Welcoming five new deacons

The Diocese of Bismarck has welcomed five more men as permanent deacons.
 
The stories of how they unearthed the gem of their calling to the diaconate are unique and inspiring, testifying to the capacious mercy of God, so alive in the world today. In their hearts, they bear a magnanimous sense of charity for Mother Church and her people—especially those of our diocese. Their lives continually prove that God cannot be outdone in generosity.
           
“At one point, my mom, my mother-in-law, and a priest asked me if I had considered the diaconate,” said Bob Nutsch. “Soon after that, during a Hills Alive concert, I clearly heard a voice tell me, 'You should be a deacon.' Continually after that, literally every song I heard and everything I read all brought me back to that same thought.”  
           
After years of diligent study and spiritual formation, Bob approached his ordination with a hopeful spirit.
           
“When I serve as a deacon, I want to be able to stand aside and let God work through me; I pray that He will make me a conduit of His grace and healing to others,” Bob said. “I know I will really enjoy living a life of service. As long as I use my God-given skills and graces to their fullest extent, I will be able to help bring people closer to Christ, in both good times and in sad times.”
           
Alongside his wife, Kim, and their two grown children, Elizabeth and Matthew, the Nutsch family felt strengthened on their spiritual journey as Bob pursued the diaconate. 
           
“We are so blessed with all of the good priests and deacons in our diocese, and our caring and faithful bishop,” Bob said. “I believe the Diocese of Bismarck is an island of sanity in the midst of an ocean of confusion. It provides all of us a solid foundation upon which to grow spiritually.”
           
Like Bob, diaconate candidate Ben Auch also discovered his call to ministry with the gracious help of friends and family.
           
“A journey of a lifetime started with a nudge from a deacon’s wife after a church meeting one evening,” Ben said. “That proceeded to be followed by the response of, 'Really?' While trying to avoid that nudge of the Holy Spirit, I was appointed to serve for four years on the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) board. However, the call to the diaconate never left me. I finally told my wife Nadra that I thought I was being called to be a deacon, to which she responded, 'If that’s what God wants you to do you go for it.' At the time, she didn't realize what it means to be the wife of a deacon!”
           
 After the calling grew stronger, he opened his reluctant heart, and took action.
           
“After meeting with David Fleck and Fr. Charles Zins, Nadra and I started formation. I cannot express how grateful I am to all the formation instructors and David Fleck for all they do. It is amazing what the Holy Spirit infused into our souls throughout the five-year formation process. I’m blessed to be part of our diocese, and I can't wait to see what doors God will open to me in service to His people.”
           
John Paul Martin's testimony bears yet another example of the compelling influence that friends and family can have on others as they pursue their God-given mission in life. Throughout his discernment, he has experienced the love and support of his wife, Shih-Ru, and children, Austin and Noelle.
             
“I discovered my call through other people, such as by deacons serving at my parish as well as my pastor,” John Paul said. “During my discernment process, my call became evident through my family and my fellow parishioners of Ascension Parish. Their encouragement and support, as well as the comments they made to me, solidified my belief that my call is not coming from within me, but rather from God Himself, working through others.”
           
As he approached his ordination, John Paul's desire to bring souls to the Sacred Heart of Jesus continues to increase.
           
“I really hope to grow in holiness, and influence, by example, the people of God that I serve in their quest to become holy,” John Paul commented. “G.K. Chesterton once said, 'I don't want a Church that moves with the world, I want a Church that moves the world.' I appreciate that the Church in western North Dakota is one that works hard not to move with the world, but to move the world. We all benefit from that and I believe people are yearning for a Church that will move them.”
           
John Paul also seeks to be a faithful steward of the talents that God has given to him, as do all the candidates.
           
“I have been told that I am a good listener,” he said. “Sometimes we all need someone just to listen to us. I look forward to listening and providing pastoral care, according to my abilities, to help people who desire to draw closer to God.”
           
Like John Paul, Leonard Krebs recognizes that God the Father, in His omniscience and benevolence, has bestowed various gifts on the servants who labor in His vineyard. It is their decision if they will use them to their fullest, or let them go to waste. As it says in Matthew 25: 24 – 30:
           
“Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”
           
In fact, reading this passage of Scripture brought about a deep transformation in Leonard's heart, as well as in how he sees his life.
           
“It made me realize that I didn't want to be like the servant who buried his talents, and this realization brought me to think about the diaconate,” he said. “Multiple parishioners approached me and encouraged me to become a deacon as well.”
           
As Leonard prepared for ordination with his wife Kristi of 30 years at his side, he carried holy aspirations along with him.
           
“I am really looking forward to growing closer to the Blessed Eucharist, as well as being able to share in the sacraments with the parishioners on a more intimate level, and having direct interaction with them,” Leonard said.
           
Lastly, Robert Bohn's pursuit of the diaconate was simply an organic result of a desire to become a more devout Catholic.
           
“I wanted to get to know Christ and the Church better, and to see how to live my life in a deeper way for Christ, so I started taking the aspirancy classes offered by the diocese,” he shared. “After I attended them for a couple of years, a deacon asked me if I ever thought about becoming a permanent deacon. Of course, I said, 'Who me? No way!' But then I prayed and thought about it for a few more months, and finally decided I couldn't lose anything by applying. I figured that going to the formation classes could only deepen my faith and help me learn more about Christ. Therefore, I applied, was accepted and my desire just grew deeper and more faithful to serve God's people as Christ calls me to.”
           
After ordination, Robert hopes to share the pearls of joy and wisdom he has gained through his new-found friendship with Jesus Christ. 
           
“As a deacon, I hope to let the Holy Spirit use me to bring myself and my brothers and sisters in Christ into a deeper relationship with God,” he said. “I want to serve the bishop and my neighbor in the fullness of Christ. I appreciate how our diocese serves the people in helping them to know and love Him, so we may all be in heaven as saints.”
           
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI offered a powerful address to deacons, in which he said, “Union with Christ, to be cultivated through prayer, sacramental life and in particular, Eucharistic adoration, is of the greatest importance to your ministry, if it is truly to testify to God's love... Dear deacons, accept with joy and gratitude the love the Lord feels for you and pours out in your lives, and generously give to people what you have received as a free gift... By living and witnessing to God's infinite love, may you always be, in your ministry, at the service of building the Church as communion. In your work you are sustained by the affection and prayer of your families. Your vocation is a special grace for your family life, which in this way is called to be ever more open to the will of the Lord and to the needs of the Church. May the Lord reward the availability with which your wives and children accompany you in your service to the entire ecclesial community. May Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord who gave the Saviour to the world, and the Deacon Lawrence who loved the Lord to the point of giving up his life for him, always accompany you with their intercession.”