In humble service

Rite of Lector and Acolyte for Permanent Diaconate takes place at Cathedral

By Eileen Jevis
Staff writer

Eight candidates for Permanent Diaconate and 10 aspirants have pledged to become ambassadors of Christ at a Mass and celebration Nov. 5 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Bishop Douglas J. Lucia presided over the Mass, attended by the candidates, their family and friends, and parishioners of the Cathedral.

   The second-year aspirants were installed as lectors. Fourth-year candidates, who will be ordained in May 2024, received separate rites as lectors and acolytes. Lectors and acolytes are appointed to assist the deacon and serve the priest in the celebration of the liturgy and other duties. Each knelt before the bishop and vowed to uphold their mission.

   Jeffrey Dixe is a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier in Marcellus and a special-education teacher. He will be retiring in June after a 30-year career at West Genesee High School. Dixe is in his fourth year of the diaconate program and is looking forward to serving the diocese. He said his calling to become a deacon started with a whisper.

   “It’s a whisper the Lord puts in your heart. Then it turns into a knock.” Dixe said that while he wasn’t sure this was the right path for him, the Lord kept knocking until he answered the call. While discerning to become a deacon, Dixe credits the late Father Louis Aiello who guided the candidates in prayer and discernment during the ordination process that is rooted in humility.

“The Holy Spirit will guide you when considering this ministry,” said Dixe. “If you think you are going to guide yourself, you’re in for a rude awakening. It’s about learning how to become attuned to the Holy Spirit and listening to God’s voice in your heart.”

   Kurt Behrenfeld, a parishioner at St. Anthony’s of Padua, is in his second year in the formal program. He, too, said that the calling kept coming at him. It took him five years to get to the starting line, he said, but he’s never looked back. “The desire to serve God kept pulling at me and it was such a natural fit, I knew I had to follow it.”

   Behrenfeld, who owns his own CPA firm, said he grew closer to God by volunteering his services to nonprofit organizations. “Because I was able to work with people who were helping other people, I felt more and more that my vocation became part of my ministry by using my talents and gifts to help others.”

   Behrenfeld said his wife, who works with him at the firm, has been very supportive in life and in business and encourages him to serve the Church. “She is my right-hand person. We have been married for 34 years and it’s a beautiful life. That’s another reason why I want to give back, because I feel so blessed on so many levels.”

   In his homily, Bishop Lucia talked about the Diocese celebrating two special occasions on Nov. 5. The first was the observance of the 100th anniversary of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Syracuse. “The second occasion is a reminder for you and I to live our lives in service to Jesus Christ. These lay ministers are another illustration of the call to each of us,” said Bishop Lucia.

   Bishop Lucia referred to the second Gospel reading, 1 Thessalonians 2:7b-8. Though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ, we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children, So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves …

   “We are doing the same work the apostles did 2,000 years ago,” added Father Mark Kaminski, director of Deacon Formation, Permanent Diaconate and pastor of the

Church of the Sacred Heart & St. Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa in New York Mills. “It’s a beautiful thing that the Holy Spirit leads the Church with the same grace as it has since the beginning.”

   Father Kaminski said that from a ministerial perspective, we are following the same patterns established thousands of years ago — to fulfill a need in the community by forming ministers at a grassroots level who can help with the duties of the priests and bishops. Father Kaminski said the Acts of the Apostles talks about the origin of the diaconate as a distinct ministry of Christian service.

   “The men are a wonderful group of individuals who come from all walks of life and are already seasoned and mature,” said Father Kaminsky. “I have been teaching in this program for over 21 years and every year, I am inspired by their commitment, enthusiasm, generosity and upbeat attitudes about their current and future ministries.”

   Craig Rheaume, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville and director of the RCIA program, said his enthusiasm comes from finding what gives him joy. Rheaume is in his fourth year of the program and has found personal and spiritual fulfillment in adult education of the faith. He is also interested in hospital ministry and perhaps down the road becoming involved in prison ministry as well. “The training and education we receive is not only going to prepare you to serve others but will also strengthen your own spirituality,” said Rheaume. “I look forward to becoming ordained and I am open to wherever God leads me.”