I ran across another excellent article today about deacons in the Catholic Church. Those of us who do parish ministry as deacons understand how so many of our parishioners think of us a “mini-priests” or laymen in special clothing acting like altar boys. Neither is true. Many wonder how we are similar to priests. (Answer: the Sacrament of Holy Orders. We are clergy too, just as are priests and bishops. We all receive the one sacrament of orders, only we are ordained to different offices.)
There may come a time in the United States when the face many will see first in the parishes will be the face of the deacon. Over 17,000 deacons are now in the United States. The diaconate is a booming; there is no vocation shortage here as compared with the priesthood and religious life.
Read the article in US Catholic. Here’s the link: www.uscatholic.org/church/parish-life/2010/10/churchs-married-clergy-40-years-deacons
