Priests are a witness to the person of Jesus Christ. This is a challenge to many people, including priests, who must demonstrate this commitment publicly, especially in difficult times. It is hard to answer this question exactly, because the focus of a priest’s life is to serve whomever God brings into his life. This requires a certain openness to the unexpected. As representatives of Christ, priests are called to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, care for the souls of the faithful, teach the faith, pray, serve the poor. Priests in our diocese serve in parishes, hospitals, prisons, college campuses and the military, to name a few. One thing is for sure, it’s never boring and often unpredictable!
Interested in learning more about the priesthood? Talk with Fr. Mitch (Fr.Mitchell.Zygadlo@dor.org) or reach out to Fr. Matthew Jones (Fr.Matthew.Jones@dor.org) or Fr. Peter VanLieshout (Fr.Peter.Vanlieshout@dor.org), co-directors of Priesthood Vocation Awareness at the Diocese of Rochester.
The Vocations Awareness Team is honored to collaborate with the Catholic Courier on a new video series “Called to Priesthood: Priestly Life and Ministry in the Diocese of Rochester,” created and produced by the Catholic Courier in association with the diocese’s Priesthood Vocations Awareness Team is off to a strong start. The first three videos have received over 2,100 combined views on YouTube to date. The videos along with other vocations links and resources can all be found on the Courier’s website at https://catholiccourier.com/
New videos in the series will be shared on that page and on the Courier’s YouTube channel Fridays through April 28, ahead of the 60th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 30. On Friday afternoons, look for social media posts highlighting each new video on the Catholic Courier’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
The deacon is a man of faith, who is called from the community that already recognizes his dedication to service. He makes a lifetime commitment to serving the People of God by proclaiming the Word, assisting and presiding at liturgies, and ministering in the areas of charity and social justice. A deacon gives witness to his availability to the community by addressing present and emerging needs of the Church.
The Diocese is inviting interested men of strong and active faith, who can demonstrate a record of service in the communities in which they live, work and worship, who may wish to explore a possible call to ordained ministry as a permanent deacon, to first speak with their pastor for an initial conversation. They may also contact Deacon Edward Giblin, Director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate, at edward.giblin@dor.org, for additional information.
A potential candidate must: