Ask deacon mike

 

I have spoken many times to you about my feelings for having the opportunity to serve as a Deacon in the Catholic Church and especially here at St. Philip Neri.  Hopefully, you have come to know through individual conversations with me, comments that I have made during my homilies, my writings here in “Ask Deacon Mike” and most hopefully through my actions how much joy and fulfillment I experience as a Deacon.  But in the end, it is neither about me nor how I feel.  It is always about serving Our Lord by serving His Church.  For me, the primary expression of “Church” is the people.  As God’s children we come together as one body to express this wonderful relationship with God and each other.  I am privileged to be called to promote and assist you in responding to these relationships.

 

My purpose for mentioning this again is to highlight the results of a survey on the Permanent Diaconate in the United States that was taken in late 2009 and published in March 2010.  I don’t want to bore you with a bunch of statistics.  But I do want to use some of the findings of the survey to help you understand my joy and pride in being a Deacon. I most importantly wish to highlight and emphasize what a great blessing the Order of Deacon is to the Church.  I also must point out that this blessing is bestowed upon us as a Church not so much by the action and personality of the Deacons but by providence and the grace of God.  It is this expression of God’s love and care for us that I give thanks.

 

In 2009 there were approximately 225 Permanent Deacons in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  This amounted to 1 deacon to 6482 Catholics.  While I don’t know exactly how many Catholics are registered in our parish I would think this ratio is pretty close to our situation here.  At the present time we have a little over 1800 families registered in our parish.  While Philadelphia is by far one of the largest Arch/dioceses in the US it ranks 15th on the list of total Permanent Deacons.  Most of the Arch/dioceses higher on the list had much smaller Catholic populations than Philadelphia.

 

Based on the extrapolated data it is estimated that there are 16,349 Permanent Deacons actively serving in the United States.  This number reflects Deacons serving in every diocese of the country in numerous ministries.  Over 85% of those Deacons are incardinated in the Arch/diocese in which they serve.  This means that they belong by Church Law to the Arch/diocese where they serve.  For the first six years of my assignment here at St. Philip Neri I was not incardinated in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  I still belonged to the Church of Columbus, OH where I was ordained.  I was given faculties to serve here by Cardinal Bevilacqua and later sought and was granted incardination from Cardinal Rigali.  

 

Ninety-two percent of the Permanent Deacons in the United States are married men of varying ages:  < 1% age 35 – 39, 9% age 40 – 49, 29% age 50 – 59, 38% age 60 – 69 (I fall into this category) and 24% > age 70.  A statistic that rather surprised me was that nearly 81% of all Permanent Deacons in the United States are white / Caucasians.  Two percent are Black or African-American and 14% are Hispanic.  The remaining Deacons are Asians – 2% and Native American – 1%.  The educational level of Deacons is 61% with at least an undergrad degree.

 

For the most part Permanent Deacons are not financially compensated.  Only 18% receive compensation in areas of ministry that includes:  hospitals, parish administration, prisons, parish non-ministerial services, parish ministerial positions, diocesan services and other social service areas.  However, this only gives a glimpse of the varied areas of ministry in which Deacons serve.  For my part I assist our pastor in many projects and programs. I assist at or preside over various liturgical functions, lead a wonderful team of faith-filled people who conduct our RCIA, provide counseling and spiritual direction, coordinate the activities of our liturgical ministers and help our school by consulting with families having difficulties with tuition.  Like all of the men whom this survey represents, I am very blessed to be part of the ministry of the Church.

 

As I reflect on all of this I know that what Deacons do is only a small part of the total ministry of the Church.  Under the authority of our local bishop we assist our priests in many ways.  But we must never forget that while some are called to ordained ministry all of us are called to care for one another.  Both men and women should always realize that the same Spirit Who worked in Jesus works in each of us.  It is the call of every Christian to lead lives that answer Christ’s call to feed His lambs and sheep.

 

If you have any comments or questions about our Catholic faith, the Church or sacraments please let me know.  You can send me your inquiries by dropping them in the collection basket or sending them to the rectory.  You can also send me an e-mail at deaconmikefranks@verizon.net.  Your identity will not be revealed.

 

This past weekend we celebrated Memorial Day and the beginning of the summer season.  I hope you find some time for family and friends while saving a few minutes of the day for yourself to relax, pray and think about your relationship with Jesus.  Where ever you may go don’t forget to attend Mass.  Have a great summer and as always I love you all.