That’s how much time until my Diaconal ordination into the Permanent Diaconate. Seems like just last year that my class got together for the first time. I still can’t believe they let me in, much less let me get this far!
In these last four years, I have gained new brothers and sisters in my fellow candidates and their wives. We are a terribly close-knit group and already are making plans for regular get-togethers on a quarterly basis after ordination. God willing, this will be a habit we keep going for a long time.
Our group has lost 3 of the original 18 members from that first meeting so long ago. I still think about them sometimes and hope that they will come to the ordination if they can. We’ve also dealt with a lot of health issues, some life threatening. But so far, all have persevered and are with us still. I have no doubt that it is through the power of prayer to a great degree.
In once case, one of our group was in the hospital in a life or death situation and took a marked turn for the better while the entire class was downstairs in the chapel praying the Rosary. We’ve had many cases where a whole lot of praying was going on and healings followed.
We are all getting ready for our assignments, which should become finalized in the next few weeks. Some of us are staying in our current parishes and others are moving to new ones to fill the needs of the Archdiocese. We have just 1 more class plus our retreat to go, so pray for all of us and our wives as we get ready for this new phase in our lives.