Deacon candidates instituted as acolytes by Bishop James Ruggieri

Five men discerning for the permanent diaconate were instituted as acolytes by Bishop James Ruggieri during a Mass celebrated on November 22 at Sacred Heart Church in Hallowell.

Acolytes assist deacons and priests in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. An acolyte’s service includes duties of an altar server, a sacristan, and an extraordinary minister of holy Communion. Besides the deacon and the priest, the acolyte is the one closest to the altar.  

“The mystery of acolyte is first and foremost a call to deeper communion with Christ. From this communion flows your communion with his Church, the Bible. When you stand at the altar and prepare the gifts, handle the vessels, or distribute the precious body of Christ, you do so not in your own name, but you do so in communion with your bishop and the whole diocesan Church,” Bishop Ruggieri told the men. “Your service at the altar is an act of unity. It's an expression of the bond that holds the Church together in Christ. By this instituted ministry – your service to the Church – you are servants of Christ, the servant. Your relationship with the Lord is shaped at the altar where he gives himself for the life of the world. Here, at the altar, you will learn the rhythm of Christian discipleship: to receive before you give, to be nourished before you nourish, and to be loved before you speak of love.”

The five deacon candidates installed as acolytes are Arturo Ayala of Yarmouth, Doug Guerrette of Hampden, Peter Koch of Rumford, Adam Stearns of Skowhegan, and Timothy Winkeler of Falmouth. Three deacon candidates, Peter Czerwinski of Readfield, Stephen Ritchie of Eliot, and Richard Roussel of Gorham, were previously instituted as acolytes.

“What I experienced today was a gift. I received a gift from God, a new ministry. It means that I need to give back to my brothers and sisters. I need to serve them as an acolyte,” said Ayala. “This is not for me. I am not doing this for me. I do this for them, and whatever I do, I need to do it with love.”

“It’s a very meaningful day. It’s moving forward in the process of formation for the diaconate and is a step that brings us closer to Christ the servant and to serving the people in our parish as well as the people in general,” said Stearns.

“This day means a lot, and I think what it means will resonate even more as we move forward. Today is sort of the beginning of a new chapter,” said Koch.

During the Mass at Sacred Heart, the deacon candidates were called forward. The bishop then prayed over them, asking God to “bless our brothers who have been chosen for the ministry of acolyte. Grant that they may be faithful in the service of your altar and in giving to others the Bread of Life. May they grow always in faith and love and so build up your Church.”

Each man then knelt before the bishop who handed them a paten with bread to be consecrated, saying, “Take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church.”

Being instituted as acolytes, which came about a year after the men were instituted as lectors, marks a significant milestone in the candidates’ discernment for the permanent diaconate, but Bishop Ruggieri stressed that the ministry is much more than just a step on that journey.

“The acolyte stands at the meeting point of worship and mission, the place where heaven touches earth and from which the Gospel flows out into the world: homes, workplaces, hospitals, prisons, and every place where people struggle to believe that God has not forgotten them. As men of the communion, you are called to be those who heal division, who reconcile, who listen, who accompany, who speak the truth with love, and who stand with the little ones and the forgotten. We could say that this is communion in action. This is eucharistic charity made visible. This is the mission that begins at the altar and so beautifully extends to the very edges of human life,” the bishop said. “Let the altar teach you humility. Let your communion with the bishop anchor your identity. And let your service shape your hearts. Let the Eucharist conform you to Christ, who continuously gives himself for you. Become men who, like Christ, give your lives for others, the Church, for the people entrusted to you, and for the mission of the Gospel.”

“It struck me that [the bishop] started off by saying this isn’t just another step. It’s a part of us being changed. As Christians, we’re all called to constantly be transformed, and so I think that this rite and this step in becoming acolytes...is actually us continuing to be transformed,” said Winkeler.

“It’s continuing to discern God’s will for serving the Church,” said Guerrette. “The bishop’s words that resonated with me today were that we’ll have the opportunity to serve at the altar, but receiving before you can give, loving Christ in the Eucharist before you can give back to the people of God, being formed at the altar before you can form others within the Church. Those are the things that are meaningful."

The deacon candidates have another year of formation and discernment, but if they are called to orders, they will be ordained to the permanent diaconate next fall.