New transitional deacon

OAK RIDGE  Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained Rev. Mr. Joseph Anthony Mactal to the transitional diaconate on July 31 in his home parish of St. Thomas the Apostle here — the first ordination to the diaconate that the Bishop has presided over since his ordination/installation on July 1. It also marked the last step for Rev. Mr. Mactal, a parishioner of St. Thomas and St. John Vianney in Stock­holm, before he is called to ordination as a priest of the Diocese next year.

During the celebration of Ordination to the Order of Deacon, steeped in the rich traditions of the early Church, Bishop Sweeney ordained Rev. Mr. Mactal, a native of the Philippines, and served as main celebrant and homilist of the Mass with many priests as concelebrants. The Bishop installed Rev. Mr. Mactal to the Order of Acolyte on July 12 during his first pastoral visit to St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Dioce­san Center for Evangelization in Madison.

“I’m so excited. This is near the end of my long journey to the priesthood. It’s a great feeling to respond to God’s call,” Rev. Mr. Mactal told The Beacon days before the ordination. He will serve at St. Thomas for eight months in his diaconal year and, in the fall, will enter his fourth and final year of theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. “As a deacon, I look forward to administering many of the sacraments, preaching and joining the brotherhood of the clergy,” he said.

For the ordination Mass last Friday evening, a limited number of parishioners, priests and religious were invited to attend and all had to follow state mandates to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

Unable to attend, Rev. Mr. Mactal’s family watched the livestreamed liturgy that evening from the Philippines from the St. Thomas/St. John Vianney Facebook page.

On Sunday, Aug. 9, Bishop Sweeney will ordain seminarian Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV to the transitional diaconate during a noon Mass at his home parish of St. Pius X in Montville.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney listed a deacon’s responsibilities: to proclaim the Gospel, to dispense the Eucharist, to give instruction in Holy Doctrine, to prepare for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to preside over baptisms, marriages, funerals and public prayer. A deacon also carries out acts of charity in the name of the Bishop or pastor, he said.

“It’s a joy to be with you here tonight to be with this parish community of St. Thomas who has been Joey’s family in our Diocese for all these years and we rejoice to come together as the Church to celebrate the ordination of Joey as a deacon — please God, on the road to becoming a priest,” said Bishop Sweeney at the start of the Mass on the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.

During the ordination, the candidate stood before Bishop Sweeney, who questioned him on the Office of Deacon. The candidate declared his intention to be ordained to the diaconate and to fulfill its duties. He knelt before the Bishop promising obedience and respect to him and to his successors. Then the candidate prostrated himself before the altar, symbolizing his humility and dependence on God’s grace.

Bishop Sweeney’s laying of hands on the head of the candidate signified the conferral of the Holy Spirit upon the candidate and the commission to service.

“Send forth upon him, Lord, we pray, the Holy Spirit, that he may be strengthened by the gift for your grace for the faithful carrying out of the work of his ministry,” the Bishop said.

The Bishop invited Father Matthew Twiggs, who recently retired and is now pastor emeritus of St. Thomas and St. John parishes, to assist the new deacon in putting on his stole and dalmatic before he handed the Book of the Gospels to Rev. Mr. Mactal. “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach,” the Bishop said.

After, the Bishop and other deacons gave the newly ordained deacon the fraternal sign of peace, welcoming him into the Order of Deacon.

Born on May 23, 1989 in Manila, Philippines to Benjamin Antonio Mactal Jr. and Araceli A. Mactal, Rev. Mr. Mactal first heard God’s call to the priesthood at seven years old in his native country, telling himself, “I would look good on the other side of the altar.” He served as an altar server in his parish and entered the college seminary there at 17 years old. The new deacon came to the U.S. two years ago to continue his priestly formation. He will serve his diaconal year at St. Thomas and St. John parishes during a period of transition as Father Benjamin Williams, chaplain and teacher at St. Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, started his assignment as the new pastor there on Aug. 4, after Father Twiggs’ retirement.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney also advised Rev. Mr. Mactal, “Do the will of God from the heart.

“Serve the people with love and joy as you would the Lord, firmly rooted in faith and daily prayer. Do all for the glory of God.”