Open Letter to Brother Francis Dominic . . . .

Open Letter to Brother Francis Dominic .  . . . .

[NOTE:  Brother Francis Dominic is scheduled to be ordained as a deacon on Tuesday, August 1st, 2017]

Dear Brother Francis Dominic:

I address this letter to you and it is meant for you but, really, it is meant for all of us  . . . . .  including myself.  All of us can learn important lessons in life by reflecting on the lives of others around us.  You will soon be ordained, God willing, as a deacon.  I know this is a busy time in your life with the preparations and getting things ready.  But come to think of it, when is it not a "busy time" when you are a minister of God's Word?  Reflecting on your upcoming ordination has caused me to think about my own ordination as a deacon twenty-five years ago.  Wow!  A quarter of a century seems like such a long time . . . . and it is . . .  but on the other hand, it seemed like only yesterday that I, too, was ordained as a deacon.  I remember being on edge the days and weeks leading up to my ordination, wondering if I was truly called . .. . wondering if I had what it took to be a deacon .  . .  . wondering  . . . .  wondering  . . . . wondering.  When I was ordained as a deacon I had spent some eight years in the seminary at that point.  This was eight years of studying, preparing, praying, pondering, working, worrying, sweating, enjoying, etc, etc, etc.   In other words, it was eight years of keeping busy . . . eight years of being occupied . . .  eight years of focusing on what I needed to do \right then and there, at that moment.  Preparing for tests; writing papers; being in the chapel; going to the Dining Hall; studying for finals; doing my chores at the seminary; going to do my seminarian work at various hospitals, schools and other ministries.  In other words, it was a BUSY eight years.  Come to think of it, most all of us are busy, aren't we?  Most everyone leads busy lives moving from one "chore" to the next:  going to work; paying bills; taking care of the house; cleaning; doing laundry; running errands; etc., etc., etc.   But sometimes it is good just to step back and look at the "big picture," if you will.  Because as I described above, life very often gets bogged down in the "little things" such as running errands or cleaning up messes, going from one project to the next project to the next project,  . . . .  Sometimes we get so busy running from this errand to that errand, we miss the "big picture" of why we do what we do, of who we really are, who we are called to be, quite frankly.

The "Big Picture" is this:   Ministers . . . .  whether they be priests, deacons, or bishops  .  . . . are called to do the work of the Lord here on earth.  Ministers are called to emulate Our Blessed Saviour and the work He did here on earth.  Our Blessed Saviour did His work of founding the Church and when He did, He called others to assist Him in this function.  "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-12)  Our Blessed Saviour has called us to do the work of the Lord but, in essence, he has graced us with the awesome responsibility of doing His work here on earth.  Our Lord is so awesome, so powerful, that He could have done everything Himself.  And yet He called upon average men such as St Peter, and St Andrew, and all of the apostles.  Our Lord did not call on the rich and mighty and powerful to be the Apostles.  He called on the lowly and humble.  He called average fisherman and workers and those who had no formal education, to speak of.  He called them to assist Him in His wonderful work.  He called them to follow Him and do His work among God's people.  " . . . . as the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." (St. John 20:21)   We should always keep this in mind that we are indeed "sent."  Our Blessed Lord has sent us and we are merely following the call.  Please always focus on the fact that you are following the call.  Remember, we in the Church, ordained or laymen, are following the call.  We are saying yes to be sent forth out into the world.  But always remember that Our Blessed Lord never asked us to be perfect.  Whether we like it or not, a deacon, a priest, and even a bishop are human before anything else and humans sometimes make mistakes.  Our Lord took this into account when He called the Apostles.  Our Lord knew very well that His ministers would make mistakes and yet He chose them anyway.  Look at St. Peter.  Sometimes, even in our ministry, we will make mistakes, but the point is to always remember that we are not called to be "perfect" but, rather, to do the work of the Lord here on earth as best we can.

The second thing to remember, in my humble opinion, is that we are called to be "servants," first and foremost.  In this fashion, we best emulate Our Blessed Saviour and the work He has called us to do.  "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."  (I Corinthians 7:22)  Our Lord gave us an example to follow in that he came to serve humanity.  He came to be a Servant.  He came to have compassion on those He came in contact with.  He came to heal and teach and preach and tell the world about the Kingdom of God.  Likewise, we too are called to serve those around us by living the life of a servant.  We are called to serve those around us in whatever fashion God calls us to serve.  Remember that any "power" we have, we only have it because it was first given to us by God.  If God wants us to do something, it will be done.  Make no mistake about it.   We have to do our part, yes.  We have to be open to doing God's will.  So often we do not understand why God would call us to begin with.  Why would God call me to be His representative?  Why would He choose me?  Why?  Our Lady certainly did not understand why she was chosen either.  And yet despite her lack of understanding to why she was chosen, she still gave her "fiat."  She still said "Yes" to doing the will of God.  So, too, should we give our "fiat" to God in our being called by Him.  We may not always  understand why He called us.  We may not understand how we will do what we are called to do at times.  But as long as we say "Yes," we know that God will be with us.  

The bottom line is this:  being called to the diaconate is an awesome responsibility, yes, but it is also a wonderful gift.  The God that created the universe has called you to assist Him in the work of the Church here on earth.  Always be open to doing His will . . . always remember that you are a servant, first and foremost . . . .  and always remember that you are God's representative that He has chosen . . .  chosen by Him to do His work on earth.  And always remember that you said "Yes" to that call. Let each and every one of us say "Yes" to God.  If only the whole world would give its' collective "fiat" to God.  To say "Yes" not only with our mouth, but to say "Yes" with our life.  To say "Yes" to God in everything that we do.  To place ourselves in God's hand . . . to place our lives in His service.  To keep God first and foremost in our hearts.   "As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you."  (Jeremiah 26:14)

God bless you on your diaconate.  God bless you in your service to God and His Church.  God bless you and God bless all of us and we grow in the love of Christ and give our "fiat" to Our Heavenly Father by the lives that we lead.