Bishop LaValley's Homily at the 2025 Diaconate Ordination

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 Bishop LaValley's Homily at the 2025 Diaconate Ordination

My sisters and brothers, in just a few moments, you will hear me pray these words to our Heavenly Father:

“In the first days of your Church, your Son’s apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, appointed seven men of good repute to help them in the daily ministry, so that they might devote themselves more fully to prayer and the preaching of the Word.”

Today, our appointed men are Gordy, JB, Jimmy, Frank, Gary, Gary, and Nick.

Now, that’s only six names—so who is the seventh?

In the Bible, the number seven appears more than 700 times. It is a symbol of completeness, perfection, and divine order. So where is our “plus one” today? Who completes the number?

Brothers, your “seventh” is no mystery at all. He will be your constant companion, your friend, your teacher. He is your priest, prophet, king, and Savior—Jesus Christ.

Without Him, your diaconal ministry will be incomplete—lacking divine order. Without His presence, your service risks becoming only an appearance of ministry, a façade. But with Him, your work will be authentic, life-giving, and holy.

The ordination prayer asks that the deacon “remain firm and steadfast in Christ,” imitating the Son of God who came “not to be served but to serve,” so that he may one day serve with Christ in heaven.

The Christian life is all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship must motivate and energize all our service to others. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

From that intimate relationship with Christ—nurtured and cherished—we are empowered to take up the psalmist’s refrain: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. The underlying plea of every Christian’s prayer should be: Draw near, dear Jesus. Draw near.

So, brothers in Christ, tend to that relationship every day of your lives:

  • Through your faithful praying of the Liturgy of the Hours.

  • Through personal time before the Blessed Sacrament.

  • Through regular reflection on Sacred Scripture.

  • Through deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.

  • Through your service at the Eucharistic altar.

  • Through your outreach to the hurting and the poor.

Do these, and you will never be without Christ.

Just as Jesus Himself has done, so must you do. Each of you is charged with keeping this ordination class of 2025—this Jubilee Year of Hope—intact, complete, and divinely ordered. Experience His constant presence and rely on the risen Christ as you meet challenges in life and ministry.

Keep Jesus Christ ever close, and your manner of life will inspire God’s holy people and be a true beacon of hope. In a world searching for a reason to hope, let the light of Christ shine through your ministry, so that those you meet may encounter His presence and experience the joy of the Gospel.

Brothers, may that joy permeate your whole being, enhancing your vocation as husband, father, and deacon. We also thank your wives and families for their encouragement and support—your love for them should be strengthened, never compromised, by your ministry.

And so, through your diaconal service and in the name of Jesus, may God be praised forever.
May God be praised.

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