Microsoft Word 2 2015 Aspirant Handbook doc

 

 

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Mass, Baptism, the Sacrament of Marriage, Advent or Lenten services, wake services and 

funeral liturgies.  If pre-arranged with the celebrant, you may vest in an alb and assist as an Altar 

Server at the parish.  The purpose of these visits is to help you to observe the following:  

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The diversity in liturgical styles;  

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The implementation of rubrics by priests and deacons;  

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The effectiveness of the homily;  

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Types of music ministries;  

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Liturgical practices;  

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Participation by other liturgical ministers and the congregation; and,  

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Any other aspects of the liturgy you found to be effective.   

 

The purpose of this requirement is to help you to grapple with the diversity of liturgy 

within our diocese by observing various liturgical practices.  Concentrate on the positive effects 

of the liturgy you experienced or observed among the faithful in attendance. A brief report (no 

more than a paragraph or two) should be forwarded by e-mail to the Administrative Assistant for 

the Office of Diaconate Formation identifying the parish, the priest and/or deacon, the date and 

time of your visit.   

 

YOUR NOTES: 

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5. ASSESSMENT FOR NOMINATION TO CANDIDACY 

I rejoiced greatly when some of the brothers came and testified to how truly you 

walk in the truth.  Nothing gives me greater joy then to hear that my children 

are walking in the truth.  Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the 

brothers, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the 

church.  Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.  

For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from 

the pagans.  Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-

workers in the truth. 

(3 John 3:8) 

 

 

Based upon the results of an evaluation and interview process, at the end of your 

Aspirancy year you will be assessed for your suitability to be nominated to the Bishop for the 

Candidate Path of Diaconate Formation.   

THE EVALUATION PROCESS 

 

During your Aspirancy year, your progress is constantly evaluated and documented by 

the Aspirancy Formation Team that meets with you monthly and the remainder of the Formators 

including: 

 

-  

Director of Diaconate Formation 

 

-  

Aspirancy Formation Team (Aspirancy Formators) 

 

-  

Candidacy Formation Team (Candidacy Formators) 

 

-  

Practicum Coordinator 

 

-  

The Homiletics Instructor 

 

-  

The Liturgy Instructor 

 

-  

Other Formators as needed 

 

- 

The Diaconate Board including the Bishop. 

The Formators described above serve for unspecified terms and includes deacons, 

deacon wives, priest(s), and lay persons.  They have a complete knowledge of, and are dedicated 

to, the Diaconate Formation process.  Selection to be a Formator is made by the Director of 

Diaconate Formation with the advice of the existing Formators and is approved by the Bishop. 

 

 

Aspirancy Formators’ Evaluations 

 

In December and May, the Aspirancy Formation Team submits a written evaluation for 

each Aspirant.  These evaluations are conducted using tools designed from the Model Standards 

for Readiness for Admission into the Candidate Path (See Appendix 1) and are completed based 

upon observations and written assignments you submitted.  You should familiarize yourself with 

these model standards as a tool for your own self-evaluation. 

 

 

The evaluations are reviewed by the Director of Diaconate Formation, the rest of the 

Formators, the Diaconate Board, and the Bishop. 

 

Monthly Diaconate Formation Meeting 

 

The Director of Diaconate Formation prayerfully meets with all the Formators on a 

monthly-basis.  During these monthly meetings, Aspirants and Candidates are the subject of 

prayerful discussion to identify where they and their families are in the formation process.  

Details are provided by the Aspirancy Formation team and the other Formators.  During the 

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meeting, each Formator is provided with a copy of the entire file for each Aspirant and 

Candidate for reference purposes.  

 

 

The Director of Diaconate Formation relies on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, acting 

through the Formators, to make recommendations to adjust the formation process as needed and 

to provide guidance for improving the strengths of those in formation while making suggestions 

for correcting weaknesses.  The minutes of these meetings are available to the Diaconate Board 

and the Bishop. 

 

Conversation with the Director of Diaconate Formation 

 

You (and your wife, if married) will be interviewed by the Director of Diaconate 

Formation twice a year during Aspirancy.  The purpose of the conversation is to discuss your 

progress during Aspirancy, and to provide you with an opportunity to share your experiences and 

make recommendations for improving your formation.  These conversations, along with the 

Formators’ evaluations, help form the Director’s recommendation to the Diaconate Board 

concerning your readiness for admission to the Candidate Path. 

 

Diaconate Board 

 

The Diaconate Board will make a recommendation to the Bishop concerning your 

readiness for admission into the Candidate Path of formation at the June Diaconate Board 

meeting.  During your entire Aspirancy year, they will be kept informed of your progress. Prior 

to their January Diaconate Board meeting, all of the Board Members, as a group, will have an 

opportunity to meet with you and your wife to get to know you personally.  The Formators’ 

evaluation prepared in December will also be made available to the Diaconate Board. 

 

At the June Diaconate Board meeting, the Board will be provided with your June 

evaluation by the Formators and all other information concerning your readiness to continue to 

the Candidate Path of Formation.  

RECOMMENDATION 

 

At the end of your Aspirant year and during the June Diaconate Board meeting with the 

Bishop present, the Director of Diaconate Formation, with the observations and recommendation 

of the Formators, will make one of three recommendations: 

1. 

You will be recommended as ready for acceptance as a Candidate for ordination to the 

Diaconate. 

2. 

You are not ready to be recommended for Candidacy at this time, with clearly stated 

reasons for this recommendation and any additional areas where the Aspirant must 

discern or improve.   

3. 

You will not be recommended for the Candidate Path of Formation.  

 

After prayerful discussion, the Diaconate Board is responsible for nominating you to the 

Bishop for acceptance into the Candidate Path of Formation or may recommend upon one of the 

other two options.  The final decision rests with the Bishop and is made at the June Diaconate 

Board meeting. 

 

You will be notified immediately by the Director of Diaconate Formation, in person, 

about the Bishop’s decision followed by a letter from the Bishop.  If you are accepted for the 

Candidate Path of formation, your Candidacy begins immediately.   

 

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Should you not be accepted, you may appeal the decision, in writing, to the Bishop. 

 

YOUR NOTES: 

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6. CONTACT INFORMATION 

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  

(Romans 1:7b)

 

OFFICE OF INITIAL DIACONATE FORMATION 

The Office is located in the Pastoral Center:  

40 North Main Avenue 

Albany, New York 12203.   

 

 

 

Deacon Frank Berning, D.Min. 

 

Director Diaconate Formation 

 

518  453-6670 - Diaconate Formation Administrative Assistant 

 

518  453-6679 - Direct line. 

 

518  641-6841 - Fax 

 E-Mail 

- 

[e-mail] 

DIACONATE BOARD AND FORMATORS 

 

The complete and up-to-date list of members of the Diaconate Board and those women 

and men involved in the Deacon Formation process may be found on-line at the deacon’s web 

site. 

 

www.RCDA.org

 

PERSONAL DEACON CONTACTS BY COUNTY 

 

 A 

list of deacons

, by county, who are available to talk with you about the diaconate and 

their experiences in ministry, may be found on-line at the deacon’s web site. 

 

www.RCDA.org

 

  Offices + Deacons + New Vocations to the Diaconate + List of Support Deacons by County 

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APPENDIX 1 - MODEL STANDARDS FOR READINESS FOR ADMISSION INTO THE 

CANDIDATE PATH 

 

Refer to Section 3 of this handbook and the National Directory for the Life and Ministry of 

Permanent Deacons.  Before you are considered for the candidacy path for ordination, you must 

grow in the four dimensions of formation during your Aspirancy year.  The following table 

should be referred to frequently during your Aspirancy so you can self-evaluate your progress.  

In December and again in May, your Formators will use this model as part of a tool to evaluate 

your progress. 

 

Human Dimension 

Appreciation/Knowledge of

Demonstrated Ability/Skill

His personality (strengths and limitations), 

appropriate boundaries, and his talents and 

gifts; collaboration. 

 

Models of faith and moral development 

through discussion and action 

 

The necessity for ongoing spiritual and 

academic development. 

 

The role of respectful listening and tolerance 

in dialogue with others whose point of view 

may differ from his. 

To be self reflective; to reveal himself 

appropriately, sharing his experiences and 

attitudes with others as verified in the 

formation community, mentor group, pastoral 

ministry placement, and self-evaluation; to be 

both a leader and follower. 

 

To use his knowledge to encourage others to 

reflect and share their experiences in dialogue 

and action. 

 

To demonstrate the use of appropriate 

resources for his physical, emotional, and 

spiritual development; to take initiative in 

self-studying and in completing home 

assignments. 

 

To be a good listener, respect each person, 

and be accepted as a trusted participant who 

keeps confidences; to be open to change 

through reflective growth in understanding; to 

express his position candidly in sharing for 

study and dialogue, neither intimidating nor 

being intimidated in doing so. 

 

To integrate and prioritize his personal 

boundaries relating to family recreation, 

work, ministry, and time alone. 

 

To contribute to and utilize a support system. 

 

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Spiritual Dimension 

Appreciation/Knowledge of

Demonstrated Ability/Skill 

God’s redeeming activity in his lifestyle, 

experiences, and ministries. 

 

The 

lectio divina

 in the formation of a strong 

Christian spirituality. 

 

His commitment to Christian ministry as 

rooted in the baptismal call. 

 

A personal and communal prayer life. 

 

His state in life, responsibilities, and role in 

diaconal discernment; diaconal celibacy and 

other commitments. 

 

An ecumenical perspective in formation. 

To reflect theologically on his faith experience 

through regular spiritual direction. 

 

To pray the Scriptures, meditating on the 

mystery of God as our Father, Son, and Holy 

Spirit. 

 

To foster an appreciation of baptismal 

ministry among others, enabling others to 

reflect upon their faith journey in relationship 

to this call. 

 

To fulfill a regular commitment to a pattern of 

personal and communal prayer through 

frequent praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, 

especially morning and evening prayer; to 

participate frequently in the Eucharist and the 

Sacrament of Reconciliation, personal prayer 

and reading of the Bible, and devotion to 

Mary and to the saints; to plan and lead 

communal prayer. 

 

To ascertain, if married, the quality of his 

relationship with his wife and children and the 

need for dialogue and mutual consent to 

continue in formation and move forward 

toward ordination, to make, if unmarried, a 

commitment to perpetual celibacy and live a 

single lifestyle in an appropriate manner. 

 

To practice in prayer and action an attitude of 

discipleship to Christian unity, desiring to 

know more about other Christian 

denominations and other faith experiences and 

finding ways for mutual action in serving 

human needs. 

 

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Intellectual Dimension 

Appreciation/Knowledge of

Demonstrated Ability/Skill 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

 

The Sacraments of Christian Initiation and the 

Sacrament of Holy Orders, especially the 

Order of Deacon. 

 

The Eucharist as the summit and center of 

Christian communal life, especially in his 

formation community. 

 

The Church’s spiritual tradition, including its 

various paths of spirituality. 

 

Pastoral resources. 

To articulate the primary teachings of the 

Church and discuss contemporary issues in 

light of this teaching. 

 

To speak informally on Christian vocations 

and ordained ministry, particularly the Order 

of Deacon and its threefold ministries of word, 

liturgy, and charity; to relate this knowledge to 

personal and communal vocation discernment. 

 

To actively participate in the Eucharist as a 

lector or extraordinary minister of the 

Eucharist and in ministry to the sick. 

 

To experience and invite others into 

meaningful expressions of prayer and forms of 

Christian spirituality. 

 

To refer others to appropriate pastoral 

resources as needed. 

 

Pastoral Dimension 

Appreciation/Knowledge of

Demonstrated Ability/Skill 

Theological sources that ground, interpret, and 

guide the activity that constitutes the pastoral 

life of the Church. 

 

Effective communication skills. 

 

A multicultural perspective in formation; 

cultural communication patterns and their 

impact on goals and programming; resources 

for ethnic, racial, and cultural groups. 

 

How to approach theological study from 

within the context of his pastoral experience 

and ministry 

To name appropriate theological resources 

useful to ministerial study and service. 

 

To communicate effectively in spoken and 

written word. 

 

To effectively use different cultural 

communication patterns whenever 

appropriate, and to use and guide others to 

appropriate multicultural resources. 

 

To discern how God is calling him into ministry 

and to link, in reflection, his pastoral and personal 

experiences to theology –apprehending God’s 

presence through touching the needs of the poor or 

afflicted; to be an advocate for people in need and 

a facilitator of the community’s resources in 

response to human needs.

 

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Diaconal Vocation and Ministry 

His ongoing relationship with God as the 

source of his ministry and discernment of a 

diaconal vocation. 

 

His call and his personal commitment to live 

the Good News in all aspects of life. 

 

The role and ministry of the deacon within the 

faith community. 

 

The teaching that it is the Church that calls 

and affirms the vocation to an ordained 

ministry. 

To articulate his relationship with God and 

reasons for believing he has a call to the Order 

of Deacons within the formation community. 

 

To articulate his call and commitment to his 

spiritual director and to the formation 

personnel and to communicate this through 

self, peer, formation, pastoral and family 

assessments. 

 

To articulate this understanding in ways that 

are life-giving and empowering within his 

family, place of employment, parish, 

formation community; to identify, call forth, 

affirm, and support the gifts, strengths, and 

talents of others. 

 

To participate collaboratively in all aspects of 

formation; to be cooperative, open, and 

respectful to all who journey with him; to be 

receptive of insights offered by the formation 

personnel, his wife and family, peers, and 

pastor.