Sacred Heart celebrates ordination of two new deacons
Matthew Martel and Michael Maynard, Sacred Heart’s new deacons. A full gallery of images can be found below!
On a sun-kissed Saturday in early Advent, a pair of longtime, faithful members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church officially became two of the “chosen men” to give their gifts of service to God, the Peoria Diocese, and their home parish.
In a moving but solemn ceremony on December 3, at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Peoria, Michael Maynard and Matthew Martel were ordained as Sacred Heart’s new deacons. It is a role the pair have been preparing for the past six long years. They were among 20 men across the Diocese whose devotion and commitment to the Lord and the Church culminated in their Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate.
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a permanent deacon is one who is not planning to be an ordained priest.
Inside the historic church, hundreds of family members, friends, and devout Catholics gathered for the ordination, which also involved dozens of religious and lay church leaders from across the state. The crowd came to show their love, respect, and gratitude for the Class of 2022. The celebration – with all the pomp and circumstance due to such a momentous milestone in their lives – was led by Bishop Louis Tylka. Also in attendance was Bishop Daniel Jenky.
The joyful noise of the cathedral’s choir and boisterous sounds of musical instruments spilled out from the balcony as the candidates and their spouses ceremoniously filed into the church. The men, many flanked by their wives, were joined by their parish priests, other clergy and religious, as well as the men who before them had accepted the call of the Diaconate. Their wives were repeatedly acknowledged for the supporting and critical role they filled.
During the ceremony, all 20 candidates – dressed in their white albs and cincture (rope belt) – were presented by Monsignor Tim Nolan, Episcopal Vicar for the Permanent Diaconate. He read the names of all 20 candidates aloud before their formal vesting. Each candidate chose a priest or deacon to do the vesting part of the ceremony, during which the men received their stole signifying their office as a deacon.
In addition to Sacred Heart’s Mike Maynard and Matt Martel, the 2022 class included: Jeffrey Brady, Michael Burge, Mark Bursott, Terry Dixon, Thomas Dwyer, Daniel Fandel, Richard Flavin, Daniel Froelich, Kevin Hernandez, John Louie, Marco Martinez, Thomas Mattan, Troy Morris, Brian Reynolds, David Schug, Curtis Theyse, Robert Thoene, and Raymond White.
“Most Reverend Father, holy mother church asks you to ordain these men, our brothers, to the responsibility of the Diaconate,” Monsignor Nolan said.
“Relying on the help of the Lord God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, we choose these our brothers for the Order of the Diaconate,” Bishop Tylka said followed by the crowd’s response of “Thanks be to God.”
The Bishop noted, “How fitting is it that we gather in the season of Advent to witness the ordained, a season characterized by the formation and preparation for the great joy… coming into our lives.”
“I tell you, it is not the culmination of what has been. It is the beginning of what is to come and you will now go back … and order your life in a way to serve,” he told the devoted.
As deacons, “you will assist your bishop and his priests in ministries of proclaiming and preaching the word of God…,” he added. “None of us can do it ourselves. Not the Bishops, the priests, the deacons, the religious, and all the lay people. It is essential we work together…”
Bishop Tylka told the chosen men: “Today is a day of joy. I and the church are most grateful for you and your families who have supported you in this vocation…”
He said their families now share them with the church. “They have given much to you and the church. I’m sure there is joy in their hearts as they see you ordained.”
According to the Catholic Post, the Diocesan newspaper, 18 of the 20 new deacons are married and their wives have been by their side throughout the formation process attending monthly Diaconate weekend training which stretched from the traditional five years into six years. Their wives not only grew spiritually but also learned what the church now expects of their husbands.
This class, the Diocese’s 11th class of permanent deacons, originally was to be ordained last May. But the five-year process was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in part, due to various governmental restrictions on gathering in person.
But pandemic-fueled lessons learned not only by the new deacons but also by the Diocese and churches – including the power of Zoom, Facebook and YouTube in church participation – also helped more Catholics share in the December 3rd ordination. With space constraints making the event invitation-only, others enjoyed it from afar via the Diocese’s YouTube page, which livestreamed it. Sacred Heart, like many area churches, held live viewing parties back home for parishioners to gather and watch the ordination.
In their first year after ordination, new deacons traditionally serve in their own faith communities. In fact, Mike Maynard and Matt Martel were back in their home parish on Sunday, December 4th, to assist Father Mark DeSutter and Father Matthew Cole in celebrating the 11:00 a.m. Mass. They were honored with a parish luncheon at Culemans Fellowship Hall following Mass.
During the Mass at Sacred Heart, Fr. Mark called Mike and Matt’s ordination as deacons another big event at the church, but added “The challenge of these two men is big as well.”
Recalling how, upon his arrival to Sacred Heart nine years ago, he learned the church’s deacon at the time was making plans to retire, Fr. Mark said the process began immediately to search for new deacon candidates. “Through all this process that we’re celebrating now, it started nine years ago. Talk about being patient. Nine years,” he said.
After describing the time, sacrifices, and work that faced the pair in getting to this day, Fr. Mark said the deacons “have a lot of challenges that are awaiting them.”
“They had to expend their own resources for this ministry in which they wanted to participate. They had to ask their families to make adjustments in their lives so they could do this process, it’s a huge commitment,” he said, encouraging a round of applause for Mike’s wife, Denise Maynard.
“One big challenge is to try to understand what is happening to them… All these years preparing for the Diaconate, that might have not been lauded every step of the way. Most of the time they were preparing, they were doing so in a spiritual way,“ he added. “Matt and Mike, you have kind of moved from obscurity to a public role in the church today. That’s a huge step.”
The photos below show the ordination of our new deacons on December 3rd, and were kindly provided by the Catholic Post. Click any image to see a larger version!
