Bishop Beckman presides as deacons renew promises, candidates move forward
By Bill Brewer
Diocese of Knoxville deacons present and future were the focus of an Oct. 3 Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, where Bishop Mark Beckman led the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders and the renewal of ordination promises.
Bishop Beckman presides at the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders for diaconal aspirants during a Mass for deacons on Oct. 3 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fourteen men from around the diocese advanced to becoming diaconal candidates during the Mass. (Photo Bill Brewer)
Just as priests of the diocese renew their priestly vows at the Chrism Mass during Holy Week, permanent members of the diocesan diaconate renew their ordination promises once a year. And during this same Mass, aspirants to the permanent diaconate informed the Church in East Tennessee of their ministerial intentions.
Fourteen men are in the next class of permanent deacons and took an important step during the Mass toward ordination, which will occur in two to three years.
“I want to extend a very warm welcome to our deacon candidates. This is an important moment for you on your journey to diaconate ministry in the Church, an important steppingstone, saying ‘yes’ to the Lord,” Bishop Beckman said at the beginning of Mass.
“Also, I want to welcome our existing deacons. For all of you, too, this is a moment of joy. It reminds you of your own ‘yes’ to the Lord,” the bishop added.
Concelebrating the Mass were Father David Boettner, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Father Jhon Mario Garcia, associate pastor of the cathedral, and Father Andrew Crabtree, parochial vicar of St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport.
Deacon Sean Smith served as deacon of the Word and Deacon Fredy Vargas was deacon of the altar. Deacon Walt Otey was master of ceremonies.
In his homily, Bishop Beckman explained what a gift it is to be blessed by the Gospels.
“The deacon is a preeminent proclaimer of the Gospel. Every time you proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you bring blessings to the people of God. The Gospel we just heard (Luke 5:1-11) of the call of Simon Peter always makes me think back to the moment when the Lord called me to ministry. I want those of you who are deacon candidates to think about the moment in your own life when you began to receive from the Lord the call to come and follow,” the bishop said.
“For some, it’s a very sudden moment when you realize, ‘I think the Lord is calling me to do this.’ And for some, it’s more gradual, isn’t it? Over time, gradually, the awareness of the attraction to this particular ministry deepens. In either case, it is the Lord Himself who calls, isn’t it?” he added.
Luke 5:1-11 describes how Jesus climbed aboard a boat belonging to Simon Peter as He was speaking to a crowd. Even though Simon Peter and other fishermen with him had been unsuccessful in making a catch, Jesus asked him to go back out and put out his fishing nets. Simon Peter did so, and soon his nets were teeming with fish.
That is when Jesus responded with the well-known line: “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be fishers of men.”
Bishop Mark Beckman gives a homily on the gifts of the diaconate during a Mass for current deacons and aspirants. (Photo Bill Brewer)
Bishop Beckman noted that it was remarkable a carpenter would board a boat and give instructions to a professional fisherman.
“The boat is Peter’s place. It’s his space. And this carpenter gets into the boat with him. That’s what the Lord does. He shows up in our boats, in our own lives. The way they are, no matter whether we are finished or not. None of us is finished until we are probably six feet under, right?
“And I like Jesus’ gentle approach. It’s not the big ask at the beginning. It’s ‘Can I use your boat for a bit to speak the Gospel to the crowds on the seashore?’ But then there’s an invitation. The invitation is to go deeper. Let’s go out into the deep water for a catch,” the bishop pointed out.
He emphasized to the deacons that without God, His people may very well come up empty. But with Jesus, miracles happen and there is abundance “beyond any imagining.”
That lets His people know they are in the presence of the Holy One.
Bishop Beckman shared with his fellow deacons that he connected more to the prophet Jeremiah when the bishop was young.
“I remember thinking, Lord, I am too young for this when I felt His call. I was not as eager as Isaiah at the end, saying, ‘Here am I. Send me,’” Bishop Beckman acknowledged. “And yet all of you have experienced the call of the Lord or you would not be here tonight.”
Their answer to the Lord is the “ground game” of their vocation,” Bishop Beckman noted.
“Never forget the call of God. And the call progresses over time. It gets deeper and richer when we continue to say yes,” he shared.
Bishop Beckman told the deacons that during his time traveling around the Diocese of Knoxville, it is obvious to him that there are deacons everywhere doing great work.
He pointed to a number of deacons who jumped into action to serve flood victims and their East Tennessee communities following Hurricane Helene.
“Diaconal ministry is clearly present. To be deacon is to be servant, like Jesus is servant. It is to be conformed to the beautiful ministry of Jesus Himself. What a beautiful gift you are to God’s people. Thank you, all of you, for your yeses. And I’m including the wives who support their husbands in this most important ministry and the children who enrich the lives of the Church. Thank you. Onward to the deeper water,” Bishop Beckman concluded.
The bishop then called the deacon aspirants forward to declare their intentions before the Church. Deacon Jim Bello, director of the diaconate and deacon formation for the Diocese of Knoxville, called each candidate by name.
The aspirants who responded “present” when called were Mark Calvert of St. John Neumann Parish, Antonio Da Silva of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mark Dye of St. Thomas the Apostle, Brendan Foley of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, John Gensheimer of the cathedral parish, Rigoberto Gonzales of Holy Cross, Paul Heuton of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Hugo Linares of All Saints, James MacDougall of St. Dominic, Conor Martin of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga, David Morais of St. Stephen, Pedro Palacios of St. Mary in Oak Ridge, Alejandro Samano of All Saints, and David Quinn of St. Francis of Assisi in Townsend.
The bishop then performed the Rite of Admission, saying:
“Dear sons, the pastors and teachers charged with your formation and those who affirm that they know you have given a good report of you, which we fully trust. In response to the Lord’s call, do you resolve to complete your preparation so that in due course you are made ready to undertake ministry in the Church through holy orders?
“Do you resolve to form your mind and heart in such a way that you will be able faithfully to serve Christ the Lord and His body, the Church?”
Each aspirant responded by saying, “I do.”
“The Church receives your resolve with joy. May God, who has begun the good work in you, bring it to fulfillment,” the bishop declared.
At that point, the aspirants became diaconal candidates and were given an ovation by the congregation.
Deacon Bello then asked the permanent deacons to stand, at which time Bishop Beckman led them in renewing their ordination promises.
“Brothers, do you resolve to remain consecrated for the ministry of the Church you received through the laying on of hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit?
“Do you resolve to continue to discharge with humble charity the office of the diaconate so as to assist the priestly order and to benefit the Christian people?
“Do you resolve to continue to hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, as the Apostle says, and to proclaim the faith by word and deed according to the Gospel and the Church’s tradition?
“Do you resolve to continue to guard and increase the spirit of prayer proper to your way of life and in keeping with this spirit and the circumstances of your life to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours with and for the people of God and indeed for the whole world?
“Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?
“Do you resolve to continue to conform your manner of life always to the example of Christ, whose body and blood you will handle at the altar?”
The permanent deacons responded to each question with “I do,” except the final question, in which they responded, “I do with the help of God.”
In prayer, Bishop Beckman then said, “Hear our petitions, O Lord, and in Your kindness be pleased to bless these, your sons, who desire to devote themselves in the sacred ministry to your service and to the service of your people so that they may persevere in their vocation and clinging to Christ, the priest, with sincere charity, and be able to take up apostolic office worthily through Christ Our Lord.”
Following the Mass, a reception was given for the deacons and their wives in the cathedral parish hall.
After Mass, Bishop Beckman expressed how pleased he was to lead such an uplifting celebration, where he could recognize the diocese’s deacons and the ministry they perform every day.
“This is a great inspiration. We have the best deacons in the world here in the Diocese of Knoxville. I am a little biased but watching their ministry all over the diocese on the ground, both in their parishes and in the Chancery, they really do give meaning to the word diaconus, or servant,” the bishop said. “They are really rich in the works of charity and in love, which is at the heart of diaconal ministry.”
Deacon Bello said he believes it was the first time in the diocese where in a single Mass the permanent deacons renewed their ordination promises and deacon aspirants were administered the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders.
“They were aspirants when they walked into Mass, and they were candidates when they walked out of Mass,” Deacon Bello said. “This was a first where you actually have the deacons and those that they are mentoring and will be mentoring over the course of their diaconal ministry all together for rites in the same place at the same time with our father, the bishop.”
Deacon Bello said the candidates were ecstatic at sharing the Mass with their permanent brothers who have completed much of the diaconal journey.
He said the current class began discerning a call to the diaconate in January 2022, and they then completed a six-month inquiry period. They were then approved into the diaconate as aspirants by the bishop.
Permanent deacons in the Diocese of Knoxville renew their ordination during a Mass for the diaconate on Oct. 3 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. During the Mass, diaconal aspirants were advanced to candidates, a key step toward ordination. (Photo Bill Brewer)
In 2025, they will be installed as lectors. In 2026, they will be installed as acolytes, and they will be vested in albs. In 2027, they will be ordained as deacons.
“They still have quite a journey to go, but, God willing, in June 2027 we will have 14 new deacons for the diocese,” Deacon Bello explained.
Just as consequential and impactful is the renewal of ordination promises by the permanent deacons, an oath that is sacrosanct to these men called to holy orders.
“Our vows are precious to all of us. And we try to live our diaconal ministry. That means living a life of humility, of simplicity, of serving the poor, of serving the widows and orphans, and of serving the needs of our parishes. We are called to be a bridge between the altar and the community and welcome people to walk over us to the altar, so to speak,” Deacon Bello said.
He explained that in pledging their obedience to the bishop, deacons are allowed to refer to the bishop as father.
“There is a very unique relationship between a bishop and his deacons. It’s a very personal and intimate relationship. To actually pledge that obedience to him again is reassurance that he is our spiritual leader, he is our father, and we are here to follow him and listen and learn and do what he asks us to do. This refreshes our souls; it refreshes our diaconal ministry,” Deacon Bello shared.
Deacon Humberto Collazo, a permanent deacon serving at St. Dominic Parish in Kingsport, attended the Mass and took part in the renewal of ordination promises.
Deacon Collazo, who was ordained in June 2022, continues to grow in the ministry.
“This is a special renewal. This is year two. I’m finally understanding what a deacon needs to do in addition to what the book says. It has special meaning to me as I find out what the call is. I hear those promises, and it gets to my heart. These promises are strength and fire,” Deacon Collazo said.
Now, two years a deacon, he said his faith is growing by leaps and bounds, and his energy for serving God, His Church, and the faithful in East Tennessee is strong and endless.
“God knows what He is doing and what He puts in front of you. He’ll open the door, and you just walk through it. I am so happy that I answered the call,” he shared.
Deacon Vargas has been in the permanent diaconate for more than a decade, and he describes the ministry as “very fulfilling.”
He noted that as he watched the aspirants become candidates during the Mass, he couldn’t help but recall his own journey to becoming a deacon and being ordained.
“Even now, as I stand at the altar, I still can’t believe I’m there serving the Lord. It’s really joyful for me,” he said, adding that he hopes that he and his brother deacons will inspire other men to join the diaconate through their ministry.
Deacon Vargas is grateful to Bishop Beckman for recognizing and celebrating the ministry of deacons. He said the bishop’s uplifting words are inspiring and serve as fuel for their vocations.
According to the director of the diocesan diaconate, the renewal of ordination promises prompts each permanent deacon to recall his own ordination, kneeling before the bishop and lying prostrate before the altar, where there is grace and mercy.
“It’s more than a ritual. It’s something very special to the deacons; it’s very personal,” said Deacon Bello, who was ordained a deacon in June 2022.
Deacon Bello pointed out that the faithful most often associate deacons with serving at Sunday Masses wearing their vestments. But that is only a fraction of their ministry.
“A lot of times they see us in our vestments at the altar, and they think liturgy is what we do. But that’s only a small piece. It’s a very significant piece. Our deacons are chaplains for police departments and sheriff’s offices and in hospitals. They serve in nursing homes and food banks. A lot of our deacons serve those who are in prison. They are heavily involved in prison ministry. That’s what a deacon should be,” he said.
