Permanent Deacons - Diocese of Syracuse

Gathering as Men

tmcnerney — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:18:42 +0000

“Many of the men that attend regular meetings of parish fellowship meeting have had an
encounter with the person of Jesus Christ at some point in their lives. That encounter, as it has been told in thousands of meetings, is as varied and diverse as life itself. For many it marked a milestone event – a significant moment in which the man giving witness came
to know the reality of the living Christ as he has never before experienced. For some the encounter was the defining moment – a moment of pure grace that made faith in Jesus Christ a compelling belief. For others the encounter with Jesus was a gradual commitment, a combination of many moments of grace that joined to make an undeniable mosaic of God’s goodness.”

“Why Men Get Together” (From Catholic Men’s Fellowship Cincinnati)

Saturday, February 27, 2010 men from all over the Diocese of Syracuse will gather to share, pray and experience the fellowship of being a Catholic man. Ignite 2010 Catholic Men’s Conference will offer three nationally acclaimed speakers: Jesse Romero, Fr. Larry Richards and Sean Forrest as well as our own Bishop Robert J. Cunningham.

Plan to attend and be part of a day-long experience geared for men, enriching our faith experiences and helping to build God’s Kingdom!

Centering on Jesus

tmcnerney — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:57:12 +0000

As we enter the season of Lent centering our lives on Jesus enables us to enter into a renewal of faith… a conversion of heart opening us to the salvific act of Jesus.

Deacon Tim McNerney’s homily at St. Paul Church in Norwich, New York on the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time is based upon Jeremiah 17:5-8 and the Gospel of Luke, Ch 6:17,20-26. If you’d would like to listen to Dc. Tim’s homily, click the link below.

SERMON ON THE PLAIN

At the epicenter…

gregorycross — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:30:01 +0000

NOTE: In November 2008 Deacon Greg Cross began an active ministry with their twinned church, Immaculate Conception Parish in Haiti. We asked Dc. Greg to share a bit on how his ministry began and the developments since last week’s earthquake. This post begins with a few excerpts from his notes while on mission.

Dc. Tim McNerney, Webmaster

Looking Back:

November 13-14, 2008 – We arrived in Haiti, then traveled the mountain ranges 35KM from Port-au-Prince to Chauffard, Haiti with Fr. Julien from Immaculate Conception Parish. Roads are comprised of two elements: rocks and ruts!

November 15-17, 2008 – We continue our fact-finding mission in Haiti, detailing the incredible need that his mountain village of 1,500 people has for food, medical, education and spiritual support.

Field Notes:

- Regroup committee to determine augmented programs St. Michael & St. Peter can provide.
- Try to purchase batteries for solar power storage asap; perhaps a small refrigerator also.
- Establish interest in annual or more frequent visits
- Send e-photos taken and mail printed photos of students

November 4-10, 2009 – Three MD’s, three nurses, my two daughters, Emily and Catherine, and I arrive back in Chauffard, Haiti to setup an on-site medical clinic for the residents, many of whom have never seen professional medical practitioners in their lifetimes! Because shipping to Haiti is so problematic, the team hand carries all medical supplies on-board the planes to Haiti. The medical supplies where made possible by the generous donations from St. Michael & St. Peter parishes in Syracuse, NY.

Today:

Our news from Chauffard, Haiti (the epicenter) is mixed. Thankfully, our pastor survived as did our main church, school, and rectory. However, two of our mission churches were totally destroyed, and three were severely damaged. The death toll is unknown yet. We understand there are likely to be many homeless also.

In Port-au-Prince, Matthew 25 House and its resident missionaries are all fine; they are operating an emergency medical clinic and shelter out of the house. Our young interpreters from our November mission are also fine, although one’s home collapsed around her in the quake. She said she felt God carried her outside the house to safety.

I am hoping to go to Chauffard next month to find out more and to adjust plans for how we help them in light of all this. In the meantime, we keep them all in our prayers, and we can send money to meet the incredible need there.

————————
Anyone wishing to contribute to our mission church in Chauffard Haiti may do so by sending checks to: St. Michael & St. Peter Church – Haiti Mission, 4782 W Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY 13215.

Greg Cross

The wisdom of the Church…

tmcnerney — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:46:48 +0000

Can. 1039 All candidates for any order are to make a spiritual retreat for at least five days in a place and manner determined by the ordinary. Before the bishop proceeds to ordination, he must be certain that the candidates properly made this retreat.

The upcoming Canonical Retreat for the 8 men in their final year of diaconate formation and their wives at Christ the King Retreat House, Syracuse, N.Y. confirms the wisdom of the Catholic Church in prescribing, by Canon Law, that all candidates for ordination set time aside.

SUN photo Paul Finch / July 16, 2003

Time to complete a final discernment… time to pray… to laugh… to learn… to enjoy good food and great company. The canonical retreat will be a spirit-filled time in an environment designed to provide space to reflect on four years of growing together and the changes about to occur as each of these couples takes their place in a ministry that is still being defined!

May the Holy Spirit fill their time with a peaceful resolve to serve God’s people and the courage to fully embrace their vocational call.

Welcoming a brother from the south…

tmcnerney — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:54:31 +0000

One of the true “miracles” of modern technology with the Internet underpinning the torrent of data in our lives is the connections we’re able to make with those hundreds… thousands of miles away. And so it is today with Deacon Gayden Harper, our guest contributor from the Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi.

I asked Deacon Harper for a bit of background on himself. He was ordained in July 2006, retired from his work in 2007. He’s been a busy deacon! Director of the Diaconate and Pastoral Pastoral Services for the diocese, while deacon at St. Mary Parish, Deacon Harper is married and up to the many challenges of the Gulf Coast, still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

We welcome his homily on Ephipany Sunday and encourage others to reach out, connect and evangelize!

Dc. Tim McNerney
Diocese of Syracuse

Said the night wind to the little lamb

deacongayden — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:31:29 +0000

The day after Christmas, I was driving across I-10 listening to music (rather than ESPN Radio) when this song came on. I had heard it thousands of times, but all of a sudden I had tears in my eyes and knew there had to be a message in this song and began researching its origins. The night before the Epiphany Vigil, it finally came together.

[Link to Ephiphany Sunday Homily]

Deacon Gayden R. Harper
Diocese of Biloxi

Proclaiming His birth… some musing on Christmas 2009

tmcnerney — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:33:38 +0000

The comfort provided by the liturgical structure of the Roman Catholic Church often surprises me. When our pastor mentioned my reading (or singing) the Proclamation of the Birth of Christ at the Midnight Mass this year, I just considered it another aspect of my liturgical participation as Permanent Deacon. Hmm…

Today, as I gathered everything for tonight’s liturgies, I searched for the proclamation on the web. “USCCB proclamation” in the Google search bar yielded exactly what I needed: the 1994 revised proclamation translation by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops based upon the traditional proclamation in the Roman Martyrology. Here’s a link to the new translation in PDF form: christmasproclamation

As I read over the directives for use and practiced reading it, I was so much at peace… comforted by the simplicity and beauty of the words and confident in its use for tonight’s liturgy. That’s when I backed up to the Google search page on my browser and noticed this page: The Christmas Proclamation, Comparative analysis by Fr. Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. What a thoughtful document! Here’s a PDF of the chart: Christmas Proclamation Analysis

As I reread the new translation and compared it to the older ones, I reflected on the wisdom of the Church: slowly, carefully bringing new life to well-grounded liturgy in a thoughtful manner. Christmas 2009 just became a bit more special!

Putting deacons in their place?

tmcnerney — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:14:42 +0000

Omnium in Mente, “In the Mind of All”, a document written by Pope Benedict XVI in October but released on December 15, 2009 “clarifies” the role of the Permanent Deacon, by updating Canon Law in a new third paragraph, [Canon 1009]. The revision states in part,

…while deacons are enabled to serve the people of God in the diaconate of the liturgy, the word and charity.

According to Zenit and the National Catholic Reporter, the change brings the canon in line with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and clarifies the role of bishops and priests, as distinctly different than permanent deacons. Makes sense? As I read the change, the “while” in the new paragraph has a “line in the sand” quality… a demarc point that doesn’t reflect the balance of the current canon.

What do you think? Here’s a link to the current canons… ORDERS

Waiting in the wings…

tmcnerney — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:04:06 +0000

“Dearly beloved, these, our brothers, standing here today in the presence of the Church are being recommended to us and to you for admission as candidates for Holy Orders.” Bishop Cunningham’s homily to the candidates may have followed the rubric to the “T”, but it carried all the weight the occassion deserved: eight men and their supportive wives, who have been earnestly dedicated to intensive study and formation for the Permanent Diaconate, stepped out from the wings today and proclaimed that they were prepared to “complete their preparation so that in due time through Holy Orders they will be prepared to assume ministry with the Church.”

We congratulate these eight men, called to serve in the Church through their service to the Eucharistic Table, the Word and Acts of Charity. In just six short months, they will stand beside us, as the bishop proclaimed, “Aware of the Lord’s concern for his flock and realizing the needs of the Church, our brothers consider themselves fully ready to respond generously to the call of the Lord.”

Posted by Dc. Tim McNerney at Holy Cross Church, Dewitt, NY

The “holiness” of aging, sickness & dying

tmcnerney — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:43:53 +0000

UPDATE: Continuing Education Weekend – Christ the King Retreat House

Pastoral Care… clergy dealing with all aspects of aging, sickness and the finality of dying. How should we, as Permanent Deacons, approach this most central aspect of our ministry of charity to the communities that we serve?

As Fr. Corey Van Kuren, Chaplain, Wilson Memorial Hospital, explains it, the Christian view of aging, sickness and dying are truly “counter cultural”. We are urged to accept suffering as Jesus did the on the Cross, and instead of denying death’s approach at the end of this life, we are to embrace death as the beginning of eternal life.

“In our delivery of pastoral care, we should be solidly grounded in 3 areas: scripture, theology and faith tradition.” he explains. At the Deacons’ Education Weekend, Ministering to the Sick, the Dying and the Bereaved, Fr. Corey focused especially on scripture: be armed with scripture with a focus on “they”, not “me”.

As compassionate workers bringing comfort to those in need, we must focus first on who we are comforting: do we know their family, their circumstances, their needs. Our preparation, that is focused on ourselves is secondary.

God Is Already Present

It’s too easy to forget that God is already present to the aging, sick or dying. As Fr. Corey noted, “God gets up before us and speaks to those in need.” As ministers, we must acknowledge His presence and rely on His help; we must call on Him and let Him know that we are open to Him.

ACCESS THE ENTIRE PRESENTATION

Posted by Dc. Tim McNerney at Christ the King Retreat House