This is noteworthy, mostly because it’s the sort of thing that doesn’t usually get much attention. But it should. It’s a story about a group of deacon candidates being admitted to the ministry of reader (or lector) in Kansas:

Be faithful to the church and proclaim the Word of God precisely, Bishop Robert W. Finn told nine candidates for the permanent diaconate Nov. 15 as he installed them into the ministry of reader at St. Charles Borromeo Parish.

“The Word has power,” the bishop said. “Just as the rain has power to stir and spark the growing seed so that it may bear fruit, so also this Word does not leave the human heart unchanged. It has the power to inflame with love.

“Why? Because the Word of God is not letters, syllables or sounds,” Bishop Finn said. “This word is a person – Jesus Christ. In a new way today, he is entrusted to you for the sake of others.”

If all nine men complete two years of formation and are ordained, they will be the largest class of permanent deacons since Bishop Emeritus Raymond J. Boland reinstituted that order of clergy in the diocese in 1999. The first class of eight deacons was ordained in 2001. They were the first deacons ordained in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph since 1984.

The new deacon candidates are:

Kevin Cummings, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City.
Daniel Esteban, Holy Cross Parish, Kansas City.
Michael Gates, St. Sabina Parish, Belton.
David Healy, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Kansas City.
Douglas Hemke, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, St. Joseph.
Charles Koesterer, St. James Parish, Liberty.
James McConnell, Holy Family Parish, Kansas City.
Ralph McNeal, Coronation of Our Lady Parish, Grandview.
Joseph Whitson, St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Oakview.

“Today, I am enrolling these nine men in the stable ministry of reader,” Bishop Finn said in his homily. “It is a welcome step on the path of these men toward diaconate, where if they persevere, they will be ordained preachers of the Word.”

With the ministry comes responsibility, Bishop Finn told them.

“This is a sacred trust for which you must rely on the wisdom of the church and be always faithful to her,” Bishop Finn said.

“In the Sacred Liturgy, always be careful to proclaim the Word in strict accord with the church’s approved texts,” he said. “We will never need to adapt or change the words. Remember, Christ calls us to be the voice. He alone is the true Word and we his faithful instruments.”

Congratulations, guys!

You can read more at the link. And below is a picture of Your Humble Blogger, when he was admitted to the ministry of lector, way back in 2005.
Top photo: Bishop Robert W. Finn installs deacon candidate James McConnell of Holy Family Parish in Kansas City into the ministry of Reader Nov. 15 at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Oakview. Photo by Kevin Kelly