By Ana Rodriguez Soto - Florida Catholic newspaper

MIAMI — Between them, they have 58 children and 29 grandchildren. They represent 15 archdiocesan parishes and hail from 10 different countries. Among them are two lawyers and one doctor, a social worker and a chaplain, an engineer and a chemist, a general contractor and several businessmen.

Combined, they formed the largest class of permanent deacons to be ordained for the Archdiocese of Miami, a total of 20 men who from now on, aside from their duties to their spouses, children and work places, will devote themselves to serving the people of God in south Florida.

It is that calling to service that Archbishop Thomas Wenski stressed before ordaining them Dec. 4 before a cathedral full of their families, friends and fellow parishioners.

“Your diakonia or service is threefold: service of the Word, service of the Eucharist, and service of the poor,” the archbishop said.

He reminded them that service of the Word means preaching the Gospel which is “the Word of God, not our own … without compromise, without accommodation, hesitation or fear.”

Service of the Eucharist means assisting the priest at Mass in a way that helps underscore the “sacredness” of the sacrament and the fact that “in this Holy Sacrifice we meet our Lord and Redeemer.”

But above all, Archbishop Wenski said, as described in the very origins of the diaconate, deacons have a special responsibility to identify to the Church those who are voiceless, in need and at the margins of society.

“Among such people, the deacon is to speak about Christ and to offer them the Church’s varied assistance,” the archbishop said. “In the Church, the deacon is to speak about the needy, to articulate their needs and to inspire and mobilize the Catholic community’s response.”

He urged them to imitate that early deacon of Rome, St. Lawrence, who when ordered by the pagan emperor to hand over the treasures of the Church, gathered together the poor and sick and said: “This is the treasure of the Church.”

“Through the ministry of her deacons, the Church can make herself present to the world of need and pain that too often remains invisible to us within the walls our normal parish life,” Archbishop Wenski said. “You must continually remind us that there, among the needy and the marginalized, lies the true treasure of the Church.”

Permanent deacons are members of the clergy who may proclaim the Gospel, preach the homily, assist the priest at Mass, administer baptism, distribute Holy Communion, preside over funeral and burial services, act as official witnesses at weddings and exercise certain ecclesiastical offices.

Permanent deacons may not, however, celebrate the Mass or consecrate the Eucharist, hear confessions or administer the sacrament of the sick. If they are not married at the time of ordination, they make an additional vow of celibacy.

Because most of them are married men, “marriage is their first vocation,” said Deacon Victor Pimentel, director of the archdiocesan office for the permanent diaconate.

He noted that, aside from being the largest group ever ordained in the archdiocese, this is also the first class of deacons to go through the entire five-year formation program called for by the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, which took effect in January 2005.

The process now includes a year of aspirancy, similar to the novitiate in religious orders, and four years of study known as the candidacy period.

Joseph Maalouf, the only one of the new deacons who is not married, said it took him “nine years of prayers” before he even applied for the program. After that came five years of studies, on Saturdays and Wednesday nights, at both the major seminary in Boynton Beach and St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami.

“The Lord kept calling me and I finally said ‘yes,’” said Deacon Maalouf, a native of Lebanon and parishioner at St. John Neumann Church in Kendall who works as a body shop manager for Toyota of South Florida.

Deacon Maalouf said he looks forward to working with the sick because “I see the pain and I see the need, especially with the children. I experienced that with my godson and I feel the Lord is calling me to help there.”

Marisela Kelly, wife of Deacon Edgar Kelly, said her husband’s decision was “a pleasant surprise.”

The Kellys, who have four children, are members of St. Brendan Parish in Westchester. He works as a technology manager for a bank and is a native of Nicaragua.

“They never imagined that their dad had a vocation as a deacon,” Marisela Kelly said.

She noted that the past five years of preparation “have been pretty tough” but said her husband’s new responsibilities “will be a blessing for all of us. We have always been very involved in the church, so that part hasn’t changed.”

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