Every Man a Deacon: Who is called to ordination as a Roman Catholic deacon - Paperback

by Deacon Rex H. Pilger Jr. Phd (Author)

With the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1970s, the ministry has grown in dioceses across the United States and Canada. Nevertheless, many parishes, especially the small or rural, have yet to see a deacon ministering within their territories. Does the ministry of deacon make him a "mini-priest"? Or is he a lay minister of special distinction? Deacon Rex addresses these last two questions while building understanding of the ministry of deacon in such a way that, with (1) the approval of his pastor and (2), if married, his wife, each man can decide to make the first step, contacting the deacon formation director in his diocese.

Author Biography

Rex H Pilger Jr is a deacon of the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado, ordained over 26 years. He and wife Rita have been married for more than forty-one years; they have five grown children and eight grandchildren (so far). A geoscientist by secular vocation, he taught university geophysics and tectonics for many years and has contributed numerous research articles and published a monograph on plate tectonics and the fractured habitats of oil and natural gas. Deacon Rex's ministry has included preparation of couples for marriage and baptism of their children, all dimensions of liturgy, and formation of men for ordination to the permanent diaconate. His research in plate tectonics is ongoing, and he has been exploring the deep connections of faith and reason and their analogies with the structures and contents of scientific inquiry and artistic creativity.