential to develop into bridges between Christ and his followers. Men are then invited into candidacy, a four-year period of intense prayer, rigorous study, pastoral ministry and ongoing evaluation.

During candidacy, the men spend two Saturdays each month in the classroom, seeking to grow in four dimensions: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral. Their studies include theology, Scripture, church history, Christology, pastoral care, homiletics and canon law. Wives are vital to their husbands’ formation and are encouraged to attend all the classes too, as well as the annual retreat.

The culmination of this formation program is receiving the sacrament of holy orders. When the bishop lays hands on each man, he prays, “May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.” Although deacons are assigned to parishes, where they are most visible to parishioners, they in fact report to the bishop and help him minister to the people of God throughout the diocese.

And then, amid the profiles of the candidates, there’s this:

Describing himself as a devout Catholic in love with Christ all of his life, Mike Forbes considered whether God was calling him to the diaconate for more than 10 years during a successful career in public service. He held staff positions with the New York legislature and the U.S. Congress, and was elected to three terms in the House of Representatives. Since 2001, he has been president of his own advocacy, public relations and marketing firm.

He and his wife, Barbara, are members of St. William Parish in Round Rock; they have two adult children and two children at home. Forbes credits the example of the four deacons is his parish with motivating him to begin a serious inquiry about formation.

The “street retreats,” in which the candidates spent two days living on the streets with the homeless, and prison ministry were enlightening pastoral experiences. He remains open to ministering wherever God, through the bishop, calls.

And Wikipedia notes:

n 1994, Forbes ran on three ballot lines for the House of Representatives: Republican, conservative, and right to life. He defeated incumbent George Hochbrueckner by six percentage points. Forbes got a seat on the powerful Appropriations committee, unusual for a freshman representative, due to his ties with new House Speaker Newt Gingrich. In December 1996, Forbes announced he was not going to vote for Gingrich for speaker. Forbes voted for Rep. Jim Leach instead. Forbes supported the Clinton impeachment.

On July 17, 1999, Forbes switched to the Democratic Party after chastising national Republicans for being “tone deaf” to the needs of average Americans. While embraced by President Bill Clinton, Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Max Cleland, and other Senate and House Democrats, New York’s liberal Democrats (particularly chairwoman Judith Hope) refused to welcome Forbes into the Democratic Party because he is a staunch pro-life advocate.

My prayers will be with all the men next Saturday.

UPDATE: An alert journalist from Wisconsin notes in an e-mail:

I wanted to pass along a tidbit about a recent post on your blog. It was a story about an upcoming ordination in Austin which will include a former congressman. You wondered aloud whether it was a first.

It made me think back to a man I interviewed a few years ago. His name is Mike Blouin. He is a former member of Congress and a permanent deacon in Iowa. I interviewed him at a funeral I was covering for another former congressman (and Norbertine priest) Father Robert Cornell. The two served together in Congress in the 1970s.

Deacon Blouin was another pro-life Democrat. You can read his bio here.

Interestingly, he was ordained in the 1980s, and ran for Governor in 2006.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 7, 2013

Austin to ordain 11 deacons—including a former congressman—UPDATED

Next Post

April 7, 2013 "See you soon!"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism Education education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV uncategorized Uncategorized Vatican VATICAN vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years did Solomon's temple construction take?

Select your answer to see how you score.

7 years 10 years 6 years 5 years

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »