More and more of the secular press is hopping on the deacon bandwagon, and writing about this vocation.

The latest comes from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, specifically New Castle, Pennsylvania:

Years ago, a local banker began studies to become a Catholic priest but did not finish. “It was not my vocation,” said John Carran of North Beaver Township, “but I always felt a void inside. I felt God was still calling me but was not sure why.”

Carran teaches religious education to youth at Christ the King Parish in the Bessemer-Hillsville area, instructs adults interested in becoming Catholic and serves on the parish financial council. He’s also active on the altar as a lector and in distributing communion. Then, two years ago, “when the diocese called for ordained deacons, I knew that was it.”

He talked it over with his wife, Robin, before applying. “She’s very supportive; I’m blessed,” Carran said. “She’s active, too, as a cantor and director of the choir.” The two just returned from a three-day religious retreat conducted by the office of the diaconate. “It’s nice to be able to do these things together,” Carran said. “She knows what it means to me.”

In August, Bishop Paul J. Bradley will officially recognize Carran and 47 others as candidates for the diaconate who will be ordained deacons in January 2011, after three and a half years of study.

I gotta tell ya: 48 candidates is a hefty haul. And I think that size is becoming more typical, as bishops send out the call, and cast out their nets. I also think there is a ripple effect here; the more parishes have deacons, the more men in the pews see what this ministry is all about, and the more they are moved to inquire about it themselves.

Of course, on the other side of the coin, I think this is one of the unspoken and tragic side effects of the growing priest shortage: with fewer priests (and, significantly, fewer young ones) available to the faithful, there is less of an opportunity for men to see role models up at the altar, presiding and celebrating the sacraments.

When I was growing up, most of the priests I knew where in their 30s or 40s. It was easy to look up to them as — literally and spiritually — father figures. Now, most of the ones serving in parishes around my diocese are in their 60s and 70s. And few of them have the time or patience or inclination to even attempt to mentor a young person (some of that, of course, is a product of fear, and the sense of dread that was fostered by the sex scandals.)

I don’t know where any of this will lead. But let’s continue to pray for all vocations, wherever they come, however they are fostered.

As the gospel this weekend reminds us: the harvest is great, and the laborers are few.