by Deacon Paul Zwolak
During the Rite of Ordination of Deacons, the newly vested deacon kneels before the bishop and receives the Book of the Gospels. With the Book of the Gospels in the hands of both, the bishop says to the deacon, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
The handing on of the Book of the Gospels marks the office of the deacon to proclaim the Gospel in liturgical celebrations and to preach the faith of the Church in word and deed. Being ordained a deacon on All Saints’ Day, I reflect on the numerous saints who also received the sacrament of holy orders. These saints knelt in front of the bishop, just as my brother seminarians and I did. The ordination rite to the deaconate configured me to Christ the servant.
Knowing that this vocation is not given to me on my own merit but given to me by God, who formed me and set aside a path of holiness for me, I look upon the saints as examples of what I should strive to be.
The Book of the Gospels was given to me so that it fully becomes who I am. In believing, reading, teaching, and practicing, I become an example of what the Gospels entail and what Christ desires for every one of us. This vocation is not possible to accomplish by one’s own willpower but through the graces that were conferred upon me during the ordination.
The saints are examples of this vocation being brought to full fruition. They lived their lives completely for others because of their love for God.
Pope St. John Paul II, St. John Vianney, and St. Maximilian Kolbe were all ordained as deacons before their priesthood, and they all lived lives dedicated to serving others. One of the virtues that they exemplified was charity. They experienced Christ’s love, and through the graces bestowed upon them, they brought the Gospels to everyone they encountered and lived lives worthy of imitation because they based their lives completely on Christ.
Thus, on this All Saints’ Day, may the graces of the sacrament of holy orders come upon me as I become a transitional deacon for Holy Mother Church, as I minister to the people of God at the altar and in service to others.
Paul Zwolak is one of four men ordained as transitional deacons by Bishop Robert Brennan on Nov. 1. He has been assigned to serve as a deacon at St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood while completing his studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary.