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Tools of Grace
1 week ago Amy Comments Off on Tools of Grace
By Deacon Dale Phillips The scent of sawdust and a hammer’s heft in my grasp have always been my familiar friends. These basic tools taught me deep lessons about service, patience, and the value of hands-on work long before I knelt for the bishop to ordain me as a deacon. Back then, I didn’t know Read More
Deacon: Just Show Up
3 weeks ago Amy Comments Off on Deacon: Just Show Up
By Deacon Matthew Newsome In the summer of 2025, I attended the annual conference of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA), hosted that year by Notre Dame University. I was blessed to assist at Mass each day of the conference, ministering at the altar alongside Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend; Archbishop Bernard Hebda Read More
The Incarnation, Resurrection, and Human Perfection
3 weeks ago Amy Comments Off on The Incarnation, Resurrection, and Human Perfection
By Katrina J. Zeno, MTS This three-word statement constitutes the original proclamation of the Good News by the infant Church. It was, however, such impossibly Good News that the disciples refused to believe it. Yet once their eyes were opened by seeing the Risen Christ and experiencing His resurrected body, everything changed: Jesus truly is Read More
The Father of Catechesis
1 month ago Amy Comments Off on The Father of Catechesis
By Deacon Bob Rice, Ph.D. Pope Leo XIV has referred to himself as a “son of Augustine.” Though his pontificate is less than a year old and he has not yet produced a significant writing to articulate a “mission statement” for his papacy, one can see a clear Augustinian foundation in what he has said Read More
Reparation and the Diaconal Heart
1 month ago Amy Comments Off on Reparation and the Diaconal Heart
By Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Ph.D. In 1917, amid the devastation of the First World War and the quiet suffering of a rural Portuguese countryside, heaven intervened with a message both urgent and tender. At Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children not to introduce a novelty, but to recall the Church to Read More
Pope Leo XIV and Deacons
2 months ago Amy Comments Off on Pope Leo XIV and Deacons
By Deacon William T. Ditewig, Ph.D. Dear Holy Father, Congratulations on your election as Supreme Pontiff and your generous acceptance of the responsibilities associated with serving both as the Bishop of Rome and the successor to St. Peter. Be assured of our constant prayers for you. (On a personal note, as a fellow American, also Read More
Pope Leo XIV and His Emerging Instruction in Clery Formation
2 months ago Amy Comments Off on Pope Leo XIV and His Emerging Instruction in Clery Formation
By Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. In an early address in his pontificate to the clergy of Rome1, Pope Leo XIV invited priests and deacons to consider three themes within which to anchor their vocations. These three themes give us an insight into how Pope Leo may secure his own vocation in Holy Orders, as well Read More
Dear Readers: A Special Message
2 months ago Amy Comments Off on Dear Readers: A Special Message
It is with great anticipation and joy that NADD, The National Association of Diaconate Directors, has taken on the responsibility of publishing The Deacon magazine. For those who don’t know, NADD has been around since 1980. The sole purpose of NADD is to bring together the Diocesan Directors of the Diaconate and Diaconate Formation to Read More