To Serve Christ Jesus

Last Friday, the Diocese of Santa Rosa received the great blessing of two new deacons: Deacon John Plass and Deacon Thomas Stuart. We thank God for these men who have answered His call and pray that they may be truly men of God. The gratitude and awe evoked by the sight of these virtuous young men prostrate before God in humble supplication during the Litany of the Saints was surpassed only by that evoked when the Bishop silently laid his sacred and anointed hands on their heads, consecrating them to the clerical state. May God bless our new deacons with fidelity and perseverance!

Holy Mother Church teaches us that "Insofar as it is a grade of holy orders, the diaconate imprints a character and communicates a specific sacramental grace. The diaconal character is the configurative and distinguishing sign, indelibly impressed in the soul, that configures the one ordained to Christ, who made himself the deacon—the servant—of all. It brings with it a specific sacramental grace: a gift for living the new reality wrought by the sacrament. With regard to deacons, "strengthened by sacramental grace they are dedicated to the People of God, in conjunction with the bishop and his body of priests, in the service (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the Gospel and of works of charity." 

"​Just as in all sacraments which imprint character, grace has a permanent virtuality. It flowers again and again in the same measure in which it is received and accepted again and again in faith.... The Church further teaches that: By a special sacramental gift, Holy Order confers on the deacon a particular participation in the consecration and mission of Him who became servant of the Father for the redemption of mankind, and inserts him in a new and specific way in the mystery of Christ, of his Church and the salvation of all mankind." - Congregation for Clergy

Ordination Slideshow