I’m going to post this homily – and try and post mine on a more regular basis now (once you get to far behind it’s tough to try and catch up. Easiest thing to do is make a resolution to do better, and pick a new begninning point.)

My wife is very sparse with her comments and compliments on my homilies – she knows it could lead to me getting a big head about it sometimes so her caution is actually a good thing – but this one she said was my very best ever – which surprised me but gave me the impetus to decide this was the place to go for a new beginning.

It’s about the Church as Family – I took from His Awesomeness Archbiship Dolan of New York and I hope – as I said in the homily – he will forgive me for using his words for the very best of reasons (and that I gave him credit as the original author shouldn’t hurt either I hope.)

As always – comment is invited.

HOMILY - 

Christmas Vigil – 2010 – The Church As Family

Is 62:1-5, Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29, Acts 13:16-17, 22-25, Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25

First of all, I would like to welcome all of our family, friends, visitors and guests here tonight – a Merry Christmas to everyone indeed and praised be Jesus Christ, both now and forever!

Tonight, I want to talk about one thing and one thing only.

It is one of the main dimensions of the Gospel Passage which I just proclaimed – and I think it is actually the PERFECT subject to talk about at Christmas time.

In a word – it’s FAMILY.

We just heard about Jesus’ family – 14 generations times three from Abraham to Joseph.

Matthew, you see, was “tying” Jesus by an unbreakable thread to the Jewish heritage of Joseph – and of all of those who came before him – stretching back through history as one solid line of ancestry – in other words, one solid line of FAMILY.

I’m betting a bunch of you tonight are here with your families – some from out of town, perhaps, and I hope we will all find lots of time to spend with them this holiday season.

I DO want to remind you all though – PLEASE remember those who have little or no families at this time of the year – especially those who might be here with us tonight or those whom we might know who fall into that category.  

A little special attention in that area is EXACTLY what Jesus would do – and so of course, should we.

You see – as Catholics – we, quite simply, can’t do anything LESS.

We understand FAMILY here because the Church VERY MUCH IS our family!

We all have our natural families – but we all also have our SUPERNATURAL FAMILY too – the Church!

Just like Jesus himself was both FULLY HUMAN and FULLY DIVINE at the same time – we are ALL a part of both NATURAL and SUPERNATURAL FAMILIES simultaneously.

I must admit that I didn’t come up with this on my own. Not long ago I heard a speech by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan – HIS AWESOMENESS Himself – which he gave at the Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Los Angeles back in September – a priest friend of mine sent me the link – and I swear that I now think that what he said has changed me forever!

I want to let you know right up front that I plan to steal LIBERALLY and SHAMELESSLY from that speech tonight – and I trust and pray for Archbishop Dolan’s understanding and forgiveness on that account.

I expect that he will be fine with it, you know, for I am POSITIVE that he wants this message SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

Archbishop Dolan has essentially created what he called a NEW MODEL of CHURCH – the MODEL of the Church as FAMILY!

The CHURCH is our FAMILY!

That is why we are called back to Her time and time again – ESPECIALLY at Christmas just like we are with our natural families!

We want to be HOME! We long to be once again with our FATHER and our MOTHER!

No matter how young or old we are – we still crave to be with God Our Father and our Hoy Mother the Church!

And here we are tonight – we are HOME!

And yes, it sure feels good – no matter if we’re here every week, or are just back after many years!

You see, for so many of us cradle Catholics – whether we are active in our faith or not – Catholicism is in our DNA, it’s in our bones, and it’s in our genes and it’s part of the air we breathe.

And for those who converted into the faith – I suspect that it was that quality which at least in part helped led them to their conversion in the first place – am I right all you converts out there?

Actually, I think that CONVERTS tend to understand what I’m talking about here FAR BETTER than those of us born into the Faith!

For instance – my dad was the oldest of 11 kids – 2 boys, 9 girls and yes my dear grandmother will be 99 next June.

As regards my generation, there are 27 of us grandchildren – I’m the second oldest – and most of us are either married now or very likely soon will be – and yes, the number of great-grandchildren keeps changing now so fast it’s almost impossible to keep up!

Yeah – you think YOUR house is crowded on Christmas! Be fruitful and multiply indeed!

My Dad actually lost track of his nieces and nephews after about 12 or so – he would have to ask them which sister they belonged to in order to sort of keep things straight after that!

Yeah, ask any of the wonderful guys or gals who married any of my siblings or cousins – especially MY dear wife, of course, who got into this just a little over 20 years ago – if you REALLY want to know what a BOWLING is like – just marry one!

Yeah, with us Bowlings you kind of need a score card. We even joke that if any potential spouse can keep track of all the cousins and cousins-in-laws halfway decently – they’re definitely a keeper!

I’m telling you – it’s those IN-LAWS – those who CHOSE the FAMILY for themselves – who know it best of all!

YES – as it is with our natural families – also it is with the Church.

Catholicism is taught, yes, but more than that it’s caught, said Archbishop Dolan!

So yeah, we’re all connected to our spiritual family – and yes, we might occasionally drift away from it, as we sometimes do with our natural families, no?  

Often times we don’t really mean to, it just kind of happens, right? Especially when there’s tons and tons of relatives.

Staying CONNECTED requires serious WORK, doesn’t it?

And yes, we might even get mad sometimes at our supernatural family just as we do with our natural family.

At times we might be scandalized or shocked or angered by our spiritual family, the Church, just as we are by our natural family.

Because, yes, our supernatural family is not always perfect anymore than our natural one is – they are both made up of flawed human beings aren’t they?

I’d like to think that in BOTH families everyone really works hard to try and get it right – and also I hope that they work real hard at saying they’re sorry and trying and make amends – even when it’s tough.

But even when things are not as we might wish, we’re STILL proud of our family – we STILL love her and being a part OF her.

We STILL heartily appreciate the wisdom that our family passed on to us – we WANT to BE THERE with our families – both natural and supernatural – at Christmas and Easter and all of the PIVOTAL moments of life – like birth and marriage and death.

We see the value of being at our family meal on both Christmas and on Sunday – whether it be the Holy Eucharist or around our family table.

And sooner or later we realize that we’re stuck with that family last name – be it Catholic – or Bowling – or your own – and the older we get, the more we cherish it and appreciate it.

So you see the Church is not JUST an institution . . .

It’s not JUST a clearly defined set of creedal and moral convictions . . .

It’s not JUST a great agent of charity and education . . .

It’s not just a great place to pray and worship, all of those are essential, but it’s also my spiritual home and my family!

And it is yours too!

So I say thank you once again to Archbishop Dolan – and a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!

BUT mostly importantly WELCOME HOME!

Go there. Read. I had a great post written about what being a deacon means, can mean and must mean to us and the Church. It really was a good piece of writing. I was even going to bring in Dignitatis Humane Personae, the declaration on religious freedom, because it speaks about the dignity of the human person right from the start. And the dignity of the human person is so imporant to all the faithful, but especially a deaon I believe.

Anyway, lost the post contents. Too depressed to re-attempt it right now.

Well, I obviously couldn’t let that pass, now could I? Go here to read my response to poster Moon1234 over there.

I list 3 main reasons I see for the decline in the number of priestly vocations, though they are by no means the only or probably even the most important. Please let me know here what you think about my reasoning.

Heck, one wife was praying to the Lord before they got together and the Lord literally said to her, “Help Jerry become a deacon.” Bear in mind that this woman was a casual acquaintance of her future husband at the time and had no idea he was considering the Diaconate. Surprisingly we also have several couples where one or more of the spouses have been divorced. 

And we seem to be a bunch of smart-asses too. Not in a bad way so much as we seem to be a group who can be irreverent about ourselves.

The day started with lots of good continental style breakfast food and lunch was also awesome. Very good job there. We got to meet our companion couple who are from the 2008 class about to be ordained in three weeks and the Deacon Office staff, which consists of Deacon Bob and his admin, Debbie. We also had another couple from that class come in and give a quick talk on things to expect.

We watched a one hour talk by Fr. Richard Rohr, apparently from a couple of years before he went deep into the enneagram, eco-spirituality and other highly questionable stuff. I thought he had a few moments that I disagreed with strongly. For instance he bemoaned and strongly lamented the rise of what I would call the orthodoxy and orthorpraxy oriented folks. On the other hand he did have some great points about ministry and why one does it. While I wouldn’t seek his stuff out as a general rule, it was a great talk in that respect.

After that great lunch (and a trip outside to warm up) we briefly told our stories about how we got there. That’s where we found out that we may be in for a ride with this group. Finally we got some books. A copy of the Catechism which goes to Mrs. Fric as I already had one, Bokenkotter’s Brief History of the Catholic Church, Keaton’s Deacon Reader and the transcription of Fr. Rohr’s talk I mentioned and the two follow-ups at that same conference.

Lot’s of stuff to mull over certainly. Didn’t seem to be anyone who was outwardly problematic in their approach to the Church. One woman mentioned she wanted to be a priest when she was young before she knew better. One woman seemed a little vague in a way that made me wonder how much of Church teaching she believes. Other than that (and that is hardly worth mentioning so far), the group seems solid.

I think there will be a lot of great friendships developed here. Really looking forward to the next four years.

Oh yeah. Retreat weekend is next week at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. Been there once for a self-directed retreat day with some friends. Awesome place. Can’t wait.

We met with Archbishop Kurtz yesterday afternoon for a little less than 45 minutes total. He is an extremely gracious and engaging man. We truly enjoyed our talk with him. For some reason he didn’t have our packet with all the information on what steps we had completed, results, etc. So we just spent some time telling him about ourselves and our family. We segued into marriage and family issues and NFP and living out our faith daily. It was a fascinating talk.

Archbishop Kurtz is on two committees dealing with marriage and family/life issues and he is quite passionate about these subjects. We seemed to really connect while talking about these issues. He saw our own passion for these things and told us he could easily see our ministry taking place in these areas.

Surprisingly we didn’t really talk about things like why I wanted to be a deacon or what I expected to get out of it or put into it. I presume he puts his trust in the process that we have been vetted pretty well so far. I think he got a pretty good sense of us in the time we spent with him. As did we of him.

So, now we begin our first year, the aspirancy year, of the diaconate formation process. Four years of classes and studying. God willing, I will be ordained to the Diaconate in August 2012.

We had the psych test done way back in February. Mrs. Fric finished it in 3 hours. Took me another hour on top of that. Some of it was really odd. Some of it was relatively obvious. Weird parts were the questions like “Would you like to be a florist?” and “If you were an artist, would you like to draw flowers?” Haven’t figured out what flowers signify, but I answered no to both.

There was an intelligence test and various types of evaluations and a personal interview with the psychologist. Mostly OK. I was still nervous, knowing that this one man could interpret the results in a negative way and I’m done.

Results were to take several weeks in the end. On the day we were to go for our results, the office called and rescheduled for the following week. Had to pause to keep myself from swearing, but I figured that God wanted me to practice patience. So I decided to take it all as no big thing. After all, what was another week?

When I got home, there was a letter waiting from the Office of the Diaconate. That was surprising. Figured it was about the psych profile, but I had thought the results weren’t sent to them until after we got to review them. I opened the envelope with some serious trepidation. I figured if any one stage would knock us out, it would be this one.

Lo and behold! We passed and would be meeting with the Archbishop! Whew! I have to say that at that point the weight of uncertainty lifted from my shoulders. It seemed like the whole thing was a weight I hadn’t realized yet. We still had to go over the results with the pysychologist which was a little disconcerting at the same time it was nothing to worry about. We knew we were in, but honestly, the results left me wondering how I passed. I see how Mrs. Fric passed, but me? I probably wouldn’t have let me in which is also illustrates the point about how I tend to be harder on myself than others.

So, we finally have our appointment with Archbishop Kurtz this Friday, April 11. This is the last step. While technically possible, it’s rare to get to see the Archbishop and not get into the program. After all they don’t want to waste his time. That’s why you go through this long process. So keep praying. I am sure I am creative enough to screw up.

God willing, I will start classes on July 19th, 2008 and be ordained some time in late August of 2012.

The Perceiver Interview was done about a week or two after the last post in early October on a Wednesday. I met with Deacon Gerry at his parish and had a wonderful interview. He told me going in that he would just ask the questions and not comment, except to prod me to stop if I were pummelling an expired equine as it were. By the end of the interview he was making positive comments and really seemed positive about the whole process.

As we were walking out, I asked how long the decision process took and he said about 2 weeks or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I said I was mainly trying to gauge when to start getting nervous, as I was trying to take the whole process one step at a time. He then proceeded to tell me that I didn’t have anything to worry about.

That was certainly encouraging to say the least.

So, Mrs. Fric and I go to a Marriage Encounter Weekend not thinking much about the results yet. However, when we got back Sunday afternoon, a letter from the Diaconate Office was waiting for us. I had made it into the next round and enclosed was my full application. That was really FAST.

Unfortunately, I sat on the application for about 6 weeks. I had filled out part of it and was kind of wondering what to put in the biography. Really I fretted over it quite a bit. I had finally resolved to get it done no matter what the coming weekend. Mrs. Fric had already given me her part and I had no excuse. Oddly enough, Deacon Bob emailed me the next day asking me when he could expect the application as he wanted to get me scheduled for the home interview and psych evaluation as soon as possible before the rush of last minute apps happened.

OK. He was already planning on getting me that far? Cool! Still, I was nervous about the app. I actually wrote 3 and a half pages for my bio and upon advice from fellow Maniac, Deacon (who will finally be ordained into the Diaconate August 23, 2008), cut it down by half.

 So, I get it in the mail on Monday and by the end of the week I have my response. I have been moved on to the next stage, the home interview. This is early/mid December at this point. I figure we will hear from the Deacon couple after Christmas most likely. I was kind of getting anxious when we were into January before I got their call. I was literally going to call Deacon Bob about it the next day when I got the call and set the appointment.

The Deacon couple plus the lay representative on the Selection Committee came over and talked with us for about an hour, less time than I though they would. Normally they separate the applicant couple and talk about the commitment and make sure both are on the same page. They actually skipped this for us since Mrs. Fric is the one who initiated this process. She was the one who decided it was time and pushed me along into doing it now instead of later.

The interview went very well I though and Deacon Dave even said he didn’t think some things that are common with converts (ministry formation and religious formation) would be an issue. Apparently some applicants are so new that they still have Protestant things to unlearn. Since pretty much all my religious formation has truly been Catholic, I have no ingrained habits to unlearn. This is all on this past Wednesday evening.

Yesterday the letter came  in the mail, much like after the Perceiver Interview. I have been moved on to the next and pretty much last step, the psychological profile. This, like the Home Interview, is done as a couple. As I understand it, we take a 500+ question survey and have a personal interview with the psychologist separately. Then we go back for the results. Hopefully we will get this scheduled quickly. According to the other couple in my parish that has already been accepted, it’s about 3 weeks to get the results.

Presuming we make it past this step, all that would be left is the formal meeting with our Archbishop where he says “I accept you” which makes it official. They say that this meeting is largely a formality. No one can recall of hearing someone getting to the Archbishop and not getting in. Rarely do couples get to the psych profile and not make it too. I still am going to take it one step at a time, though I can nearly taste it, I am so close!

So, we are almost there. It’s been very interesting how we’ve been getting subtle hints that we are on track and seem to be expected to make it in. For the last month or more, I have been getting the emails that go out to the Deacon Community. Those of us in process currently also got the schedule for the next year from Deacon Bob. He prefaced it saying he wanted all of us to get ready schedule wise as he expected everyone receiving the schedule to make it in.

I am excited to no end. The more and more I think about it and what it means for me, it seems right and true that this is His Will for me and us as a family. And I sincerely pray that if it isn’t, I realize that and let it go. I’d be disappointed of course, but many of the things I can offer the Church, I can offer as a lay person. Not all, as I believe I am well suited to the preaching and teaching aspect of the ministry.

No matter what, all I want to do is serve Him.

Inching closer and closer. I can tell it’s getting more and more real to me. I noticed I started referring to the program saying “we” as if I was already in it.

Keep praying, please.

I have to say I was a little nervous about opening the letter. After all, who knows what could happen? I could have written something the rubbed someone the wrong way. There could be any number of reasons.

I immediately slid my finger down the envelope flap and pulled the letter out. I paused a little moment before unfolding it and I think I may have taken a small breath and held it. I flipped open the top fold of the letter and scanned it quickly for the way which it was to go.

I passed!

I passed the eligibility phase and have been passed on to the perceiver interview phase of the process. I’ll get a call from Deacon Gerry soon to setup an interview time and place. We’ll meet in person, one on one. After that, if I pass that phase, will come the written application and later the psych evaluation.

I breathe a sigh of relief, to be sure, that step one is out of the way. For some reason, this seems to make it all the more real that I could be admitted to the program as a member of the Class of 2012. The hardest parts are still to come, but I’m a step closer and it’s more concrete.

Pray for my eventual admission to the Class of 2012 Diaconate Program in my Archdiocese.

 So, now I wait. Another gentleman at my parish is also in the process, though he’s farther along, having submitted his app some weeks back. He said the turnaround was very quick. Days, usually between finishing one step and moving on to the next. Deacon Bob said up to two weeks to get my eligibility processed.

Please pray for me as I go through this process. God willing, I will be accepted and make it through the 4 year program. Ordination to the Diaconate would be in 2012.