Vesting, Holy Name Cathedral
John 15:26 – 16:4a
This past Saturday we attended the Ordination Rite to the Diaconate for our good friend Johnny and 21 other candidates. As their Deacon mentor couple, we have journeyed with Johnny and his wife, Susan, for the last 5 years of their formation. As a special honor, I was blessed to be Johnny’s vestor, clothing him in his stole and dalmatic for the first time.
It was a beautiful liturgy and it brought back memories of my own ordination, whose 6th anniversary we will celebrate next Monday, May 17. We knelt before the bishop and pledged our obedience to him. He laid his hands on us and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come down upon us. We put on the stole and dalmatic of a Deacon for the first time. And then we received the Gospel from the bishop with these words:
Receive the Book of the Gospel whose herald you have become.
Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach!
Throughout my ordination and Johnny’s, we pledged, we promised and we testified! Much like what we hear in today’s Gospel! The Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
The Spirit will testify and we will testify to the truth! Like today’s Gospel – All Words! All promises! A choice was made, Yes! A response to the Father was given, Yes! But the actual obedience, the real carrying out of those words – ordination was just the beginning. Those newly ordained deacons on Saturday are only just practicing what they preached! They are only just following up those words with actions. As permanent deacons, we are all called to believe, teach and practice the Faith! We are called to be heralds of the Gospel in our words and in our actions, whether we are newly ordained or grizzled veterans!
Filled with the Spirit, we are all called to testify to the Truth, to the Savior of the world! May that same Spirit grant us strength for the journey and zeal for our ministry!