Introduction

Nathanael

Diaconate

	Who Is a Deacon?
	Requirements for Formation
	Becoming a Deacon
	Calendar

News & Events
 

: Diaconate - Requirements for Formation :

1. Motivation:
   • Vocation is based on a personal call from the Lord, a call that is confirmed by the community of believers.
   • This call is heard within a personal and dynamic relationship with God and an awareness of the action of God in the world.
   • Desire to serve in truth and justice and not to be served.
   • Verify if the motivation does not stem from a need for control or power or from the desire to be recognized for services rendered.
    
2. Call to Serving the Poor:
   • The candidate should have developed a sensitivity to all the kinds and types of “poor” people who dwell in our local Church and in the world.
   • He must manifest openness to them and a desire to serve Christ through them.
    
3. Church Commitments:
   • Leadership recognized and respected by the community of believers where his reputation is considered to be that of a good Christian.
   • It is important that he is well-rooted in the Church, a person desirous of being a sign of service in the midst of God’s people, a people that he loves and appreciates, despite weaknesses and deficiencies.
    
4. Open to Change:
   • Because age is often accompanied by well established habits, ways of acting and of thinking, the candidate must manifest openness to change and a capacity to adapt.
   • The candidate should have an integrated sexuality and be capable of adapting to changes in life’s journey.
    
5. Life of the Couple:
   • It should be a well adjusted couple relationship lived as a community of love, sign of the love and tenderness of Christ for His Church, and where the spouse stands in her own right in love and complementarity.
   • Acceptation by the spouse of the role and mission of the permanent deacon.
   • It should be a stable and well-adjusted family life, financially secure.
    
6. Capacity to Pursue Theological Studies:
   • The candidate should have the ability to assimilate new ideas and theological concepts and to integrate them into his life.
   • The candidate should have a true appreciation of the Tradition and Doctrine of the Church.
    
7. Quiet Inspiring Leadership Qualities:
   • The candidate should have the ability to live an open relationship with the Bishop in an attitude of humble obedience and a capacity to develop life-giving relationships with the presbyterium.
   • Qualities of the servant-leader, a spirit of collaboration and a true appreciation of others’ gifts.
   • Capability of working within a team.
   • Sound judgment, a person capable of accepting advice and of entering into a vision which is not his.
   • Leadership manifested in other non-church fields.
    
8. Ability to Grow in a Church-Rooted Spirituality:
   • The candidate has shown growth in his personal spiritual journey with the help of a spiritual director.
   • The candidate’s spiritual journey includes the prayers of the Church.
    
9. Capability of Integrating Past Experiences:
   • In order to become a deacon, the candidate should be able to integrate his personal story, his successes and failures in all fields, his past experiences etc.
   • He should have the ability to integrate spirituality, theology and pastoral skills.
    
10. Open to a Variety of Needs in the World:
    • The candidate should be able to commit himself to various social justice issues: education, health, violence, workplace etc.
     
11. Acceptance of Formation Process and Its Requirements:
    • The candidate should be ready to accept two years of formation through week-end sessions (Saturday and Sunday) of nine months per year, including a supervised pastoral internship of one year.
    • The candidate will also participate in an annual week-end retreat during the two-year formation.