The night shall be as bright as day

"Vigilia Pascual en tiempos de coronavirus" Photo by Yandry Fernández Perdomo, La Habana, Cuba. on cathopic.com

What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through these Holy Days, as you draw near to Jesus and seek the grace to practice resurrection?

If you are in a parish with a deacon serving the community, I’d invite you to notice the role the deacon plays throughout the Triduum. As you draw your eye to the liturgical ministry of a deacon, what does it signify about the role of the deacon for the Church? How does the embodied, liturgical service of the deacon invite the whole of the gathered assembly to enter in and participate in the paschal mystery we proclaim in a particular way over these holy days?

Finally – I want to share one of my favorite pieces of writing about Catholicism, it is Mary Margaret Alvadro’s account of a particularly apocalyptic Holy Thursday service and the ways Catholic women are the ones to follow through the storm… This gorgeous, brief essay is one I return to frequently for reminders about what it is I love about Holy Week and the tradition of faith that carries us forward.

With peace and prayers,

Casey

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Endorser

“I have worked alongside many lay and religious women in my ministry who have exhibited outstanding ability for ministry. Many have taught me by their example how to be a more effective minister, and by their instruction, helped me to grow in this role…It’s time that the Church gets in step with society and recognizes the equality of women in the workplace. Women are as capable as men in the work of ministry, and have demonstrated the same equality in scholarship, skills and education as men.”

Fr. Joseph A. Genito, O.S.A

Pastor, St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Philadelphia, PA

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Witness

“If there were women deacons in my parish, lay women would relate in a deep and meaningful way to deacons who look, act, speak and feel more like themselves…Though I am an unlikely choice to wear the alb and stole, I have a deep commitment to service in Christ’s name and I try to live it every day. Any need that arises, I am ready to shoulder it, though some needs of our sisters and brothers would be well- or better-served by a woman’s different compassion.”

Deacon Bill Zapcic

Parish Deacon and Homilist, Retired Journalist, Tinton Falls, NJ

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Endorser

“Not only is ordaining women as deacons a restoration of the dynamism of the early Church, it is a matter of justice!”

Fr. Stephen P Newton, CSC

Executive Director, Association of US Catholic Priests, Notre Dame, IN

The night shall be as bright as day

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