A radio listener calls on his 50th birthday in need of some special Fatherly Advice: “I was born and raised Lutheran, but I [married a Catholic woman, and] over the years was going to Catholic Church, [so] I took RCIA, and as of Easter a couple of years ago, I joined the Catholic faith. … As I finished up RCIA, I was really fired up to keep going, so I took some other classes through the diocese around pastoral ministry and things like that. In the last month, I’ve had my RCIA teacher and another friend from our parish asked me if I had ever thought about the diaconate. And then my daughter, who’s 10, looked at me and said, ‘Have you ever thought about being one of those deacon guys?’ So, [I couldn’t help wondering], is that God [trying to tell me something]? So, my question to you is if somebody was thinking about [a vocation], what would be your advice, what questions would you ask, and things like that?”
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Father Dave dives in: “One of the things I heard you say is, ‘I think I might be experiencing a call to the diaconate — is that God?’ Well, I’m pretty sure it’s not the devil calling you to the diaconate. I suppose the nuance of that would be, ‘Is this kind of a selfish motivation or something like that?’ But certainly, anything that we experience in our life that is in harmony with what we see of God in the Scriptures and in tradition, then we can be more confident that that voice is God. [If you think], ‘Huh. Is that God telling me to rob that bank?’ [that doesn’t align with how we understand God, but if you’re asking yourself], ‘Is God telling me to help that homeless person?’ then it’s probably God! If your 10-year-old daughter is saying, ‘Daddy, you could be a good deacon,’ then I’m pretty sure that’s God speaking through that.”
In terms of the advice for discerning a vocation to the diaconate, Father Dave has this to say: “An important piece for you now is listening to God in prayer. … We know that God speaks in the Scriptures. We know that we encounter God in the sacraments. … It might now be a time, as [you discern], to be more intentional [in] creating the atmosphere or the opportunity to have a face-to-face with God. … Another piece would be, particularly when you’re considering a role of service — and the diaconate is the ultimate role of service — [interaction with] other people. [So you may want to explore] this notion with — beyond your 10-year-old — other people that know you in an adult way and know your skillset and would be honest with you.” (Original Air 08-09-17)
