Let’s talk about Vocation

The word vocation comes from the Latin word Vocare which means call. God is calling all of us. The first calling is to live. Life is the first and most important call that God is making to us. For this reason, no one has the right to terminate the life of any person. Life is the universal vocation because we are called to love, serve, and grow in holiness regardless of our specific path. St. Paul in the letter to the Corinthians says that we have one Spirit but different charisms (cf. 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11). These charisms are the different acts, works, activities that we develop in our lives and make our calling special allowing us to serve God with dignity.

Some are architects, police officers, artists, teachers, administrators, builders, chefs, politicians, cleaners, players, doctors, nurses, priests, and so on. Talking about priests, it is necessary that we recognize the three degrees of priesthood: Episcopate (these are the Bishops), Presbyterate (these are the Priests), and Diaconate (these are the Deacons). For instance, we have the Most Reverend John S. Bonnici (Bishop), me – Reverend Fr. Jorge Ramirez (Priest), and Gary Terrana and Michael Shoene (Deacons). All of us received the sacrament of Holy Orders and have the apostolic mission of teaching the Gospel of the Lord.

Talking about deacons, we appreciate all the service of Dc. Gary Terrana and congratulate Dc. Michael Schoene for his ordination this past May 30th at Sacred Heart Cathedral. We need to understand that we have two kinds of deacons in the sacrament of the Holy Orders. First, we have transitional deacons. They are single men who are ordained as deacons usually for a period of 1 year because they are preparing themselves in the seminary to be ordained as priests. For instance, I was ordained as a deacon on June 6, 2015, and then as a priest on June 4, 2016. Second, we have permanent deacons who usually are married and have a family. Their ministry is exactly the same.

The Diocese of Rochester explains what a deacon is and requirements for a man to be a candidate for the program of permanent deaconate.

“The deacon is a man of faith, who is called from the community that already recognizes his dedication to service. He makes a lifetime commitment to serving the People of God by proclaiming the Word, assisting and presiding at liturgies, and ministering in the areas of charity and social justice. A deacon gives witness to his availability to the community by addressing present and emerging needs of the Church. The Diocese is inviting interested men of strong and active faith, who can demonstrate a record of service in the communities in which they live, work and worship, who may wish to explore a possible call to ordained ministry as a permanent deacon, to first speak with their pastor for an initial conversation. They may also contact Deacon Edward Giblin, Director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate, at edward.giblin@dor.org, for additional information. A potential candidate must be at least 35 years of age and no older than 62 years of age at the time of ordination after a five (5) year period of formation. He must be in good health, emotionally mature, have stable relationships and must have the wholehearted support of his wife (if married) and family to enter the phase of inquiry. Because the parish is the primary experience of Church for most inquirers, the parish community is asked as well to invite from among its members men who exhibit strong faith and a spirit of service and encourage them to consider a possible vocation to the permanent diaconate. The Diocese anticipates that the next formation class will begin in Fall 2027, with the application process beginning in early 2027.”

Men… if you are thinking of becoming a permanent deacon, I would be happy to talk to you and answer your questions. The Church always needs more ministers to work in the vineyard of the Lord.

Remember, The parish that we dream is the parish that I help to build!

God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!

Fr. Jorge Ramirez

Holy Trinity Church… 165 years evangelizing!