First Day of Deacon School

We had our first meeting of Aspirants on April 25th, 2009. There were nine men selected for the Aspirancy portion of the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. Anne and I were very excited to meet the other Aspirants and some of their wives. We started the day with welcoming remarks from Father Tom and then Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. After Morning Prayer we went around the table and introduced ourselves to the group. There were also two Permanent Deacons from the Arlington Diocese at the meeting. Deacon Sam gave us a wonderful history lesson on the Permanent Deaconate in the Church today. He was ordained in 1984 and he has a wealth of knowledge based on his vast experience. Father Tom celebrated Mass and then we had lunch. In the afternoon we received a welcome to the Diaconal Community and Father Tom went over some of the details of our upcoming spiritual formation. Each Aspirant will be guided by three key people: 1) their pastor, 2) a Spiritual Director, and 3) a Permanent Deacon mentor. There are also three committees that will oversee our progress over the next five years: 1) Formation Advisory Committee, 2) Admissions Committee, and 3) Evaluations Committee. Each committee consists of a combination of priests and deacons. We ended the day with an introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours by Father Paul and then Evening Prayer. It was a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to the next meeting on May 9th.