A thoughtful reader sent this my way this morning: a great overview on the diaconate, from the diocesan newspaper in Richmond. It offers some sound advice and excellent insight for anyone who might be discerning a vocation:

Men who are thinking about beginning the journey for formation to becoming a deacon should first ask themselves three key questions, says Deacon Robert Ewan.

“One, do I want to do this?

“Two, do I have the skills to do this?

“Three, are other people encouraging me to do this?

Deacon Ewan, assistant director of the diocesan Office of the Vicar for Clergy, said these key questions are important as men who aspire to the diaconate must notify him by Sept. 1 if they hope to be part of this fall’s aspirancy process.

Those who are later invited to enter the program could possibly be ordained deacons in four years or even sooner if they have met requirements. But an invitation to the program is no guarantee that an individual will ultimately be ordained.

“It will help them to discern their call, dispel any myths about the diaconate and clarify expectations,” Deacon Ewan said of the aspirancy process. “They’re discerning and so are we.

“I’ve already received around 50 inquiries,” Deacon Ewan told The Catholic Virginian. “The likelihood is that we could have as many as 200 guys.

“Some of them have been experiencing a call to the diaconate for the last five years,” he said, adding that this call may have been encouraged by a man’s family members, pastors or other ministers.

While some aspirants will be selected for the new program to begin this fall, plans are for another group to begin in the fall of 2008 and another group each consecutive year so that ultimately ordinations to the diaconate will be held in 2011 and 2012 and beyond.

“Not everyone who is discerned for the program will be called to begin aspirancy this year,” Deacon Ewan said.

You’ll definitely want to read it all — including a wise portion that addresses the significance of that often-overlooked-but exceedingly-important part of the deacon’s life: his wife.

Image: “Icon of St. Lawrence the Deacon,” by Lawrence Klimecki