A life of service

On Oct. 21, Brent Naslund and Dan Brooke dedicated their lives courageously for the Church, being ordained as permanent deacons for our diocese. They both have beautiful spiritual journeys, and look forward to living out the graces of their newfound vocation with heartfelt enthusiasm.
 
“I started my process of discernment believing I would someday be a Lutheran pastor,” Deacon Brent said. “I first began to work toward this goal in a Lutheran seminary and finally completed my theology studies in a Baptist university. It was during this time that I discovered the teachings of the Catholic Church, and I simply couldn't turn my back on what I had discovered. As a result, my wife, our children, and I entered the Catholic Church in 2009. For me, being a Catholic took a necessary priority over having a career as a Protestant pastor. But my desire to serve the Lord and preach the Gospel remained nonetheless, and that is when I discovered the diaconate program.”
 
Deacon Brent is married to Jessica, and they have four children: Zachary, Abigail, Cameron, and Chloe. Over the past two years, they have served faithfully at our diocesan African Mission post in Kenya. Next fall they will have completed their time at the Mission. When they return to the U.S., Deacon Brent will be assigned to Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck.
           
“As a deacon, I will be able to support parish life by conducting infant baptisms, marriages, and Communion services, allowing our priests to see more of their parishioners more often,” Deacon Brent shared. “I hope my service will allow our priests to say more Masses, anoint more sick persons, and hear more confessions.”
           
When asked what he feels are the most important aspects of the diaconate, Deacon Brent responded, “Christ came as a shepherd, a priest and a servant. As I see, the Sacrament of Holy Orders allows the ministry of the Church to be fulfilled at three different levels or degrees. Christ as shepherd to his people is fulfilled by our bishops (the episcopate). Christ as priest is fulfilled by our priests (the presbyterate), and Christ as servant is fulfilled by our deacons (the diaconate). Without all three degrees, the Church runs the risk of not fulfilling Christ’s purpose for the Church—to be teacher, priest, and servant to the world.”
           
Furthermore, he hopes to bring his experience as a husband and a father into his work as a deacon.
           
“I think permanent deacons, in particular, have a great role to play in personally representing God's purpose for the family as the foundational institution of society. As a married man with children, a permanent deacon does this in a unique way.”
           
Now the wife of a deacon, Jessica has some insights to share as well.
           
“The ordination marks a new beginning for us. Just as the sacrament of reconciliation has an effect on a person before they receive the Eucharist, I believe Brent’s ordination to Holy Orders will positively 'effect' our marriage and family as well. I just don’t know how, but that’s part of God’s mystery.”
           
Deacon Brent's foremost hopes and dreams about living life as a deacon in our diocese are touched by a unique humility of heart.
           
“The Catechism teaches that no one has the right to receive Holy Orders and that like every grace, this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift,” he comments. “As such, my hope is small; that my service to the Church and to God’s people may be pleasing.”
           
Deacon Dan Brooke also has a moving story of his calling to the diaconate.
           
“I didn't even know what a deacon was until about 11 years ago,” he says. “When I first met my wife Tara, her father Michael was in the formation process to become a permanent deacon. We waited to get married so that he could officiate our wedding as a deacon. I went from knowing nothing about deacons at all, to watching him live his life as a deacon. Seeing the way that it changed him and his marriage piqued my interest in the diaconate. Long before I met Tara I had considered the priesthood, but I realized it was not my calling. All of the things that once attracted me to the priesthood began to attract me to the diaconate.”
           
Deacon Dan and Tara have three children; Lucy, Eva, and Leo and are in the process of adopting a child from China. Throughout the journey of Dan's diaconate formation and ordination, they have learned about many of the most beautiful aspects of our Catholic faith.
           
“Going through diaconate formation has helped us learn a lot about our faith,” Deacon Dan says. “We received both theological and spiritual formation that has made a great difference in our family life. It was eye-opening to realize how much depth there is to the spiritual side of life. It has changed the way our family prays together, as well as the way we look at other people in our parish and in the world. Now, we are much more concerned about the global church. The formation has also helped our children understand that their role in the community matters.”
           
Deacon Dan is now assigned to serve at St. Mary's in Bismarck.
           
“I am really looking forward to assisting at Mass and offering Communion services. I hope to be available for whatever our parish and our pastor need. I am also looking forward to being a deacon in the world—that is, being a person who works a regular job and has a family, but also serves as a clergyman. I want to bring Christ's presence to places like the work place and the grocery store. I want to be truly present to people, talking to them, listening to them, and walking alongside them. The most important thing about being a deacon is serving, so that is what I want to do well.”