Thank You, Deacon Bob!

by Fr. John Granato  |  10/27/2024  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains the role of a deacon in the Catholic Church. He is an ordained minister, hence a man who receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Sometimes we believe that only priests and bishops are the recipients of this sacrament, but deacons are the first of the three “orders” in the Catholic Church. Deacons can be transitional (which is what most deacons were for almost two thousand years, meaning that they will then be ordained a priest) or permanent (which Pope St. Paul VI reinstituted in 1967). Some of the more famous Catholic deacons who never became priests are St. Ephrem, St. Lawrence and St. Francis of Assisi. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and the world of Christ, who came to serve and not to be served. There is no difference between a permanent deacon and a transitional deacon; a deacon is ordained for the same things. Deacons are ministers of the Word, which means they proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others and are dedicated to eliminating the injustices or inequalities that cause such needs. The USCCB also says that it is a deacon’s identity that is most important. In other words, it is not what a deacon does but who a deacon is that is most important.

Deacon Bob Blair, who has been a deacon for 32 years in the Archdiocese of Hartford and has served at Immaculate Conception Parish in New Hartford and Our Lady of Hope Parish in New Hartford and Harwinton for 22 years, fulfills this definition of a deacon in exemplary ways. As Deacon Bob said last week at the 8 am Sunday Mass, it has been a great privilege for him to be a servant of Jesus Christ and to do what was asked of him by Christ; to be a minister of the Word, of Sacrament and Charity. He always showed the face of Christ to the parishioners and the wider community as he lived his vocation as a deacon. When I first arrived in January of 2022, Deacon Bob made me feel welcome as he assisted at Sunday Masses, Friday morning Mass, Ash Wednesday and Holy Day Masses, and countless baptisms in Immaculate Conception Church. As the two years went by and by the end of 2023, Deacon Bob was pulling back from some of these occasions; assisting only at the 8 am Mass (occasionally at 11:30 if I needed him there), one Holy Day and Ash Wednesday Mass, and first Friday morning Mass (where he was preaching for most of those Masses before he stopped attending those as well. I am very much aware that for the three years I have been here, Deacon Bob has been sharing his ministry as a deacon over the age of 80. I mention all of this because last week, Deacon Bob asked me if he could officially step down from ministry at Our Lady of Hope. I regretfully said yes, but for selfish reasons. I will miss his assistance at Mass and for our parish. Deacon Bob feels that he is getting older and more tired and does not want to be a distraction at Mass so he feels now is the time to truly retire. He has earned it. He is and always will be a deacon of the Catholic Church, and I know he will be praying his breviary and offering his devotional prayers for our parish and you the parishioners. We, of course, will continue to remember him and his wife Elaine in prayer as well.

I leave with these words for Deacon Bob. Well done my good and faithful servant; come and enter into my joy where you will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. God bless you, Deacon Bob Blair.