Permanent-deacon candidates now acolytes

12 men in the diocese’s 2027 class take the last major step before their ordination next June

By Dan McWilliams

The Diocese of Knoxville had its own version of the Sending of the Twelve on Oct. 1 as a dozen candidates for the permanent diaconate became acolytes, the last major step before their ordination next June.

Bishop Mark Beckman presided at the acolyte Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. During the liturgy, many of the diocese’s permanent deacons made their annual renewal of their ordination vows.

“This evening is a cause of great joy. Our 12 deacon candidates will become acolytes tonight, the ministry of acolyte. It’s also a night we celebrate our deacons having the opportunity to renew the promises that you made when you were ordained,” Bishop Beckman said in his opening remarks. “So, great causes for joy, and I find it very fitting that we celebrate this today, the Church universal is celebrating the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower. She is a model for all of us.”

Diocesan vicar general Father Peter Iorio, Father Ray Powell, Father Andrew Crabtree, and Father Adam Royal concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Bob Denne was deacon of the Word and Deacon Vic Landa was deacon of the altar. Deacon Jim Bello, diocesan director of the diaconate and deacon formation, introduced the acolytes and the permanent deacons to the bishop before each part of the rite.

The 12 deacon candidates and their parishes are:

• Mark Calvert, St. John Neumann, Farragut;
• Antonio Da Silva, Sacred Heart;
• Brendan Foley, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland;
• John Gensheimer, Sacred Heart;
• Rigoberto Gonzalez, Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge;
• Paul Heuton, Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga;
• Hugo Linares, All Saints, Knoxville;
• Jim MacDougall, St. Dominic, Kingsport;
• Conor Martin, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga;
• David Morais, St. Stephen, Chattanooga;
• Pedro Palacios, St. Mary, Oak Ridge; and
• David Quinn, St. Francis of Assisi, Townsend.

Before the first reading, Bishop Beckman prayed: “O God, who opened your kingdom to those who are humble and to little ones, lead us to follow trustingly in the way of St. Thérèse so that through her intercession we may see your eternal glory revealed.”

The Gospel reading came from Luke 10.

“I find it very wonderful today that the Gospel is the sending of the 72, six dozen followers of Jesus who are to go in His name before Him to the towns and villages that He intends to visit,” the bishop said to begin his homily. “It’s interesting because we have, of course, the Sending of the Twelve”—which drew laughter from his listeners—“the Apostles, but today it’s the 72. And in some ways, the Lord foresaw that not only the Apostles, but that every follower, in some ways, as Pope Francis put it beautifully, would be a missionary disciple.

“But all of us are called to bring the good news of the kingdom of God to the world. And the role of the deacon in service of that kingdom is closely bound up with that proclamation of the kingdom of God. … The healing work of Jesus that the 72 participated in is also important in the role of the diaconate. You all have been called by the Lord not to be served, as the Lord puts it, but to serve. And because of that, because of that service to the people of God, you will be a healing presence.”

The 12 deacon candidates “will handle the greatest of mysteries, the vessels that hold the body and blood of the Lord,” Bishop Beckman said. “You will be ministers of the gift of Himself to God’s people in the eucharistic liturgy, a profound mystery which you are closely connected with. And tonight, as you enter that ministry of acolyte, you are drawn more closely to that great mystery that we celebrate around the altar of the Lord.”

St. Thérèse provides an answer in “her little way” as to the spirit in which the deacon candidates should carry out their ministry, the bishop said.

“When she was pondering what God wanted her to do, she thought about things like becoming a martyr or a prophet or a priest. And she wondered why she couldn’t do any of those so-called ‘great things,’” he said. “The Lord revealed to her that her vocation was to be love in the heart of the Church. When she became aware of that, she was filled with great joy.”

Bishop Beckman added that for the candidates “there is no greater call than the call to love as God has loved us. We must mirror in our lives the love of the Lord. And I suspect the 72 who were sent forth bore that love of God with them wherever they went. I also like the fact that if they’re not accepted, they bring peace no matter what. In a sense, they shake the dust off and they move on. They don’t strike back—no vengeance, no negativity, it’s simply, ‘OK, I will shake the dust and I will walk forward.’

“So, the kingdom of God is at hand. God’s great work is unfolding in our universe. And you all will participate in that proclamation in a very particular way. It is good that we have 12 of you, a very symbolic number. We pray that the Lord who has begun these many good things in you will bring it to fulfillment through Christ our Lord.”

After the homily, Deacon Bello asked that “those to be instituted in the Ministry of Acolyte” to “come forward as your name is called. Each of the 12 replied “present” as Deacon Bello called them in alphabetical order.

Bishop Beckman asked the assembly to “pray to the Lord for these chosen by Him to serve in the ministry of acolyte. Let us ask Him to fill them with His blessing and strengthen them for faithful service in His Church.”

The bishop then prayed: “O God of mercy, through your only Son you entrusted the bread of life to your Church. Bless our brothers who have been chosen for the ministry of acolyte. Grant that they may be faithful in the service of your altar and in giving to others the bread of life. May they grow always in faith and love and so build up your Church. Through Christ our Lord.”

Bishop Beckman then presented a paten with unconsecrated bread to each candidate and said, “Take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of His Church.”

The 12 men answered the bishop with an “amen.”

The bishop led a round of applause for them.

“I think it most appropriate that we express our support for these new acolytes. Congratulations to them,” he said.

Deacon Bello spoke again, asking the permanent deacons to stand. Bishop Beckman asked them a series of questions, to which each deacon answered “I do”:

“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, and so 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?”

After the renewal of vows, the bishop prayed: “Attend to our petitions, O Lord, and in your kindness be pleased to bless these your sons, who desire to devote themselves in 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 may be able to take up apostolic office worthily through Christ our Lord.”

A reception in Cathedral Hall followed the Mass.

Mr. Gonzalez said that the ministry of acolyte was “another step, very important for us. It’s not easy. We’re still on the road, but there’s a lot of work. We’re happy and nervous.”

Mr. Da Silva, his remarks translated from Spanish by Mr. Gonzalez, added that “the Church, our tradition” requires the process “to be step by step to get there to be ordained as a deacon.”

Mr. Foley said the acolyte Mass was “awe-inspiring.”

“It’s also very humbling. Just the feeling, the emotions of taking this step, are just overwhelming,” he said.

He looks forward to his ordination day next year.

“The next ceremony is ordination on June 12. So, between now and then, we will go away one weekend a month to continue our formation,” Mr. Foley said.

The candidates for the permanent diaconate have to read a massive amount of material in their studies over the years of their formation.

“Reading, writing, but no arithmetic,” Mr. Foley said.

Bishop Beckman said after Mass that the acolyte rite “is the last great step” for the men.

“You know, I love the fact that there’s 12 of them. That reminds me of the Apostolic College. And this is just a beautiful moment in their lives and also in the lives of their families,” he said.

The Mass was also “a beautiful opportunity for our permanent deacons to renew those promises that they once made to serve the Church as deacons,” the bishop said.

Deacon Bello explained the earlier rites that the diaconal candidates took part in on their way to ordination.

“The first rite is when they transition from an aspirant in the program to an actual candidate in the program. And that is kind of when the diocese first says these are our candidates. And that’s the rite of candidacy,” he said. “Following that is the rite of lector, at which point they become a permanent catechist of the Church. And then tonight, praise God, is the rite of acolyte, where they will now be more visible in serving at the altar. They will set the altar with the deacons or priests. They will purify vessels and develop an even deeper love for Christ and His eucharistic self.”

The deacon candidates are entering the final stage of their formation as the Church in East Tennessee is growing by leaps and bounds.

“It seems very, very beautiful to me that as the Church grows right now, as we’re seeing so many come to the Church, that there is something very symbolic about ending up with 12 men who are this dedicated to serving the Church in the person of Christ the servant,” Deacon Bello said.

The dozen men will be “much-needed,” he continued.

“I have requests all the time from our parishes: ‘Do you have another deacon in the works that we could have here?’” Deacon Bello said. “We are a robust diocese for deacons, but there is still a lot of demand because there are so many (new Catholics) coming in. And when we look at that, we can say the laborers are indeed few. And so we share so many responsibilities with the laity and also have our holy orders that allow us to serve in a different way. And hopefully, God will multiply our time, talent, and treasures as we do it.”

Deacon Bello said about 50 permanent deacons registered for the Mass to renew their vows but that a traffic delay may have reduced the number attending somewhat.

“The permanent deacons, this was a big night for them, too. It’s their annual renewal of vows,” he said. “This is the night where we recommit ourselves with our ordination vows, our ordination promises to serve God’s people, to do it with clean consciences, and to be faithful to the Church. It’s Scripture and tradition.”

Regarding the 12 candidates’ ordination to the permanent diaconate, Bishop Beckman said he is “looking forward to it very much.”