Deacon - Daniel Besse
I am Daniel Besse and I have been privileged to be ordained as a Deacon to the Roman Catholic Church. It is with great joy that I serve in the church parish that I was born and reared in, serving the people who saw me grow up and people who prayed for me as we prepared for the diaconate. I was ordained with doctors, lawyers, businessmen, professionals, and one man who drives a Harley Davidson motor cycle. God calls us all to “vocation”. We pray prayers of discernment, prayers to know and to follow “the will of God”. Deacon in Greek is “diakinos” meaning a server. We have been given “faculties” by Bishop Michael Jarrell to serve at Mass, read the Gospel, preach the Word, Baptize, Witness Marriages, work on annulments, give spiritual direction, bury, bless, and teach….. I have been asked, ‘how does one know God’s will?’ I can only answer, “prayer and the sacraments”. This is where my spiritual walk is made clearer to me. In the Sacrament of Confession, the blindness of sin is removed and we see more clearly our spiritual path. At ordination, the Bishop handed me The Book of Gospels, and looking me in the eyes said; “Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and live what you teach”. In the Gospels we are called by name and we are sent by Jesus to a task of service. Fuel for this service is prayer. The spiritual process of “Kenosis” is the emptying of oneself, the giving and unreservedly offering of self to the service of man. We can not give more than God as we do His will. He will fill us and fuel us for the service to man. On the Sermon of the Mount Jesus calls us to be “perfect as my Father is perfect.” Perfect love is the giving of self without expectation of anything in return. Serve with pure joy because Jesus served in this way. We give of ourselves because Christ gave of Himself.
In prayer I bless you all to go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
Deacon Daniel L. Besse