Deacon Dominic Cerrato
A Changeless Diaconate for a Changing World
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It’s undeniable. Our culture has radically changed over the last 60 years, and, sadly, it’s not for the better. One of the ways to trace this downward trend is to look at the kinds of television shows that were produced from the 1960s to the present. As a kid, I remember watching shows like “Leave Read More
The Diaconate and the Collar
Deacon Dominic Cerrato 4
About 27 years ago, I was meeting with my bishop just prior to ordination. I would be the first permanent deacon ordained for the Diocese of Steubenville. Since no precedence had been set, I asked him whether I should wear clerics in the exercise of my ministry. In response, he asked me what I thought. Read More
Entering into the Pain of Another
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To serve others is to perceive a need in them and, to the extent possible, help them satisfy that need. If it’s hunger, we give them food. If it’s faith, we proclaim the Good News. If it’s loneliness, we give them company. Sometimes, this means doing something. Most times, it just means being present. In Read More
The Temptation to Compromise
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If we weren’t aware before, many of us realize shortly after ordination that our diaconate doesn’t shield us from the many secular influences of society. To be sure, like the other sacraments, we receive grace at ordination and, to be sure, that grace is sufficient to resist these influences (cf. 2 Cor 12:9). However, grace Read More
The Devil and the Diaconate
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Many years ago I had an encounter with a young man that shook me to my core. It was after the last Mass on a Sunday and the youth group was gathering in the commons. I was straightening up when the celebrant asked me to chat with a young man who seemed quite disturbed. For Read More
Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
Deacon Dominic Cerrato 1
At ordination, we kneel before the bishop and pledge fidelity to him and to his successors. Of course, this comes as no surprise to us as a condition of ordination requires that we sign, just prior to ordination, the mandatum, stating the very same thing. What is pledged at ordination is a formalization and public Read More
Sharing Diaconal Spirituality with the Laity
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While writing my previous book, “Encountering Christ the Servant” (OSV, $18.95), I gave some of the early drafts to a few of my lay friends to proofread. I wanted to ensure that the final manuscript sent to the publisher would be well-polished and free of errors typically associated with initial submission. To my surprise and Read More
Renewing the Church Through the Diaconate
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The title of my column might sound to many as rather ambitious. I mean, the diaconate is just there to help priests, right? While this is certainly true to some degree, it fails to see the distinctive role of the diaconate in the mystery of salvation and the mission of the Church. The unique contribution Read More