Candidate Paul Cook (Red Lodge) performs a simulated funeral as fellow Candidate Mitch Anderson and his wife Mary of Sidney look on at the recent Deacon formation weekend at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Lewistown.
Candidate Tony Sandau (Miles City) practices using incense as his wife Terri and fellow deacon candidates observe.
by Fr Garrett Nelson
After three years of human, pastoral, academic, and spiritual formation, the Permanent Deacon class of 2019 is preparing to receive the ministry of Acolyte. This ceremony will be held at St. Patrick Co-Cathedral in Billings on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 8:30am.
The ministry of Acolyte, along with the ministry of Lector, was established by Pope St. Paul VI in the Motu Proprio entitled Ministeria Quaedam in 1973. In that document, the Holy Father reorgainzed the Church’s structure of preparation for Holy Orders. Prior to that there were four “minor orders”, which consisted of the office of porter, reader, exorcist (not to be confused with a diocesan exorcist who must be a priest), and acolyte. There were also four “major orders” which consisted of subdeacon, deacon, and priest. The Holy Father decided to remove two of the minor orders (porter and exorcist) as well as the major order of subdiaconate, focusing more on the minor orders that are most closely related to ordained ministry, namely ministry of the Word and ministry at the Altar.
Acolytes carry out the same duties that would typically be done by altar servers, but they are also given great privileges that the average altar server would not have. For example, the acolyte is meant to be the first among extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, meaning if extraordinary ministers are needed, the Acolyte should be the first one called upon to carry out that role. They are also permitted to expose the Blessed Sacrament for public Eucharistic Adoration, as well as purify the Sacred Vessels after the distribution of Holy Communion. The Acolyte is to have a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and has a special connection to service at the Altar.
The six men preparing for ordination this summer have demonstrated just that. I have been privileged to work with them and their wives over the last three years, and they are some of the most devout, pastorally minded, and dedicated people I have ever met. The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings is blessed to have them, and I hope and pray that their ministry bears much fruit for years to come.
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