Called to Serve
'''For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD ..." (Jer. 29:11)
Subdeacon
Michael J. Bracelin
Byzantine Catholic Subdeacon, Professor at the Josephinum Diaconal Institute, & Author
Contact: diakonia@michael-bracelin.com
Diakonia, or Service, is something all baptized Christians are called to as part of their Universal Priesthood. For me, that manifests first and foremost as a husband to my wife Angela of more than 20 years, as a father of three wonderfully demanding children, and in my local community. The Lord called me not only to diakonia as a brother to all baptized Christians, but also to active ministry as part of His body - the Church. I currently serve as a Subdeacon in the for the Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Waco, Texas, and God willing, an ordained deacon in the future. A deacon is called to serve in the trifold ministry of liturgy, word, and charity. In addition to preparing to serve in this capacity when the Church sees fit, I also teach for the Josephinum Diaconal Institute at the Pontifical College Josephinum remotely. I also spend a great deal of of time sharing the beauty of the diaconate office via my most recent work "The Holy Diaconate: Hermeneutics and Trajectories," which is available on the non-fiction books tab. It's a modest mission really - to have every Catholic layperson and cleric have a deep understanding of an often misunderstood and purposefully ambiguous office! In addition to publishing, I also travel to speak on the topics regarding the diaconate, Christian virtue, and prayer.
My call to service is not something bound to just direct ministerial outreach - diakonia has been a part of all the work I have done in my life in various forms, from the Marine Corps to Higher education, and now I am working towards bring that fully into the noble profession of hospital and hospice chaplaincy. On November 4, 2010, I was with my grandfather during his final hours in the hospital. He was dying from complications related to dementia and MRSA, and a chaplain came in before life support was removed. I understood very little of what the chaplain said, as English was not his first language, and he left just as unceremoniously as he came in. However, for the first time in my life I knew, in a way I could not rationalize, that God was present in that moment. I had been around death and suffering many times, both inside my family and outside of it, but this was different. My grandfather passed into memory not 10 minutes later, and just like that - the second most important man in my life had entered his eternal reward. One would expect a deep sorrow in that moment; I had anticipated that for myself at least, but something quite different took place in my heart and mind; I experienced an unexpected hope and peace that began changing the direction of my life. That experience opened the door to the Christian faith, and 2 years later I was baptized and entered into the body of Christ - the Church. Over the many years that followed, I grew in the human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual dimensions of my life and work. Oddly enough, through my own lack of examination mostly, I never made the logical connection that God had been working things out in His time for a mission I did not see coming. At least, not until I shared this with a friend who asked me, in an entirely unrelated conversation, if I "could do anything what would it be?" I answered: "to be a hospital chaplain, of course." Surprised by how absolute my answer was, he then replied: "What are you doing about that?" He then added: “It is kind of interesting that it was at a hospital where you first recognized God’s presence, and He may also be pointing you back there…” In that moment I knew what needed to happen, and I've been trying to figure that out since - but this call is not something that can be entirely measured; I can work out the process and the numbers, but I just needed to take the leap of faith and trust in God's plan.
