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Deacon Aspirants Volunteer at Food Bank
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Office of the Permanent Diaconate
Diaconate Details
"Dear deacons, this is a grace you can implore daily in prayer. You can offer the Lord your work, your little inconveniences, your weariness and your hopes in an authentic prayer that brings your life to the Lord and the Lord to your life. When you serve at the table of the Eucharist, there you will find the presence of Jesus, Who gives himself to you so that you can give yourselves to others. In this way, available in life, meek of heart and in constant dialogue with Jesus, you will not be afraid to be servants of Christ, and to encounter and caress the flesh of the Lord in the poor of our time."
Pope Francis:
-- Mass for Jubilee of Permanent Deacons, May 30, 2016Office Staff
Deacon Norman Mejstrik - Director of Permanent Diaconate
Deacon Richard Boothe - Assistant Director
Deacon Jorge Pereira - Assistant Director, Spanish Language Diaconate
Deacon Thomas Phan - Assistant Director, Vietnamese Language Diaconate
The Office Staff has the following responsibilities:- Help interested applicants discern their possible call to the diaconate at inquirer, aspirant, and candidate phases of formation
- Coordinate all aspects of formation and ordination including evaluation and testing
- Coordinate post-ordination formation opportunities for the ordained deacons in human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral areas.
- Offer ongoing education for wives of deacons and deacon candidates
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Are You Called to be a Deacon?
The call to the Order of the Deacons is primarily a call to service. Although deacons are most visible to the community in their liturgical role and in service of the Word. Most deacons serve within a parish in ministries such as Religious Education (RE) and Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA). Some deacons also work outside the parish in ministries of charity and justice seving people in need or serving as hospital or prison chaplains.
Because deacons are called to a ministry of leadership, they work with their pastors and parish staff to facilitate lay ministry and to identify areas of need, to develop programs, and to train the laity in ministry. Like the priest, the deacon should call others to ministry by his witness, dedication, and example. -
Characteristics of a Potential Candidate
A man interested in becoming a deacon may be a single or married man of faith who is:
- Called by God and church from among its members to be ordained to a life of service and spiritual leadership.
- Attentive to and prays about the Word of God.
- Responding to a call of Christ, to serve his brothers and sisters.
- Deeply and reverently committed to living the Word of God.
- Living in a way that demonstrates his desire for and dedication to the service of God, even before ordination to the diaconate.
- Prompting others to ministry by his witness, example, and dedication of his life to the service of God.
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Eligibility Requirements
In order to apply to the diaconate, an interested man must be:
- A practicing Catholic at least five years.
- A faithful Catholic who has demonstrated his faith and be of high moral character.
- Actively involved in lay ministry in the parish or archdiocese.
- In a stable marriage for at least five years and must have the full support of his wife, or if single, the applicant must be ready to accept the promise of celibacy at ordination.
- Sponsored by a parish.
- Age 35-65 at the time of ordination.
- Fluent in English, both writing and speaking.
- Able to commit to the duration of the required formation period.
- In good health and have no disability that would impede his ministry.
- A resident of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.
For more information be sure to read about the Formation Process and Discernment details. -
Frequently Asked Questions About Permanent Diaconate
Who and What Is a Deacon?
The deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church called to be a “sacramental sign” of the Servant Jesus in the world. Through the reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders, he becomes a member of the clergy and ceases to be a member of the laity. The deacon is a reminder to all the baptized of their call to be people of service and ministers of justice. He leads his own witness of faithful service and advocacy for justice and he empowers others to be signs of Jesus’ service in the world.
What Do Deacons Do?
Deacons are most visible to the community in their liturgical role. The call to the Order of Deacons, however, is primarily a call to a ministry of service. He is to share in the bishop’s ministry of care for God’s people, exercising that care in a wide variety of ministries: hospitals, nursing homes, community centers, prisons, social work, diocesan administration and parish life. The diaconal ministry is a call to leadership in service and, thus, the deacon should call others to ministry by his witness and example. As a facilitator of ministry, the deacon works with the pastor and parish staff in identifying areas of need, helping develop programs to meet the need, and training lay men and women to perform the ministry.
The deacon is called to proclaim and live the Word of God. Thus he may preach, instruct converts, offer religious education to adults and children, and participate in the many other activities of the archdiocese. In his liturgical and sacramental functions he may baptize, witness marriages for the Church, distribute Holy Communion, take Holy Communion to the sick, officiate at wakes and funeral services, administer sacramentals, and preside at prayer services.
Although the deacon receives a sacred order, he does not necessarily function in the order as his full-time occupation, but remains responsible for the support of himself and his family in his normal job. He offers his service as a deacon, dedicating 10 to 12 hours each week to his work of the church.
What Is the Formation Program?
The four-year deacon formation program leading to ordination as a permanent deacon consists of the Aspirancy year and Candidacy (three years). When the application period is over, the program staff, with the counsel of the Committee on Admissions, makes recommendations to the Archbishop concerning admission to the Aspirancy year. The Archbishop makes the decision concerning admission.
The Aspirancy year is primarily a time for discernment on the part of the applicant as well as on the part of the Church as represented by the program staff and the Archbishop. There will be a weekend session each month at the Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City, beginning in September and continuing through May. At the end of the Aspirancy year, the program staff will make recommendations to the Archbishop as to which aspirants will be admitted to the three-year Candidacy period.
Each of the three years of the Candidacy period includes attendance at monthly weekend sessions at the Catholic Pastoral Center, and a weekend spiritual retreat. In addition, the candidate must take at least one Pastoral Ministry Program course each Fall and Spring semester each of the three years. The candidate is expected to complete the Pastoral Ministry Program ten-course requirement for the Archdiocese’s Certificate in Pastoral Ministry. This requirement may be completed after ordination. Those who have completed the Pastoral Ministry Program before entering or during the three years of candidacy will take other courses recommended by the program staff.
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Contact Us
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Deacon Norman MejstrikDirector of Permanent Diaconate; Rother Cause -
Deacon Richard BootheAssistant Director of the Permanent Diaconate -
Deacon Jorge PereiraSaint Monica Church, Edmond; Assistant Director; Spanish Language Diaconate -
Saint Charles Borromeo Church, Oklahoma City; Assistant Director of the Permanent Diaconate
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