Everyone is waiting for some sort of a miracle. For the majority - an end to the pandemic - for others - personal needs - new jobs - financial relief - physical and spiritual healings. Like most people - I am not the best model of quiet waiting. Since this pandemic started I have been preoccupied with so many things - primarily - avoiding people - keeping my risk to a minimum. Obviously I am not alone. Avoiding family - close friends - neighbors - wearing a mask when necessary - hiding from life. These past months have created tension - stress - concern not only for my own well being - also for my spouse - children. On top of all this - I recently had knee surgery which has placed me in a higher risk category. Adding surgical pain - physical therapy which challenges my body - lack of sleep - I am ready for a miracle.
Deacon Class Ordained October 1988 - The Other Twelve
This past October we celebrated our 32nd year of ordination. In those 32 years we - the Other Twelve - served our parishes - the parishioners - through the grace of our ordination as Permanent Deacons - ordinary men called to do the extra ordinary. We have performed weddings - funerals - preached hundreds - maybe thousands of homilies - easily baptized thousands of babies and some adults. In the last ten years I have been privileged to lead some 20+ pilgrimages - domestic and international. I have been blessed to preach at Shepherd's Field Chapel in Bethlehem in the Holy Land - la Familia Sagrada in Barcelona - Saint Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy and many others. These memories - experiences - the people who joined me on pilgrimage - all inspire me to continue on - to look forward to that day - when by the grace of God we will emerge from this pandemic. Until then we wait - trusting in God - for a miracle.
Deacon Dale
