Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Raising of Lazarus Lectionary:  34 Reading 1 -  Ezekiel 37:12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 130:1-8 Reading 2 -  Romans 8:8-11 Verse - John 11:25a, 26 Gospel -  John 11:1-45 Lazarus, come out! LESSON: The Power of God Through Those Who Believe We’re a week away from the start of Holy Week. Our Lord now has his sights set on Jerusalem, and the pace is quickening. In these next two weeks, we’re living just one part of the Gospel passage from today: an encounter with the reality of suffering and death. Jesus is asking us to have faith in him. In today’s First Reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the Lord’s promise to not only to bring us back to life but to bring us home. The background of this passage is the famous "Valley of Dry Bones." The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. They weren't just sad; they were spiritually and nationally "dead." Their common saying was: "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." They d...
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Deacon Lector

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Our Junior year was year two (2) of three (3) as a Candidate and was when we were officially installed into the Ministry of Lector by one of the Boston area bishops ... prior to that we were required to get fitted for, and purchase a basic alb (you can see me in this on the right), to which I added a rope cincture.  The book I am receiving is (fittingly) the Lectionary.  To be somewhat honest, I couldn't figure out how this was any different than what I was already doing at my own parish as a Lector, so it seemed more like an advancement ceremony than anything else.

Academically this was perhaps the hardest year.  In the fall we had "Church History" and "Pastoral Theology" then in the spring we had "Pastoral Care", "Social Teaching" (doesn't count toward the MAM) and "Ecclesiology."  

In addition, we were supposed to find a Deacon mentor in a parish setting in order to "shadow" him during a range of pastoral experiences over approximately 100 hours; writing a reflection on each.  These experiences were supposed to be all three (3) and the munera (offices) of the deacon: word, sacrament and charity.

Some of these experiences were expected, as many within the Church will see the deacon at these events: baptism, wake, graveside committal, wedding (all required) as well as funerals, devotionals and sacrament preparation.  Some of them were not so obvious:
  • Experience with sick/homebound/prisoners
  • Experience with immigrant/multicultural diversity
  • Experience with Catechesis/teaching
  • Experience with spiritual formation/support of others
Ultimately I got a late start here, after a struggle to find a mentor that was engaged and helpful in these areas.  The hardest experience for me to get was the wake and funeral ... I ended up reading through the obituaries until I identified what I needed and then contacted the rectory to ask if I could assist.  For many of my classmates, the hardest was the wedding (church weddings are apparently in decline in the Boston area).

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